Juan
Juan has built his career challenging the comfort zones of advertising — bringing art, culture, and digital innovation together to make creativity feel alive again.
From San Francisco’s early digital playgrounds to New York’s high-pressure creative floors and Europe’s reawakening creative scene, he’s been the go-to creative director who helps traditional agencies think digital — and digital ones feel human.
A born art director with a restless curiosity for culture, Juan thrives where things collide: ideas with data, craft with algorithms, meaning with mischief.
He’s not chasing the future — he’s having fun shaping it.
At the Dawn of Digital Creativity
2006 – 2010
At the rise of social and digital media, Juan was already designing living, breathing digital experiences.
Projects for Intel, Microsoft, Visa, Disney, Activision and Sony taught him to balance craft and code, and to always leave room for surprise.
Razorfish · San Francisco
Turning Gaming Culture into Brand Stories
2010 – 2012
At FCB, Juan entered gaming’s cinematic universe — working on Star Wars: The Old Republic, Mass Effect, and The Sims for EA Games.
It was storytelling through gameplay — where design, emotion, and interactivity converged.
FCB · San Francisco
The Creative Crossroads
2012 – 2017
At Saatchi, Juan helped legacy giants like P&G and General Mills navigate their leap into the social era — translating decades of brand storytelling into a new, fast-moving language. He co-created Snack Drama Theater for Fiber One — turning real tweets into viral sketches recognized by Adweek.
Saatchi & Saatchi · New York
Huge · New York
At Huge, he discovered the poetry hidden in data — how design could feel emotional even when driven by analytics. He helped prototype real-time experiences for global brands, including an experimental FIFA World Cup tracker that visualized social chatter live during matches.
At Pereira & O’Dell, he found his stride: turning culture into campaigns that blurred the lines between entertainment, technology, and advertising itself. He helped the agency grow new business with culturally driven hits — from Kevin Nealon’s national comedy spots for Spectrum to the Herzog documentary Lo and Behold, premiered at Sundance.
Pereira & O’Dell · New York
Culture Over Convention
2017 – 2025
Havas · Germany
Moving to Europe, Juan helped Havas Germany grow more culturally global and digitally confident.
He mentored teams, bridged silos, and brought Silicon Valley’s maker spirit to a heritage agency — developing EMEA-wide brand expertise that shaped creative work for markets across the region. He helped Havas regain global recognition with 30+ awards after 15 years off the map.
Bringing Humanity to the AI Conversation
As he stepped into the role of Executive Experience Creative Director at Havas Germany, Juan began shaping how creativity and technology could truly coexist.
His leadership style wasn’t about process — it was about provocation.
At ADC Germany, he brought that philosophy to life with “Minds Over Machines,” a live AI-driven simulation of an agency pitch gone wrong — part theater, part industry mirror.
The talk, featured in Muse by Clio and AdForum, redefined what an AI keynote could be and reinforced his mission to make innovation feel human.
Letting AI Take the Mic
At AI on the Rocks conference, Juan let an AI persona called The Futurist share the stage — a playful statement on how imagination still leads innovation.
While focused on results: helping the agency win new business for brands like JBL and UGG, while driving adoption of AI tools that streamlined ideation, prototyping, and creative production and helping win awards with The Big Shake Up Campaign.
His approach turned experimentation into everyday practice — helping teams think faster, collaborate smarter, and deliver ideas with real cultural relevance.
