2026 Virtual Coaches
Ciro Sarmiento
Chief Creative Officer
First Rodeo
New York
I was born in New York to Colombian parents. With 30 years of experience in both North and South American markets, I've had leadership roles in the U.S. creative industry working for clients such as Procter & Gamble, AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, Frito-Lay, Pernod Ricard, Domino’s, Kimberly Clark, Mattel, Lowe’s, Mars Wrigley, Goya Foods, Nissan, Kellogg’s, Hershey’s, AT&T, 3M, and Unilever.
After 7 years at Ogilvy & Mather, I moved from Colombia to the United States in 2008 to help lead multicultural agencies Latinworks, Leo Burnett Lapiz and Omnicom’s Dieste.
In January of 2021, and after 6 years of serving as CCO in Dieste, I joined global PR firm Weber Shandwick NY as its first Chief Creative Officer, with the focus of restructuring the New York operation, building a stronger creative culture in the earned-first agency model and gaining an award-winning reputation for the network.
In late 2022, I decided to join Saatchi New York to lead the Tide and Downy accounts within Saatchi’s Woven Collaborative.
Today, I am Chief Creative Officer of First Rodeo, an independent agency rooted in creativity, strategy and meaningful partnerships. We are based in New York and Texas.
Today, I am Chief Creative Officer of First Rodeo, an independent agency rooted in creativity, strategy and meaningful partnerships. We are based in New York and Texas.
Fusing my experience working at Ogilvy & Mather in Latin America, with leading multicultural agencies in North America and combining my leadership roles in Public Relations agencies and general market ad agencies such as, Saatchi New York, has given me a defined vision across the communications industry.
Additionally, I have been an international juror and awarded in creative and strategy awards around the world and a keynote speaker at TED Talk, Cannes Lions and Ojo de Iberoamérica among others. I completed the Post-Graduate Senior Management Program in Business Administration of Omnicom University in 2018, at the Harvard Business School in Babson College.
Comments
"Having coached for Creative LIAisons before, I’ve seen the power of mentorship to shape young creatives’ paths. There’s so much talent out there, and we need it to help navigate an industry that’s become too complex. I’m excited to return this year to help the cohort push boundaries, knowing I’ll learn just as much from them as they do from me."