Amir Kassaei, Chief Creative Officer DDB International – the new Art Directors Club Europe (ADC*E) president

Cristina Blanaru Creativity

Amir Kassaei, Chief Creative Officer DDB, was elected the new president of ADC*E by Art Directors Club Europe. Kassaei is one of the most appreciated Creative Directors at international level and worked along the time for renown brands, among which Mercedes-Benz, smart, Coca-Cola, Allianz, Apple, adidas, Reebok, Nike, Bosch, Volkswagen or  McDonald’s.

He won over 4,000 international awards, among which 60 trophies in Cannes Lions, and recently was ranked among top 3 creative directors in “The Big Won”.

ADC*E  reunites creatives clubs in 21 countries and, contrary of industry’s trends, known a spectacular development during last years. In 2012, the prestigious D&AD returned within Art Directors Club Europa, and the appointment of Amir Kassaei comes as a confirmation of the association’s development.

Kassaei replaces Johannes Newrkla, founder and former president of ADC*E, that successfully managed to keep ADC*E  as a reference name within international advertising industry.

Amir Kassaei said that he already has big plans on Association’s future, as he would like to transform “Champions Club” into a creative force for European creativity and a first development in this way will be to open the association to individual creatives, not only to member clubs.

I wish to gather in ADC*Europe la crème de la crème, no ridicule frontiers, categories or barriers (…) The purpose is to create a creative club for creatives, to offer members a real advantage by representing their interests , but also by offering a platform for experiences exchange

Amir Kassaei

Amir Kassaei was recently named Worldwide Chief Creative Officer DDB and is one of the most appreciated creatives in the world, that likes to say  “impossible is not a fact, is an opinion”.He is convinced that, through passion and courage, world can undergo good changes. When it comes of the industry, he thinks “there was never only about advertising, we are talking about marketing products, companies, relevant services, and one of the instruments we have is advertising”.

Born in Iran and raised in Austria, Kassaei studied in France and established in Germany in 1997. In Germany, at the beginning of his career, he had jobs ranging from Account Manager to Stategic Planner and Art Director or Designer, in agencies such as TBWA, Barci & Partner or Springer & Jacoby. When at  Springer & Jacoby, Amir advanced to Creative Director, than to Executive Creative Director at international level for Mercedes-Benz and Smart accounts.

Starting 2003, Amir Kassaei joined DDB – 1st in DDB GErmany, that he transformed into one of the most successful branch and where he founded Tribal DDB. He was president of ADC Germany and is member of ADC New York , Austria Creative Club and member of D&AD. He also judged competitions in important international advertising festivals.