• by Amy Corr , May 9, 2017

Y&R New York named Joao Coutinho as North America executive creative director. Coutinho will report to Y&R North America chief creative officer Leslie Sims. The pair will work together to oversee the creative vision for key accounts and contribute to new business opportunities.

Coutinho joins the agency from Grey New York, where he served as group creative director, working on Volvo, Canon, Clairol, Bosch, and P&G. He also served as creative lead at Ogilvy Brazil and prior to that served as executive creative director at Lowe Lisbon and head of art at JWT Lisbon.

"Joao's creative spirit is absolutely infectious," said Sims. "He's been the force behind ideas that have become part of culture and have truly engaged and touched people all over the world. Not only is his list of achievements impressive, he is also one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people you'll ever meet. We are so happy to welcome him on board as we strengthen our creative leadership in North America."