HISPANIC MARKETING COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

New Member Bios 2022

Luis Miguel Messianu, Founder-Chairman, Alma

Luis Miguel Messianu has played an influential role in the most important developments in the U.S. multicultural market during an advertising career that spans three decades. Born to Romanian parents and raised in Mexico City, he has worked in both the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets. His professional trajectory is defined by a conscious effort to help pioneer the melding of marketing niches into a nuanced and evolving market. His award-winning work for multinationals such as McDonald’s, State Farm Insurance, Clorox, MolsonCoors, Sprint, Pepsi, among others, is a testament to that effort.

An innovator and a mentor, Messianu has been recognized as a Legend Honoree by ADCOLOR, has served as a juror for the Radio Category at the Cannes Lions Advertising festival, and was inducted into the HMC Advertising Hall of Fame, one of the highest recognitions in the multicultural marketing industry. In April 2022, DDB named him Global Chief Creative Officer for the McDonald’s account. Messianu will oversee the creative output of the McDonald’s brand across 46 markets, where the DDB network is responsible for the account. He will split his time between his role as Founder and Chairman of alma and the new global position within DDB for McDonald’s.

 

Steve Mandala, Chief Revenue & Local Media Officer, Estrella Media

As Chief Revenue and Local Media Officer for Estrella Media, Steve Mandala leads Estrella’s network of national and local sales teams, driving growth across the company’s multiple platforms and increasing brand value for each of Estrella’s partners. Previously, Mandala served as President, Ad Sales & Marketing at Univision, where he was pivotal in growing Univision’s valuation before its sale. Before that, he was at NBCUniversal, where he led sales throughout the cable group, and Telemundo where he drove double-digit sales growth. In addition, he played a key leadership role in integrating cable and broadcast channels following Comcast’s acquisition of NBCU. Mandala has been recognized as “Media Executive of the Year” by both CableFax and HispanicAd and is a featured speaker at many industry events, including ANA Multicultural, Advertising Week and HMC.

 

Simon El Hage, Executive Group Account Director, Lopez Negrete Communications

Simon El Hage is an innovative and insightful marketing and advertising executive who is committed to building and growing relationships with key stakeholders, clients and partner organizations. As head of the Brand Leadership team for Lopez Negrete Communications, he provides best-in-class brand strategy and marketing execution for companies including Bank of America, Hyundai, Motiva, Phillips 66, United Airlines, Sazerac and the City of Houston’s Health Department.  Formerly the Chief Strategy Officer for the CrossCultural Marketing Group, El Hage has also provided senior leadership for Casanova McCann and DRAFTFCB, where he worked on with top companies such as Walmart, the U.S. Army and a wide array of global pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Arabic.

 

Marina Filippelli, CEO, Orci

As CEO, Marina Filippelli drives both business strategy and day-to-day operations for multicultural initiatives at Orci, develops engaging, effective campaigns for brands like Honda, Acura, Dole, VCA, Anheuser Busch and Chevron ExtraMile, and helps global organizations build meaningful relationships with diverse targets in the U.S. and Latin American markets.

With roots in Mexico and Argentina, Filippelli has been passionate about communicating with the Latinx community since she launched her career at Orci years ago, ultimately returning after leading the multicultural division of Heat and client management teams at Zubi Advertising and Conexión. She also spent a few years in the film world working on award-winning, multimillion-dollar productions as well as independent and Oscar-winning box-office successes. A current member of the National Advertising Review Board Panel, Filippelli is dedicated to supporting efforts related to diversity, inclusion, education and the arts, volunteering as a mentor and activist with various non-profits in the Los Angeles area, like P.S. Arts.

 

Lisa Torres, President, Multicultural Practice, Publicis Media

As President of Publicis Media’s Multicultural Practice, Cultural Quotient, Lisa Torres has created a more modern, data-centric way to approach the multicultural marketplace, collectively leading over 140 multicultural experts at the largest targeted cultural digital investor in the U.S. Utilizing a research and data-driven approach to help clients better understand their diverse consumer segments, Torres and her team push the marketplace forward with the latest insights, inclusionary marketing strategies and thought leadership. A co-founder of Publicis Media’s Once & For All Coalition, a multi-year, industrywide initiative that aims to remove industry barriers to equitable financial opportunity and representation of underserved and ethnically diverse suppliers, Torres is passionate about talent engagement and inclusion and leads several initiatives across the Publicis Groupe network.

In 2021, Torres was honored with the T. Howard Foundation’s Executive Trailblazer Award and was shortlisted in the Campaign US Power of Purpose awards. She was named a Multichannel News Women to Watch honoree in 2019 and received the Executive Leadership in Hispanic TV and Video award at the 2018 Hispanic TV Summit. She has served on the steering committee for the ARF’s Cultural Effectiveness Council and the ANA AIMM Committee. With more than 25 years of experience, Torres has held positions across agencies including ZenithOptimedia Multicultural, MPG (Havas Media) and Carat (Dentsu).