About

Daniel Ottoni
CCO, Managing Director ard Partner at Zmes

Daniel Ottoni is passionate about ideas, advertising, and the transformation of society through education. He is CCO and partner at Zmes, a hybrid agency and business consultancy that, in just two years, has already generated over BRL 2 billion in impact for its clients.

Previously, Daniel was CCO at TracyLocke Brasil, part of the global DDB network, and served on the creative board of DDB Latina, where he led a creative transformation that resulted in the most awarded period in the agency’s global history.

He then joined the relaunch of the iconic DM9 as Creative Vice President. There, he rebuilt the 60-person creative team, repositioned the agency, and refreshed its identity and campaign strategy. During his tenure, the agency stood out for delivering only real and culturally relevant work, such as The Uniform That Never Existed and Stranger Bunker, while maintaining key accounts and winning 2 Cannes Lions and 8 shortlists. Daniel left DM9 at the end of 2022.

Before that, he was the creative lead at BFerraz, overseeing operations in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. He helped unformat the agency, hired 14 women to diversify the team, and co-created BNetwork, collaborating with Bazinho Ferraz to define its positioning and operating model.

Daniel also served as Creative Director at Africa DDB and Associate Creative Director at R/GA, and held leadership positions at DM9DDB, Neogama BBH, AgênciaClick Isobar, Garage Interactive, and Sinc Digital. Over his career, he has received more than 150 awards, including Cannes Lions, The One Show, D&AD New Blood, El Ojo, London International, Effie, Clio Sports, Fiap, MMA, Wave Festival, Cristal, and has been featured in Lürzer’s Archive and Shots Magazine.

He has judged major international festivals such as Cannes Lions, The One Show, D&AD, Clio Health, Dubai Lynx, El Ojo, NY Festivals, White Square, Effie Brazil, Effie Latam, Creative Club of Brazil, Ampro Globes, Abradi Awards, and São Paulo Columnists. He also represented Brazil on the jury of Ad Stars in South Korea and, in 2008, was invited by Microsoft to join its Artists in Residence Program at its headquarters in Redmond.

Daniel holds a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from ESPM and teaches Art Direction and Award Case Debriefing at Escola Cuca. He has also taught Creative Processes at FAAG’s graduate program and lectured at Oklahoma University, Mackenzie, Cásper Líbero, and PUC Minas, where he earned his degree. For him, teaching is a way to give back to the industry all that he has learned over 25 years of creative leadership.

A curious fact: at the age of 17, Daniel was legally emancipated by his parents to launch his first company with his brother. It was called 3D Cine, the first 3D cinema in Brazil using Disney’s proprietary technology.

Say hi: daniel@danielottoni.com or +55 11 98482.8487 | LinkedIn