Renato Fernandez has stepped as chief creative officer of Publicis Creative US and Leo Chicago after just 10 months in the roles. Hugo Veiga and Diego Machado are leaving AKQA after 12 years.

Renato Fernandez was named chief creative officer for Publicis Creative in the US in June 2024, a newly created role, Fernandez in which he oversaw creative for the holding company’s US creative agencies – Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Fallon, Team One, BBH and the community.

Previously, he had been chief creative officer at TBWA\Chiat Day for six years reinventing the creative department and joining eight years before as creative director. Before TBWA\Chiat\Day he was senior art director at AlmapBBDO for 11 years, where he helped the agency win back-to-back Agency of the Year titles at The Clio Awards and at The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Hugo Veiga and Diego Machado, became joint chief creative officers at AKQA, with Peter Lund, in 2020, all three promoted from executive creative directors. Veiga and Machado joined AKQA Sao Paulo in 2013 as founding creative directors and became ECDs in 2017.   

Their work for Dove Real Beauty Sketches while at Ogilvy Brazil had earned Latin America’s first Titanium Grand Prix. Time magazine named it the best commercial of 2013. The pair teamed up at Ogilvy, Machado joining from Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Veiga from McCann Erickson and TBWA.

Cover image l-r: Renato Fernandez, Hugo Veiga & Diego Machado