VMLY&R hires Fred Saldanha
Saldanha joins as Global Chief Creative Officer for Colgate-Palmolive work.
New York's VMLY&R has announced the appointment of Fred Saldanha to lead creative for Colgate-Palmolive.
Saldanha will report to Debbi Vandeven, global chief creative officer for VMLY&R and work closely with Carl Hartman, chief executive officer of Red Fuse Communications on all Colgate-Palmolive work.
In his new role, Saldanha will drive the development of creative work globally for Colgate-Palmolive, a long-standing client partner of WPP. He will join the global creative council for VMLY&R and will be involved in additional key network initiatives. He joins VMLY&R from Arnold Worldwide, where he helped the agency achieve its best results at Cannes in the last 15 years.
“Fred brings global insights and proven creative leadership to our Colgate-Palmolive business,” Vandeven said. “He has deep expertise in running integrated campaigns for clients spanning worldwide markets, and we are so excited for him to bring his bold and compelling creative thinking to our client roster.”
Saldanha’s global perspective comes from nearly 30 years of experience working in markets such as Lisbon, London, São Paulo, New York and Boston. He has spent time at agencies like Y&R, DDB, FCB, Grey, Wieden+Kennedy, Ogilvy and Isobar, where he served as CCO for the Americas.
“I love it when a group as relevant as this one, managing so many global brands, operates with an entrepreneurial attitude,” Saldanha said. “Always hungry, fearless, never taking anything for granted, and constantly looking for a less expected way to connect people with brands. This has always been my creative approach, so the spark between us was immediate.”
Saldanha has spent the last five years between Brooklyn and Boston, working for clients such as Google, Anheuser-Busch InBev, FCA, Carl’s Jr. and Barclays. He was behind the first Super Bowl spot for Huge, which led to Quicken Loans’ best sales day ever.
Over a celebrated creative career, Saldanha has collected more than 40 Cannes Lions for brands such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, Motorola, Forbes, Hellmann’s, Monster.com, and Fiat, and numerous other awards, including from D&AD, One Show, Webby, LIA, and Clio.
