Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Announces New Leadership Team
Wieden+Kennedy’s Amsterdam office has a new leadership team, made up of agency veterans and alumni coming back to the agency. Luiza Prata Carvalho will lead the Amsterdam office as president, Nick Docherty as chief strategy officer, and Susan Hoffman as chief creative officer.
Luiza Prata Carvalho returns to W+K after being at DAVID for 3.5 years, first in Miami, as head of account management, and then as managing director in New York after opening the agency’s first office outside of Miami in the United States. While at DAVID, Luiza was head of account-management in Miami before opening the New York office, where she led the charge on work for brands including; Powerade, Jack & Coke, Stella Artois, Call of Duty Endowment, Burger King, Nike, Dove, Supercell & CLIF Bar.
Luiza first worked at W+K in Portland, as a brand director on the Nike and Uber accounts, and was part of the team responsible for iconic campaigns such as “Dream Crazy” and “Dream Crazier”. She’s lived and worked across the world, in São Paulo, Paris, Portland, Miami, and New York, on global brands including Dove and Hellmann’s.
"My greatest passion is creating culturally impactful work that transforms businesses, and that’s what Wieden+Kennedy does best. W+K taught me to empower individuals and brands to embrace authenticity, voice their beliefs, and champion unique perspectives - I can’t wait to get back in and do this with the team in Amsterdam,” said Luiza Prata Carvalho.
Luiza replaces former president Blake Harrop, who after 14 years at the agency recently moved to Louis Vuitton as executive vice president of image and communications.
“We're always trying to find people who have an ownership mentality - who don't just work here but feel responsible for making every aspect of it better, and they have that same mindset toward the clients we partner with. Luiza has that. Few people are as personally invested and passionate about what we do as she is. We're thrilled to have her back and in this role.” said Neal Arthur, global CEO.
Nick Docherty rejoined W+K Amsterdam in February 2024 as chief strategy officer, where he brings global experience having lived and worked in the UK, US and France previously, and will focus on leading culturally impactful work to drive business success for clients.
Nick is also a boomerang to the agency, having previously worked in both the Amsterdam and New York offices between 2011-2018, leading strategy for multiple award-winning global platforms including Corona and Bud Light, among other brands. After a few years as global head of strategy at BETC Paris/London, in 2021 he founded his own company, Untapped Strategy, an independent strategy consultancy, where he led cultural and commercially impactful work for brands including Nike, Sky, O2 and the United Ukrainian Ballet.
Recent new business wins for W+K Amsterdam include global accounts for Hennessy and Corona (both led out of Amsterdam), as well as new business for the region from GE Vernova and Zalando.
Notable recent work includes “Made for More” for Hennessy building on the brand's legacy for a new generation, “What if you can?” Nike’s first campaign for Saudi Arabia, and “Watch Where We’re Going” which recognizes the resilience and determination of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. As part of Nike’s "Winning Isn't For Everyone" campaign/brand platform created by global W+K offices (led out of Portland) for the 2024 Olympics - W+K Amsterdam contributed three athlete specific films, and “Winning is Winning” which is the campaign’s extension for the 2024 Paralympics. Launched on August 26, the campaign’s message — like every other athlete at the Games, Paralympians are obsessed with winning.
The 42 year-old global independent agency is focused on continuously evolving the capabilities and talent needed to be a holistic partner to brands. The result can be seen in recent work for Nike, McDonald’s, Ford, DoorDash (to name a few)—all examples of brands with cultural relevance in a world where attention is scarce.
Rounding out the leadership team is Susan Hoffman, CCO, who first opened W+K Amsterdam in 1992. Susan’s body of work is legendary (she was honoured as the Cannes 2023 Lion of St. Mark), as is her creative leadership and mentorship, leading and cultivating the best creative departments in the business. Mark Bernath and Eric Quennoy, previous CCO’s at W+K Amsterdam, left the agency in 2023 after 17 years.
Susan Hoffman CCO, commented, “Our mantra in the Amsterdam office is "gedogen," a Dutch term that loosely translates to "illegal but not illegal." This provocative mindset fuels our drive to create bold work that makes a real impact for our clients.”
Other notable new and familiar faces at W+K Amsterdam include Alex Thursby-Pelham, moving from W+K London into the role of design director; Paula Atwell as director of talent, who returns to the agency 16 years after her first tenure. And transferring from W+K New York, Cheryl Warbrook joins as head of production, having started her career at W+K Amsterdam in 2001.
Over the past year, Wieden+Kennedy's presence in Europe has grown significantly with new offerings, clients, and work. Alongside Amsterdam's momentum, W+K London has added multiple new brands to its roster and launched culturally relevant work through three key offerings: NOT W+K (design and branding studio), Bodega (social-first creative studio), and WRACK (creative production studio). The agency's ideas have spanned globally, connecting with audiences across North America, EMEA, and APAC. Notable work includes Heinz's "Every Sauce," Nike's "Awaken Your Madness," Kahlua's "Feliz St. Patrick's Day," Ford's #BSLCovers, and Amazon's "It's on Prime" platform, which has expanded into more than 12 markets. Most recently, W+K London announced the promotions of Anjali Patel to head of communications strategy and Lucy Murray to head of growth.
