DDB Worldwide has promoted Ari Weiss to the role of Chief Creative Officer of DDB Worldwide, expanding his remit to include creative responsibilities of the global network. His first hire in the new role names Britt Nolan as his successor and Chief Creative Officer for DDB North America. Britt Nolan most recently served as co-President and Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett U.S.

“As a global agency network that bears Bill Bernbach’s name and believes that creativity is the most powerful force in business, it’s critical to have leaders who constantly champion, provoke and expand creativity in all of its forms, potential and impact,” said Wendy Clark, Chief Executive Officer, DDB Worldwide. “Ari’s career is best characterized as doing just that. Under his creative leadership the last two years, our North America region has seen a resurgence in business-impacting, award-winning work and high-caliber creative recruiting. I couldn’t be more excited to work together again on a global scale.”

Weiss joined DDB in 2016, nearly a year after Clark was appointed North America CEO of the Omnicom network. As part of the resurgence, Weiss has led the region to a total of 38 Lions and is perhaps best known for campaigns like “The Flip” for McDonald’s, where the iconic “M” arches were flipped to a “W” for International Women’s Day; and “Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical” for Mars Wrigley Confectionery. The one-night-only show premiered on Broadway during Super Bowl Sunday in place of a TV ad during the game.

These campaigns helped secure DDB Worldwide as the No. 2 Most Creative Network of the Year at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and the No. 1 Most Creative Network of the Year at One Show and D&AD for 2019.

Nolan will take over responsibilities for DDB North America’s creative leadership as the region’s new Chief Creative Officer following Weiss. He joins from Leo Burnett, where he spent 10 years, most recently as co-President and Chief Creative Officer of the Chicago office. While there, Nolan oversaw work that won more than 50 Cannes Lion awards and many more across international shows, including the Effies, the One Show and the Clios.

Nolan is perhaps best known most recently for his award-winning campaigns like “Legal-ade” for Kraft, which established protections and a legal defense fund for children running lemonade stands in the U.S.; “Ostrich” for Samsung, as part of the brand’s #DoWhatYouCant campaign highlighting the VR technology of the Samsung S8 and S8+; and “Van Gogh Bnb” for the Art Institute of Chicago, which allowed visitors to spend a night in an interactive replica of the artist’s 1888 painting Bedroom at Arles via Airbnb, and which later went on to win the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix at Cannes in 2017.

“Jealousy is a powerful motivator in the creative community, and Britt Nolan has been making me jealous for many, many years,” said Ari Weiss, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Worldwide. “I’m confident not only in his ability to keep raising the bar higher in North America, but also in his ability to partner with me and our leaders across the region to continue finding the best ways to provide our clients best-in-class creative output.”