hasan & partners Group partners with U.S. start-up TBD

To fuel its international-expansion ambitions and make inroads into the USA, hasan & partners Group has taken a 30% stake in TBD, the new San Francisco-based creative company founded by Rafael Rizuto, Virginia Wang and Jordan Warren.  

TBD will combine business and innovation strategy, creative communications and experience design to tackle brand challenges end-to-end, from consulting to creation.

Ami Hasan, founder and chairman of hasan & partners Group and president of the Art Directors’ Club of Europe, said: “When you meet a superstar team that has experience disrupting the advertising landscape - not just once, but several times before, and is determined to do it again - you jump at the chance to be part of it. 

“TBD is starting where most agencies aspire to be, but are too big or stuck in their ways to get there. They are creating a new model for the future of our industry, and we’re excited to be helping them with that.”  

Eka Ruola, hasan & partners Group CEO and ECD, added: “We have huge international ambitions and have set the creative bar very high in Europe. This is a fantastic opportunity to partner with industry heavyweights and signal our intentions for the USA.

“Some people might think it’s crazy for a Finnish agency to partner with a San Francisco startup, but that’s the way the world is. Through TBD, hasan & partners, Perfect Fools and hasan Communications now has a foothold in the US, to work with existing clients on a larger map.”

TBD founders are seasoned leaders. Highly-decorated creative Rafael Rizuto joins from 180LA where, as ECD, collected 20 Cannes Lions in the past two years and led the agency to be the most awarded in the TBWA global network. 

Strategist Virginia Wang has led future-forward, strategic initiatives for a wide spectrum of industries through extended stretches at IDEO, MTV, Electronic Arts, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and DDB New York.  

Marketeer, entrepreneur and industry veteran, Jordan Warren, founded and built two of the top creative agencies in San Francisco: ARGONAUT and Eleven.

Headquartered in San Francisco, TBD is globally diverse from birth, with a culture that celebrates different talents and points of view. hasan & partners Group adds its Scandinavian expertise and award-winning approach to TBD’s founding team, complementing their experience working in the U.S., South America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.