João Coutinho Named ECD for Y&R North America

Y&R announced today the appointment of João Coutinho as North America Executive Creative Director. Coutinho will join Y&R in May and be based in New York, reporting to Y&R North America Chief Creative Officer Leslie Sims. In this new role, Coutinho will work closely with Sims to oversee the creative vision for all key accounts and contribute to new business opportunities across the region.

“João's creative spirit is absolutely infectious. He's been the force behind ideas that have become part of culture and have truly engaged and touched people all over the world. Not only is his list of achievements impressive, he is also one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people you'll ever meet. We are so happy to welcome him on board as we strengthen our creative leadership in North America,” said Sims commenting on the appointment.

Coutinho joins Y&R from Grey New York, where he served as Group Creative Director, working for clients such as Volvo, Canon, Clairol, Bosch, and P&G among others. His work at Grey helped the agency land the title of ‘Most Awarded Agency’ for two years in a row at Cannes. Coutinho was behind the viral campaign ‘Guns with History’ developed for States United to Prevent Gun Violence, a national non-profit organization working to decrease gun death and injury. He was also responsible for the Volvo US ‘Highway Robbery’ campaign, which turned passing cars on a southern California highway into generators.

“The chance to help Leslie shape Y&R North America’s creative culture is the opportunity I’ve worked toward my whole career. When I met Tony, Leslie, Dick and the team, I had an instant chemistry with them. We see things the same way and want to make them happen. I’m excited for what's ahead and what we can do together for our current and future clients,” said Coutinho.

He also served as Creative Lead at Ogilvy Brazil, during which time he helped the agency earn Cannes Lions Agency of the Year in 2013, after winning a Grand Prix and 7 Lions. That same year, he was ranked among the Top 10 Art Directors in the world according to The Cannes Report 2013. Prior to joining Ogilvy Brazil, Coutinho served as Executive Creative Director at Lowe Lisbon and Head of Art at JWT Lisbon.

A Portuguese native, Coutinho has worked in four different countries — Portugal, Spain, Brazil and the United States — across major global and local brands such as Volvo, Canon, Gillette, Audi, Coca Cola, Vodafone, Burger King, Unilever, Philips and more. He has served on the jury for the One Show in Direct Marketing, and his work has been recognized by many of the industry’s leading festivals with coveted accolades from Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, London International Awards, Jay Chiat Strategy Awards, Art Directors Club of New York, Epica, Eurobest, El Ojo de Iberoamerica, El Sol and more.