2024 Creative LIAisons Coaches
Tesa Aragones
President, North AmericaAKQA
San Francisco
Tesa Aragones is the President of AKQA North America. She has more than 25 years of brand leadership experience and a proven track record for cultural contribution and celebrated innovation with organizations including Nike, Volkswagen, Apple, Xbox, Bacardi and Universal Studios.
Tesa had a ten-year career at Nike, holding director-level marketing roles, including Senior Brand Director Global, Women’s Training. An inventor on 12 patents filed by Nike, Tesa’s assignments included Nike+, NikeID and the Nike+ Training Club.
A champion for diversity, equity and inclusion, Tesa is an accomplished team builder, guiding many new-generation companies through pivotal periods of creativity, collaboration and significant growth. Most recently, Tesa served as Chief Marketing Officer at the most prominent gaming social media platform Discord, and CMO at the premium photo and video editing app VSCO. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions at agency David & Goliath and automotive leader Volkswagen Group of America.
In addition to her responsibilities as President, North America at AKQA, she is a Board Member of Polaroid and an Advisor, Adjunct Speaker at Stanford Community College, part of the Stanford Design School designed for and by brown and black community members.
A champion for diversity, equity and inclusion, Tesa is an accomplished team builder, guiding many new-generation companies through pivotal periods of creativity, collaboration and significant growth. Most recently, Tesa served as Chief Marketing Officer at the most prominent gaming social media platform Discord, and CMO at the premium photo and video editing app VSCO. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions at agency David & Goliath and automotive leader Volkswagen Group of America.
In addition to her responsibilities as President, North America at AKQA, she is a Board Member of Polaroid and an Advisor, Adjunct Speaker at Stanford Community College, part of the Stanford Design School designed for and by brown and black community members.
She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Cranbrook Academy of Art and an Advisor, Adjunct Instructor and Speaker at the College for Creative Studies. A recipient of Ad Age 40 Marketers Under 40 award, Tesa has won over 40 international awards, including Cannes Lions, Grand Clios, The One Show, Webby and Effies. Tesa is a contributing writer for Adweek and has been awarded Ad Age’s Top 40 Marketers Under 40, Adweek CMO, and Business Insider CMO. Tesa was an honoree for AdColor’s Beacon Award in November of 2023, and featured on the A100 list in 2023.