Leo Burnett London has appointed Carly Avener as Managing Director; she had previously held the role of Managing Partner at BBH.
Avener has been placed in charge of the day-to-day running and operations of the agency, with over 16 years of experience in advertising. She will report to Charlie Rudd and will be working Leo Burnett’s existing clients such as Iceland, McDonald’s, Betfair, and most recently Gulf Oil. Avener will also work alongside the leadership team, Chaka Sobhani (CCO) and Josh Bullmore (CSO).
Her years of experience are not without merit. In 2018, she led Burger King’s brand repositioning and relaunched The Whopper. Her work also includes developing the ground-breaking AR immersive experience called Doorways for Samsung in partnership with Family Guy.
Before saying yes to Leo Burnett London, Avener worked at BBH where she launched and ran the agency’s social media specialism and brand experience output working with clients such as Next, Burberry, Mentos, Burger King, and Samsung.
Prior to that, she also worked at McCann Erickson for accounts like Microsoft, American Airlines, and Co-op accounts.
McDonald’s, Microsoft, and Samsung are all winners of the World Branding Awards.
Charlie Rudd, CEO of Leo Burnett London and Fallon London expressed in a statement his delight that Avener is joining the agency. From experience from working together several years prior, Rudd knows that she’s a “proper superstar.” He believes that her recent experience will ensure the agency gets to ever better work, faster.
Carly Avener added: “It is a really exciting time to be at Leo Burnett right now and I have seen the agency go from strength to strength. Their iconic work is famous across the UK and I cannot wait to get started.”
