BBH USA has hired Jane Cronk and Ricardo Franco as the agency’s executive creative directors.
Cronk and Franco will serve through BBH United Statesof the agency’s client portfolio, with Franco focusing on the agency’s global Samsung team. Based in New York, Cronk and Franco joined the agency in early November and will report to creative director Erica Roberts.
Additionally, creative partners Peter Defries and Alan Wilson will be elevated to executive creative directors of SVP, group creative directors. Since joining BBH USA in 2023, Defries and Wilson have overseen the creation of PSOne, Publicis Groupe’s Power of One solution for The JM Smucker Co.
Defries and Wilson have been named among D&AD’s Top 20 Executive Creative Directors and have won more than 30 awards for the JM Smucker Co. portfolio, including a Golden Lion at Cannes.
These strategic hires and promotions are intended to enhance BBH USA’s roster of creative leaders to serve clients including PayPal, Samsung, Milk-Bone and Jif.
“Inspirational, prolific ECDs who are willing to roll up their sleeves, elevate their work, and champion other ambitious creatives are a rare breed,” Roberts said in a statement. “I look forward to having Jane, Ricardo, Pete and Al, as well as Estefanio Holtz leading the next chapter of BBH, further accelerating our incredible creative momentum.”
Cronk joins us from Anomaly, where she was the group’s creative director. Working at creative agencies 72andSunny, Young & Rubicam and in the community, she gained global experience collaborating with brands such as LG, Sonos, Google, Chipotle, New York Life and Converse, where she won her first Cannes Lions. Additionally, she has received awards from The One Show, The Clios, D&AD and The Webbies.
“I have long admired BBH’s black sheep philosophy, its spirit of innovation and its dedication to making things happen by zagging when others zig,” Cronk said in a statement. “This is an incredible opportunity to collaborate with people I deeply respect and drive results for iconic clients.”
Originally from Brazil, Franco was previously creative director of the David Madrid Group. During his career, he was ranked fifth in the global creative rankings as the world’s most awarded editor and as the world’s most awarded creative director by the Cannes Lions Creativity Report. His work with notable brands including Coca-Cola, Netflix, Burger King, Kraft Heinz, Budweiser and Samsung has earned him gold medals at Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, LIA and ADC.
“At a time when people are paying to avoid ads, BBH’s philosophy of ‘zagging when the world zigs’ has never been more relevant,” Franco said in a statement. Add to that an incredibly talented team in all departments, and BBH is the perfect place to be.
Earlier this year, BBH USA named Steven Panariello as general manager.
