Rich Stoddart

Rich Stoddart is the CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide. Previously, Rich was CEO of Leo Burnett North America. Under his leadership, Leo Burnett North America driven spectacular growth and the acquisition of new clients and has delivered some of the most effective and talked about campaigns for clients including “Mayhem” for Allstate, “What Will You Gain When You Lose?” for Kellogg’s Special K and “Mean Stinks” for Procter & Gamble’s Secret. As CEO, Rich is recognized for his leadership in the development and integration of shopper, digital, social and mobile capabilities as well as talent acquisition.

Rich is a proven marketing leader who successfully drives growth and innovation. His leadership has helped Leo Burnett consistently win “Best Place to Work” commendations from Advertising Age and The Chicago Tribune. He has helped engineer a new innovation arm for the company –Farmhouse – and has also aligned Leo Burnett and sister marketing services agency Arc, enabling the delivery of seamless, cross-platform solutions.

Rich began his career at Leo Burnett in 1985 working on the Hewlett-Packard account as a media buyer/planner. He then transitioned to account management, quickly rising through the ranks over the next ten years to become account director. He later joined Fallon, a sister Publicis Groupe agency. During his time there, Fallon earned “Agency of the Year” honors from both Adweek and Advertising Age. He then joined Ford Motor Company as manager of marketing communications. He successfully led all of Ford’s agency relationships, CRM, web efforts, and multi-cultural efforts.

Outside the office, Rich lends his time and talents to the boards of The Off the Street Club,Carbon Media Group, and Hasbro. In 2013, he was honored as the American AdvertisingFederation Multicultural Career Achiever Award recipient. He recently finished a two-year term as Chairman of the American Advertising Federation.