Leo Burnett has promoted Kieran Ots, a 20-year veteran of the agency, to executive vice president and executive creative director of its Chicago office, effective immediately.
Ots served nearly two decades at Leo Burnett Sydney in the role of digital creative director.
Kieran Ots spent 20 years at Leo Burnett Sydney before being promoted in Chicago
“Kieran is a strong leader with a gift for creating ideas that connect deeply with humans, regardless of medium,” said Britt Nolan, Leo Burnet Chicago chief creative officer. “He approaches business issues with creative solutions—not just ads. Kieran is the perfect fit to help us continue our transformation.”
Ots will report directly to Nolan and oversee the creative direction for client Samsung. He previously contributed to the Samsung account in Sydney, according to a statement from Leo Burnett.
Before bringing Ots to Chicago, Nolan oversaw the Samsung work himself.
Ots is most recognized for having led a series of digital projects in 2013 for the Australian Bureau of Statistics in which a team raised awareness of census data among Australians. One part of that included creating smartphone game, Run That Town, which had players reject and approve proposals for their own neighborhoods. The outcome would either please or piss off residents, based on real demographic data collected in 2011. The game won Gold at Cannes Lions in the creative data category.
Ots has also worked with Leo Burnett clients Canon, McDonald’s and Subaru.