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Africa Creative announces new leadership structure
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Nicholas Bergantin forms creative leadership duo alongside founder and co-president Sergio Gordilho.
Africa Creative announces a new structure in its creative leadership. At the invitation of founder and co-president Sergio Gordilho, Nicholas Bergantin will now partner with the executive. Together, they will lead the agency’s creative excellence and ambition.
Known in the industry as Nico, the executive brings over 20 years of experience, with previous roles at agencies such as CP+B, Anomaly, Isobar, and Young & Rubicam. He built a solid career at Africa Creative, which he first joined in 2019 as a copywriter. During his first period at the agency, he was promoted to Creative Director before moving to Los Angeles in 2021 to serve as Creative Director at Anomaly. He returned to Africa Creative in 2023 as Executive Creative Director and, in January 2024, stepped into the role of co-Chief Creative Officer (co-CCO).
This transition comes at a strategic moment for Africa Creative, marked by the expansion of its international presence and the consolidation of its US operation. This year, the agency topped the CENP-Meios ranking for the first time in its history and stands as the only Latin American agency in the Top 10 of the WARC Creative 100. This growth is driven by long-standing partnerships with major brands in Brazil such as Brahma, Budweiser, Itaú, and Vivo, along with new account wins including EMS and Kimberly-Clark brands, as well as an expanded scope with clients like MBRF and Ambev.
“For more than two decades, Africa has built a model where creativity and business results go hand in hand. In a landscape of technological transformation and advancing artificial intelligence, we reinforce our positioning by integrating creativity, media, data, content, and technology into solutions capable of driving real impact for our clients. Rather than simply responding to market shifts, we turn creativity into a competitive advantage. Our historic first-place position on the CENP-Meios ranking this year proves the strength of this model,” says Gordilho.
At the agency, Bergantin was already heading creative operations for key divisions including Ambev, BRF, and HPE. In this role, he has led projects for brands such as Brahma, Budweiser, Corona, Michelob Ultra, Sadia, Qualy, Bassi, Claybom, Deline, BRF Pet, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki, while also serving on the leadership team at Baobab, Africa Creative’s New York operation.
Under his leadership, the agency delivered projects of national and international relevance that embody its culture of global creative ambition, execution capability, and focus on results. These include Brahma’s recent World Cup campaign, Tá Liberado Acreditar, which gained strong international traction as the only Brazilian brand alongside global giants; "The Big Drop," Budweiser’s first global World Cup campaign developed by a Brazilian agency; the Auto da Compadecida spin-off for Brahma during the São João festivities; All New Triton Agromonstra, a repositioning for Mitsubishi’s pickup truck in Brazilian agribusiness; Salla 2032, a campaign that turned a fictional Arctic city’s bid for the Summer Olympic Games into a climate crisis alert; and the launch of Bud Live China, Budweiser’s global music platform that moved the brand from fourth to first place in engagement in the country.
“Creativity happens when different backgrounds come together around the same ambition. Nico represents exactly that. He knows Africa’s essence, signed some of our most important work, and reaches this moment after a consistent trajectory inside and outside the agency,” says Gordilho. The primary goal of this move is to flatten hierarchy, making divisions more horizontal and fluid with fewer approval layers, ensuring great ideas remain central while enabling the entire team to work across all agency accounts.
According to Bergantin, “It is a huge honor to share this leadership with Gordilho and help guide such a talented team. We have global ambition, a hunger to make things happen, and one obsession: creating ideas that make a difference for our clients and for culture.”
Angerson Vieira continues in his role as co-CCO, remaining a cornerstone of Africa Creative’s vision, excellence, and ambition. “Angerson is one of the most talented creatives in the country and a fundamental pillar of our history, having led historic work for major long-term clients. He continues as co-CCO, bringing his vision and depth to the team. The difference now is that he gains direct support and partnership in leadership from Nico alongside myself, working integrated to accelerate and further enhance the agency’s creative output,” concludes Gordilho.
