Wunderman Thompson Health Appoints Renata Maia as Global Chief Creative Officer

Patrick Wisnom, global CEO of Wunderman Thompson Health announced today that AREA 23’s Renata Maia has been named global chief creative officer for Wunderman Thompson Health. She will report to Patrick Wisnom and Wunderman Thompson global chief creative officers, Bas Korsten and Daniel Bonner. She will also work closely with Tom Murphy, the recently appointed chief creative officer for Wunderman Thompson North America.

Wunderman Thompson Health combines the power of creativity, data, science, and technology to inspire audiences to change behaviour to improve health outcomes. Its suite of ambitious health and life science brands include Fortune 50 clients such as Pfizer, Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim and many others. The agency boasts one of the most complete health care offerings in the industry, with vast capabilities outpacing most of its competitors. 

“Renata is everything you look for in creative leadership. She’s well known for her strong client relationships and her incredible body of work that has helped transform the world of health,” said Patrick Wisnom. “Her energy is something you can feel the moment you speak to her, and she is a proven builder of strong teams that deliver inspiring work. Together, we will make an even bigger impact on patient outcomes and health equity.” 

Wunderman Thompson Health’s most recent notable work includes 'Smallpox Simulator' for Meridian, maker of a smallpox medication that could be used to mitigate potential outbreaks. The simulator is a data visualisation tool designed to help governments around the world test and prepare for smallpox outbreaks. Its 'We Love you to Health' work for the agency’s Health4Equity initiative pushed for equitable healthcare and a decrease in mortality for Black mothers. Both efforts received honours this year from London International Awards, FiercePharma, MM&M and Epica. This year Wunderman Thompson Health’s team in Brazil won a Bronze Lion at Cannes for their work for Johnson & Johnson to address period poverty, among others. 

The move marks Renata’s homecoming to WPP, where she spent much of her career, at agencies including VMLY&R and Grey. During her 10 years at then Y&R she oversaw 19 countries and led three main Creative Centres of Excellence.

Renata’s goal is to combine life-changing ideas with life-changing products to create brave ideas to help move the industry forward. She is a champion for giving a voice to diversity and generating inclusiveness, to create an environment full of collaboration and creativity.

Renata said, “Imagine that you want to do something great like improve health around the world or bring meaning to science, but suddenly you can dial that up to number 10. Wunderman Thompson Health is a global agency that provides the opportunity to do just that. Global CCOs Bas Korsten and Daniel Bonner are on a super-fast track to move the industry forward, while Patrick Wisnom at our first meeting said, ‘let’s break all the rules so we can make a difference’.”

During Renata’s time as executive vice president, group creative director at AREA 23, the agency earned the coveted 'Agency of the Year' title at the Clio Health Awards. During 2022, she won the Grand LIA in Art Direction in Pharma & Medical Craft and several golds at the London International Awards, a Cannes Lion, six Clios, four MM+M awards, and four Bricks at the Creative Floor among other shows. She has served as a juror at the London International Awards, Clio Health Awards, The New York Festival Global Awards, Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards, Clube de Criação do Paraná jury (Brazil) and many Luerzer’s Archive student and work selection juries.

“We couldn’t be happier that Renata is joining as global CCO of Wunderman Thompson Health. She comes from a strong creative agency and background, has a great reputation as a creative leader and has endless energy. Exactly the leader we need to inspire growth for our clients through elevating the teams around the world and the work. There are so many interesting things happening in the health sector, and Wunderman Thompson Health are seeing a lot of creative momentum, so she couldn’t have joined the network at a better time,” said Bas Korsten and Daniel Bonner, global chief creative officers for Wunderman Thompson.

Renata was part of the 50/50 Initiative from the Art Directors Club whose goal is to bring equal gender representation to the creative industries, specifically in award show juries, speaking engagements and boards of directors. She’ll be surrounded by a powerhouse of female leadership at Wunderman Thompson Health, including Medical Officer, Dania Alarcon, and creative leaders, Tuesday Poliak and Tracy Zuto.

As a Brazilian/American woman with a German brother, one British grandfather, and one Portuguese grandfather, Renata hails from a variety of influences. She believes in breaking barriers and bias, given that human truth resides in the centre of different viewpoints.  

“I believe in a culture of high energy where everyone is passionate about creativity and pushes to make things happen. I will be encouraging collaboration among brilliant minds, from different areas of expertise to create the unimaginable at Wunderman Thompson Health,” she said.