Kimberly-Clark has hired Luiz Sanches as its first chief creative and design officer as it continues to move away from the traditional chief marketing officer model.

The longtime BBDO exec will oversee global creative for all of the consumer packaged goods giant’s brands, including Kleenex, Cottonelle, Scott, Huggies and Poise. The appointment follows Kimberly-Clark consolidating its agency roster among Interpublic Group of Cos., Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe and WPP.

This month, Sanches will begin working alongside Kimberly-Clark Global Chief Growth Officer Patricia Corsi, who was hired in May and led the media and creative review. Corsi worked alongside Sanches while she was chief marketing, digital and information officer of Bayer, a BBDO client. 

Also read: Behind Kleenex’s new brand identity

Instead of a traditional CMO, Kimberly-Clark will lean on so-called “specialists,” such as Corsi and Sanches, to work alongside agency partners, Sanches said. Kimberly-Clark has been moving away from the CMO title since 2022, when then-Chief Marketing and Digital Officer Zena Arnold left the company. Alison Lewis, who retired in May, had overseen marketing as chief growth officer. 

Sanches sees the new model as a way to “redefine the relevance of creative leadership” in an industry that often overlooks the value of creativity.

“We aim to develop a pioneering model at Kimberly-Clark, where creativity is at the heart of everything we do,” Corsi said. 

Sanches has plenty of experience on the agency side, having spent 30 years at Omnicom’s BBDO, mostly leading creative at AlmapBBDO in Brazil. He most recently served as Almap’s chairman, partner and chief creative officer for global clients. Under his leadership, Almap created notable campaigns for clients such as Havaianas, Audi and Volkswagen, winning multiple Agency of the Year honors at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, including Agency of the Decade in 2020.

Sanches has a non-compete agreement with Omnicom that bars him from working for other agencies for two years.

While Sanches didn’t participate in the Kimberly-Clark review and declined to comment on it, he said a key focus moving forward will be adding “emotional value” to the brands.

“Although there will be some metrics in terms of sales and transformation ... but I think there’s also the human element and that’s the thing that everybody’s forgetting to talk about today,” Sanches said.

It’s not usual for a company of Kimberly-Clark’s size to hire a CCO from the agency side to oversee its creative work for its entire portfolio. But Sanches said his agency experience will bring a new perspective to the marketer, while also allowing him to determine what creative work from other agencies makes sense for the brand.

Sanches declined to comment on whether Omnicom’s planned acquisition of IPG impacted his decision to leave Omnicom. 

Marco Giannelli, who Almap named CCO in 2022, will assume Sanches’ duties moving forward.