DAVID’s Global Influence Grows with Two Key Hires

DAVID, the 50-person, year-old division of Ogilvy & Mather headquartered in São Paulo and Buenos Aires, is ramping up its global expansion plans with the additions of Head of Global Production Veronica Beach and Head of Planning Nazia Du Bois. The pair makes a natural fit for the agency, with its humorous bent and total dedication to brands and personalized service – characteristics that evoke the philosophy of agency founder David Ogilvy.

“We truly believe that this is going to be the decade of Latin America, and not just because the Economist says so, but because we feel it every day in our guts,” stated DAVID Founder Anselmo Ramos. “In our experience, global clients are really open to Latin American talent and the chaotic, freewheeling creativity and boundary-bending passion that define us. As the world continues to acknowledge the idea of Latin America, we want to bring on the best possible talent to show what we’re capable of, and that’s where Veronica and Nazia come in.”

Du Bois, a Bangladeshi who grew up in Saudi Arabia and relocated to São Paulo from London to accept her new position, first met DAVID Founders Anselmo Ramos, Gaston Bigio, and Fernando Musa when they were put together in Mexico City to work on a global Coca-Cola brief that has since become the lauded Crazy for Good campaign.

“I thought they were nuts, but as we started to work together, a kind of magic was born,” she explained. “Fast forward two years, and I didn’t even need to think about it when they asked me to join them on this crazy ride to set up DAVID. It felt completely right and inevitable. I have a very strong belief in the simultaneous power and responsibility that brands have today to take a stand in culture and positively impact the lives of their consumers. I think that Latin America in general and DAVID in particular has something really unique to offer in this area. We’re just at the beginning of an incredible journey.”

Beach, who comes to DAVID from New York, is pursuing the incredible energy pulsating from Brazil as it prepares for the dual global stages of the Olympics and the World Cup. Her goal is to fuse the creative blender of Latin America with the methodical, time-tested production frameworks that have been perfected in the United States.

“I have been freelance most of my career, so it took some really dynamic individuals doing something special and different to get me to commit to one shop,” Beach said. “There is an incredible energy here, and a typical day for me is never straightforward and always new. One minute I’m working on talent rules in Argentina with an email half written in Spanish, the next minute I’m watching director reels in Portuguese, and then I go right to working with our US clients reading an AICP budget. It’s super fulfilling.”

Beach and Du Bois join at what DAVID believes is a pivotal time for the emerging power of Latin America to shape global advertising, a proposition that DAVID is affirming by compiling an international portfolio that includes global brands Coca-Cola, Burger King, Sony, Powerade, Staples, Fuze and Jaguar. The agency has set its sights far beyond regional dominance with plans to establish a US office in the near future. As DAVID prepares for the next phase of its growth, its newest additions are sure to boost the company’s already-proven ability to create the instantaneous consumer bonds that are central to effective advertising.