BBH New York has expanded its creative department with the hiring of group creative directors Kasia Canning and Estefanio Holtz. Canning joins from 72andSunny while Holtz comes over from McCann New York.
Prior to joining BBH New York, Canning ran Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s and Grubhub as creative director at 72andSunny, Little Caesars and Bob’s Discount Furniture at Barton F. Graf, and led the rebrand of MassMutual at Johannes Leonardo. Before that, she spent two years in Amsterdam where she won two Cannes Grand Prix for ING’s “The Next Rembrandt.” She also spent time at TBWAChiatDay and Translation. Canning was named most awarded female creative in Cannes 2016.
Holtz began his career in his native Brazil, before emigrating to the U.S. in 2015, where he worked as creative director at Pereira O’Dell San Francisco and New York, before becoming a VP, creative director at McCann New York. Holtz has worked with brands including Mini BMW, Chick-fil-A, Microsoft and Fifth Third Bank. His work has been honored with numerous awards from such competitions as Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show and Clio Awards, among others.
The hiring of Canning and Holtz follows recent solidification of the BBH NY leadership team, which includes president Amani Duncan, chief creative officer Rafael Rizuto, and chief strategy officer Tom Callard.
“Kasia is an amazing writer; she’s the brains behind one of my most favorite ideas of all time: the double Cannes Grand Prix winner, ING Bank’s 'The Next Rembrandt,'” said Rizuto. “She’s also the author of one of my favorite Instagram accounts, Sandwich Monsters.”
Rizuto continued, “Estefanio is, in my opinion, one of the best art directors in the world. Period. His craft is out of this world. When he’s not doing great work for clients, he’s working on his side projects like ‘High Art The definitive guide to getting cultured with Cannabis.’ He directs music videos, too.”
Canning shared, “Seeing what Rafa, Amani, and Tom have been able to do at BBH in such a short amount of time made this one of those rare opportunities. Coming to BBH was the easiest decision ever.”
Holtz said, “We always dream of working with the best and most famous brands in the world, so imagine getting the opportunity to make it happen with the clients and the agency—simultaneously. It’s BBH. It’s an honor. It’s a very special moment and it’s about people you’re proud to work with. I couldn’t be more thankful to Rafa, Amani, Tom and everyone at BBH New York for letting me be part of such an amazing journey and, finally, call myself as an authentic black sheep.”
