AKQA has appointed Tesa Aragones as president, North America to oversee AKQA’s studios in the U.S. In this new role, Aragones will help define strategy and expand the agency’s client base—as well as identify opportunities to work closely with AKQA’s international team, which is now in over 24 markets.
“AKQA is an ambitious, inventive agency with unparalleled capabilities that is always looking towards the future. I look forward to working alongside my exceptionally talented team—and our influential client base to fuel the extraordinary potential ahead,” said Aragones in a statement.
Aragones has more than 25 years of brand leadership organizations including Nike, Volkswagen, Apple, XBOX, Bacardi and Universal Studios. She had a 10-year career at Nike, holding director-level marketing roles, including senior brand director global, women’s training. An inventor on 12 patents filed by Nike, her assignments included Nike+, NikeID and the Nike+ Training Club.
Most recently, Aragones served as chief marketing officer at gaming social media platform Discord—and CMO at photo and video editing app VSCO. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions at agency David & Goliath and Volkswagen Group of America
“Tesa’s formidable creative capital, intellectual curiosity and vast wealth of expertise will be instrumental towards helping our people flourish, while enabling our clients to achieve their aspirations. Her extensive multicultural, multidisciplinary leadership responsibilities at preeminent brands—spanning categories and geographies—provide a unique perspective for our clients, employees and industry to benefit from,” AKQA’s founder and CEO Ajaz Ahmed said in a statement.
Aragones joins AKQA at a time of sustained growth, recognition and notable talent attracted to the agency. Over the last decade, AKQA has more than quadrupled in size. AKQA announced in July that Laura Maness joined as Grey Global CEO. The new agency AKQA Bloom, founded by Fernando Pellizzaro and Jean Zamprogno—creators of Zampa & Zaro—was announced in March and is based in Miami.
As client investment in new technology, digitalization, intuitive experience design and business optimization becomes crucial and continues to grow, AKQA plans to double the number of people working at its studios in the U.S. over the next five years.