Chaka Sobhani has been promoted to global chief creative officer of Leo Burnett.
Representing Leo Burnett on a global stage, Sobhani will be responsible for evolving the Publicis Groupe network’s creative standards, as well as recruiting and growing the next generation of creative talent, with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
She replaces Liz Taylor, who is leaving the agency two years after joining from FCB.
Sobhani kicked off her creative career as a comedy and performance writer, previously working at Fox before setting up ITV’s first in-house creative agency, ITV Creative.
She joined Mother in 2013, where she spent three years, before becoming Leo Burnett London’s chief creative officer.
“I've been very lucky and I genuinely feel really grateful.” Sobhani told Campaign.
“I went from a decade in broadcast, interned at Mother and started getting my head around advertising, but I would never have thought 20 years ago that I was gonna end up in a global role."
Sobhani said that Leo’s London offices have continued to “go from strength to strength”, winning new work, including TUI, Premier Inn and Vision Express, and creating “ideas that truly connect with people across the nation and genuinely make them feel something”.
Sobhani continued: “I've worked with really amazing people who I've learned so much stuff from, and I want to be in a place with really good human beings who share the same human values as me – people who want to take their jobs very seriously but don't take themselves so seriously, and build a culture and a place where people genuinely look forward to coming into work.
"I feel part of something, I feel very lucky."
Campaign named Sobhani as one of the UK’s top creatives of last year and she is set to be a jury member for 2021’s Cannes Lions.
Andrew Swinand, chief executive of Leo Burnett USA, added: “I am very proud and excited that Chaka will be taking on the role of global CCO for our network.
"Chaka puts the ‘human’ in HumanKind – you can feel it in every part of her work and her tireless dedication to championing and including diverse voices and people in our industry."
Swinand continued: “Chaka’s pride in our brand is immense, as is her passion for breakthrough creative and enduring client relationships.
“She’s a cultural titan in every sense and a 'Burnetter' through and through.”
Last month, Emily Marr – Sobhani’s former workmate at Mother – returned to Leo’s after 14 years in the newly created role of chief production officer.
