AD Agencies
Dentsu Creative announces global leadership roles
Mumbai: Dentsu Creative has announced the key members of its global leadership team. Andrea Terrassa has been named global chief operating officer; Iván Czwan Altobelli, global chief people officer; Julie Scelzo, global clients chief creative officer and Jon Dupuis is global clients president.
Together they are tasked with building and sustaining a culture of creativity, through operational excellence, attracting and retaining world-class talent and ensuring seamless collaboration, to ensure that clients achieve the full potential of modern creativity, Dentsu Creative’s expanded capabilities and bold ambition.
Dentsu International chief creative officer Fred Levron commented, “We are on a journey to design the creative network of the future. Terrassa is without doubt one of the best when it comes to engineering modern structures and processes, while Altobelli is top in the game to onboard the best next generation of talent. In Scelzo and Dupuis we have a unique driving force, who together will deliver the most compelling offer to meet the needs of, and attract more, global clients. They say, “If you don’t like change you will not like irrelevance”, and we are building for change.”
Terrassa has acted as chief operating officer of Dentsu Creative Americas since 2021, where she was instrumental in the organizational and transformation efforts of moving from 11 agency brands to three, and joined dentsu International in 2018 as chief operating officer for 360i. Andrea will work closely with the Global Operations teams across all areas of the business, including media and CXM, led by dentsu International’s global chief operating officer, Nnenna Ilomechina, to help achieve the business’ ambition of offering Horizontal Creativity to clients and being the world’s most integrated creative network.
Terrassa said, “The potential that can be achieved through harnessing the depth and breadth of our capacities, and the incredible talent at Dentsu Creative is immense. Pivotal to achieving this, and more, will be best-in-class operations, and I couldn’t be more excited to provide this to our people and clients. Every day I am impressed by the dynamism and smarts of our incredible community and am so happy to be part of Dentsu Creative’s ambitious journey.”
As global chief people officer for Dentsu Creative, Altobelli will oversee all human resource functions, including an ambitious talent acquisition strategy. He joined dentsu International in 2021 from Accenture Interactive, where he played a key role in delivering its creative and digital agency integration for agencies including Karmarama, Rothco, Droga5, Creative Drive, MXM and PacificLink. Working with Levron, the two have been a driving force behind recent high-profile global hires at Dentsu Creative including Chicago’s chief creative officer, Pedro Perez and Italy’s chief creative officer, Riccardo Fregoso.
Altobelli added, “An agency is nothing without its Talent and I am incredibly proud to be leading the People team here, where attracting, nurturing and championing the best Talent is such a priority across the leadership team. From supporting new joiners, to setting our leaders up for success, we are holding ourselves up to high standards at Dentsu Creative and have big ambitions in motion for our people, business, and culture.”
In her new role, Scelzo will ensure creative excellence for global clients focusing on delivering modern creative ideas that create culture, change society and invent the future. Since 2018 Scelzo has served as global executive creative director for DentsuMB’s American Express business. Before that, Scelzo spent several years as a creative director at Leo Burnett, FCB and Meta. Prior to joining Dentsu, she was the executive creative director of Pandora Music. Using this experience, Julie will look to offer enhanced content marketing, entertainment and IP creative strategies, as well as ensure creativity delivers horizontally for the client, from content to commerce, media to CXM.
Scelzo said, “Since we launched Dentsu Creative in June the energy to live up to our promise to the industry has been amazing. I am so proud to be in the position to set the bar for creative excellence across the network, lead our talented teams, and help our global clients transform their brands and business through the power of modern creativity.”
Dupuis will work with Dentsu Creative’s leadership teams globally to ensure that clients are provided with powerful integrated solutions to achieve bold new executions that connect with the largest possible audience in contextually relevant ways. The key to this will be using data and technology to connect the right global talent around the right global client briefs and build teams that reflect the modern world. Dupuis has been with dentsu since 2017, when he joined as Global managing director for dentsuMB and was promoted to global president and CEO in 2019.
Dupuis said, “While creativity that delivers business impact sits at the heart of our business, a focus on providing clients with a seamless experience globally is the engine at Dentsu Creative. It is with great pleasure that I take on this role and partner with Scelzo to provide success and satisfaction for our global clients.”
AD Agencies
Goafest 2026 set for 20–22 May in Goa
South Asia’s marquee advertising festival returns with ABBY Awards powered by One Show and promises bigger conversations on creativity and innovation
GOA: The advertising industry’s annual pilgrimage is locked in. The 19th edition of Goafest will take place in Goa from 20 to 22 May 2026, bringing together the biggest names in advertising, media and marketing for three days of ideas, networking and celebration.
Announced jointly by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club (TAC), the festival will once again host the ABBY Awards powered by One Show 2026 — widely regarded as the region’s most coveted creative honours — recognising outstanding work across advertising and media.
Launched in 2006, Goafest has evolved into the industry’s marquee gathering, drawing more than 2,000 professionals each year. Beyond the awards, the event has become a forum for big debates, future-facing ideas and the occasional industry soul-searching.
Srinivasan K Swamy, president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India, said the festival remains a crucible for industry thought and collaboration. “Goafest has always been a melting pot of ideas, creativity and camaraderie. We aim to spark new conversations, fresh perspectives and fuel the future of advertising and marketing. It is an occasion for the industry to come together, celebrate excellence and engage in meaningful conversations about the future of our craft.”
Dheeraj Sinha, president of The Advertising Club, underlined the legacy of the ABBY Awards, now in their 57th year. “Goafest has always been synonymous with creativity, collaboration and industry excellence. The ABBY Awards powered by One Club continue to push boundaries and set new creative benchmarks year after year. In its 57th year, the awards continue to raise the bar, and this year’s edition will be even more inspiring, bringing together the brightest minds in the industry.”
For organisers, the festival has grown beyond a calendar event. Jaideep Gandhi, vice president of AAAI and chairman of the Goafest 2026 organising committee and founder of Another Idea, said the property has become a legacy for the industry. “In its 19th year, Goafest is no longer just an event — it is a legacy we are privileged to carry forward. It is a unifying force that brings together the various industry associations across advertising and marketing under one roof. I am deeply grateful to the stalwarts who envisioned this remarkable property, and it is heartening that some of them continue to be actively involved in its journey.”
The organisers promise that the upcoming edition will dial things up a notch. Mohit Joshi, co-chair of the Goafest 2026 organising committee and chief executive officer of Havas Media India, said the festival is gearing up for a bigger, more immersive format. “Over the past 18 editions, Goafest has evolved into a premier platform that celebrates creativity, innovation and the dynamic transformation of our industry. This year Goafest will be more impactful than ever. It will introduce new formats, immersive engagements and high-calibre discussions that have never been done before.”
“With a larger scale, an inspiring line-up of speakers and a focus on cutting-edge ideas,” Joshi added, “Goafest 2026 is set to redefine the way our industry comes together to learn, collaborate and celebrate.”
Co-hosted by the Advertising Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club, the festival continues to position itself as South Asia’s premier advertising gathering — where ideas collide, creativity gets crowned and the industry takes a long, hard look at where it is headed next.
