• by Fern Siegel , December 1, 2023

DDB Worldwide has selected Chaka Sobhani as president, chief creative officer, international. She exits Leo Burnett Worldwide to join the DDB global network.

Sobhani is based in London and will report to DDB Worldwide’s global CEO Alex Lubar.

During her tenure, Leo Burnett London was named Agency of the Year in 2022 and Leo Burnett Worldwide received its most awards in five years. Lauded campaigns included “Raise your Arches” and “Lights On” for McDonalds, “The Missing Chapter” for P&G and “One House” for Suncorp.”

Prior to Burnett, Sobhani worked at Mother, running key global accounts such as McDonalds, Coca Cola, Google, Kelloggs and Samsung.

Sobhani also spent more than 10 years as a filmmaker and TV creative executive. She set up ITV’s first in-house creative agency.

Lubar called her “a true leader. Her energy is infectious, her drive is relentless, and her dedication to delivering outstanding creative product for her clients is unquestionable.” He added that Sobhani will “raise the bar on our world-class creative product for clients.”

A multiple award winner, Sobhani sits on the external affairs committee for the Design Museum, as well as on the board of D&AD, The One Show, the British Arrows and Creative Circle.

DDB Worldwide includes DDB-branded agencies, along with adam&eveDDB (London, Berlin, New York), DM9 and Africa (both in Brazil), alma (Miami), Mango, Track and Rodgers Townsend. The network's clients include Mars, Molson Coors, Volkswagen, Reynolds Consumer Products, Peloton and JetBlue.