Saatchi & Saatchi’s worldwide creative director Pablo del Campo is stepping down after just over two years in that role to take a break from the world of advertising. He has spent more than two decades with the Saatchi & Saatchi organization.
Del Campo will be replaced by Kate Stanners, creative director of the shop’s London office, effective immediately.
The departing CD said, “The decision to leave this 20-year-old adventure has not been easy,” and he will not be working with any Saatchi organizations or their competitors in the immediate future. From his statement:
“It has been an enormous privilege for me to have developed so many ‘ideas bigger than ads’ in a space as inspiring as Saatchi & Saatchi, hand in hand with the most prestigious industry leaders and creative teams. Today, the network holds the highest standards in terms of talent in order to continue the ‘hothouse for world-changing ideas.”
He launched Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi in his native Argentina in 2000, filling various roles within the larger organization until his promotion to global CD in March of 2014. The position had been empty since Bob Isherwood left in 2008 to do whatever he’s been up to in the seven and a half years since then.
Del Campo told AdAge today that he does indeed plan to say in the industry in order to “be more connected with the craft part of advertising.” But first he will take some time out to chill.
Stanners has been CCO at Saatchi & Saatchi London since 2014, and she will retain the title that made her “the only woman leading a creative department in a London agency” while also assuming Del Camp’s role moving forward. Worldwide CEO Robert Senior calls her “a unique talent and a bundle of energy,” citing her work on the P&G account and adding, “Her ability to apply innovative, market-leading creativity to the largest brands in the world will make her the perfect choice of creative leader for our network.”
She says, “I’ve lived, breathed and loved Saatchi & Saatchi for the last 11 years, so the opportunity to take leadership of the creative performance of this great network and drive it to even more success is an exciting, and very personal honour.”
It’s not clear when Del Campo will be able to work in advertising again under the conditions of Publicis Groupe’s noncompete clause.