Grupo ABC -part of DDB Latina- begins the year under the leadership of Cristiano Muniz, who will replace Guga Valente as head of the Brazilian holding. Valente, one of the founders of the group, joins the board formed by ABC representatives, along with Nizan Guanaes.
With a 7-year track record at ABC, Muniz has actively participated in the group's acquisitions since 2010, and of the sale of Grupo ABC twice: firstly, of a minority stake to Kinea in 2014 and then of 100% of the agency conglomerate to U.S.-based giant Omnicom/DDB in 2015.
As CEO of ABC, the executive faces the challenge of further integrating the holding company into the Omnicom universe — not only in terms of management, technologies, new platforms and business models, but also in terms of the alignment of global accounts. “My role is to lead a conglomerate of creative agencies with local dialogue and international coverage, offering our clients the best of both worlds,” he says.
The 46-year-old returned to ABC as Chief Financial Officer in August 2019, under an ongoing succession process. In recent years, he served as Head of Accenture Interactive for Hispanic South America, based in Buenos Aires, and returned to Brazil as Global Management Director of BRF, where he worked until August.
According to Valente, his successor was a natural choice. “Cristiano is a well-known manager and born leader who has grown within our group and has been crucial at every stage of ABC's expansion and consolidation since 2010. Moreover, he has a relationship of trust and admiration with the leaders of the agencies that are part of Grupo ABC and with Omnicom/DDB,” he says.
“Cristiano leading the Grupo ABC will give us the power of integration we need in Brazil to give even stronger solutions to our clients”, says Juan Carlos Ortiz, CEO of DDB Latina. "No doubt we have a great leadership team in our different offices.”
Guga Valente is passing on to Cristiano Muniz a diverse conglomerate of agencies that includes África, TracyLocke, Interbrand, Track, SunsetDDB, Tribal Worldwide, Morya Sul and CDN. “We worked hard in the last two years. We switched brands, promoted leaders and consolidated as a modern group, with advanced technology and differentiated creative model,” says Valente.
At the end of 2015, ABC agreed to sell its assets to Omnicom/DDB and faced a combination of integration challenges after the sale and an economic downturn. According to Muniz, “2019 was the first year of stability. Now, the expectation is for a very positive 2020 and new achievements.”
ABOUT DDB LATINA GROUP
DDB Latina is the leading communications group in the Latin markets around the world. It develops business solutions for its clients through its companies: DDB, Africa, Alma, Tribal Worldwide, TRACK, and TracyLocke, among others. As a pioneer in the industry, DDB Latina Group united the Latin American, US Multicultural, and Spanish markets with a unique vision inspired by culture, not geography. Its network currently includes more than 30 offices in 20 countries. Its operational model is based on “Triplas,” where strategy, technology, and creativity merge to create innovative ideas that generate business results for the brands that the DDB Latina Group collaborates with, including some of the most recognized in the region and across diverse industries. DDB Latina has been awarded the Most Creative Network of Ibero-America at El Ojo and Crema Ranking in 2017 and at Wave Festival in 2019.
ABOUT DDB
DDB Worldwide (www.ddb.com) is one of the world's largest and leading advertising and marketing networks. DDB has been named Agency of the Year numerous times by the Cannes International Festival of Creativity and the industry's leading advertising publications and awards shows. The Gunn Report has listed DDB as one of the Top 3 Global Networks for 12 of the last 15 years. The agency's clients include McDonald's, Unilever, Mars, Johnson & Johnson, and the U.S. Army, among others.
Founded in 1949, DDB is part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE) and consists of more than 200 offices in over 90 countries with its flagship office in New York, NY.
ABOUT OMNICOM
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE – OMC) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom’s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
