Global independent creative network GUT has appointed Pedro Porto, the former director of Twitter Next Latin America, to the newly created role of chief content officer. He will be based in Miami and will report to Andrea Diquez, global CEO at GUT.
Porto’s key responsibilities in his new role include helping clients identify opportunities to create content that makes them more relevant to audiences and building impactful brand experiences driven by brave and creative approaches. His work will focus on the U.S. and Canada. Porto will also head GUT’s content department, alongside chief data intelligence officer Christian Pierre, which was launched last year and leads social and content communications on agency clients’ owned channels, allowing them to react with content at the speed of culture.
The news of Porto’s appointment comes on the heels of GUT’s five-year anniversary, the recent opening of its new Amsterdam office (the network’s first in Europe), the appointment of Diquez as GUT’s first global CEO and the promotion of Ricardo Casal and Juan Javier Peña Plaza to NA CCOs–all within the last year.
An accomplished executive with 24 years of experience in the advertising and digital marketing industry, Porto has operated out of the U.S., Brazil and Singapore, and engaged teams and clients across markets in Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, including Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, China, India, Australia and more. As director of Twitter Next Latin America, he led teams of strategists, creatives, marketers, content specialists, managers and developers to help brands like Apple, Amazon, and Disney–as well as agencies–craft innovative ideas and rapid-response solutions. A content pro with a proven record of gathering intimate knowledge of multicultural audiences, Porto was instrumental in building localized and global practices for brand success before, during, and after two Olympic Games and two World Cups, while establishing Latin America as a creative powerhouse, developing services and technologies that were exported worldwide.
“I’ve spent 10 years working at a social media platform that is considered the pulse of the world, and from that, I’ve learned what people expect from brands and how I can help deliver on those expectations,” said Porto. “I love bringing fresh perspectives to the table, and having the chance to be a part of the agency that’s redefining communications.”
Prior to Twitter, Porto served as convergence VP at Fischer & Friends, where he led the digital integration between online and offline teams in the areas of creative, planning, media and operations. He has also held key roles as interactive director at NBS and Santa Clara, among others. His ever-growing expertise as a digital pioneer also traces back to his founding of two interactive agencies in the early 2000s.
Porto has spoken at several events across the U.S., Latin America and beyond, including in Tokyo, Singapore, Mumbai and New Delhi, and at IAB Connect and Ogilvy Talks. He has served on the jury of The Festival of Media Latam–Miami, the Effie Awards, the Wave Festival and CCSP in Brazil. In Miami, he is also a volunteer advisor for The Underline, a 10-mile urban park, trail and art destination being built under Miami’s Metrorail.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More