Hermeti and Ana Balarin will relocate to London to head up creative at Wieden+Kennedy’s London office, just a year after moving to the agency in Portland.

The Brazilian husband and wife duo, who were partners and chief creative officers at Mother London before leaving for W+K in June 2021, will move back to London at the start of the New Year. They will complete W+K London’s leadership team, joining Ryan Fisher, president; and Dan Hill, chief strategy officer, London and global.

W+K's Interim Chief Creative Officer Susan Hoffman, who moved to London in 2021 while the office searched for its permanent creative leaders, will return to Portland to work with Global Chief Creative Officer Karl Lieberman and Global CEO Neal Arthur. 

Meanwhile W+K Portland has recruited Azsa West, executive creative director of Anomaly Berlin, to join Portland as chief creative officer. West is a former W+K creative who held several leadership roles throughout its network, including its Portland, New York, Shanghai and Tokyo offices. An artist, director and filmmaker, she was featured as one of Ad Age's "Creatives You Need to Know" in 2018.

"As we sought out the next creative leader for Portland, we knew we wanted someone specific: someone from and of this place, someone proud of and committed to the city of Portland, and someone committed to the work, who’s able to keep it simple and focused on ideas over everything," said Karl Lieberman, in a statement. "Azsa West is that person. She started here in WK12 and has worked for Wieden all over the globe. She brings both an international perspective and an extremely local one. She loves this place and has helped build it. We’re excited to have her back.”

W+K also announced today that John “JP” Petty III will take on a new global role for the agency’s social-first creative studio, Bodega. Meanwhile, Portland Managing Director Jess Monsey, who returned to the agency nearly three years ago, has decided to depart the agency at the end of this year. While the agency secures Monsey’s replacement, Global CEO Neal Arthur will serve as interim managing director/president in Portland.  

W+K London has been seeking a new creative chief since the departure of Ian Tait and Tony Davidson in 2021. However, the Balarins' surprise move back to London comes after a tumultuous time at W+K. The duo had created celebrated work for KFC during their time at Mother. W+K had handled the U.S. KFC account for years but lost it after KFC put the account into review in September 2021, eventually hiring Mullen Lowe.

During their time in Portland, the Balarins created campaigns for the mobile game Clash of Clans, EA Sports, HP and Old Spice. They commented in a joint statement: “We had an incredible American adventure and learned Wieden+Kennedy from the source. We are beyond excited to come back home and team up with Ryan and Dan to help build the next era of W+K London.”

W+K's London office has recently created work including Nike’s anthem film for the women’s Euros, Christmas work for Sainsbury’s and TK Maxx and a global relaunch for Malibu. It has also benefited from W+K's win of the global Ford business from BBDO.

"We are hugely excited to welcome Ana and Hermeti to W+K London," Fisher in a statement. "Their creative excellence and passion for transformative work that give brands a place in culture and creates business impact are a huge asset. 

“They also care deeply about people, they are generous and inspiring humans who have a passion for leading with optimism and helping people to find their voice. W+K was founded to use creativity and our influence to change the world and that is what they are all about. 

“The evolution of W+K London is going to be very exciting with these two at the helm.”

The Portland shuffle follows leadership changes in W+K New York, where the agency recently installed new leaders—Anomaly partner and Los Angeles office CEO Jiah Choi; and Scott Dungate, who had most recently served as the top creative at W+K Tokyo.