Friday, December 19, 2025

BBDO International CEO: The biggest risks are the ones not taken

In today’s CEO Daily: Dani Richa, chairman and group CEO of Impact BBDO International on risk and creativity.
The big story: OpenAI looking at $830 billion valuation for $100 billion investment.
The markets: Europe is flat, everywhere else is up.
Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.

Good morning. In this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Kristin Stoller and I speak with Dani Richa, chairman and group CEO of Impact BBDO International. In the annals of advertising, few agencies have had more cultural heft than BBDO. In the 1960s, it made Boomers feel part of the “Pepsi Generation” and DuPont cool with the tagline “Better Things for Better Living … through Chemistry.” Matthew Weiner even cited BBDO as the model for the fictional 1960s ad agency in his hit TV series Mad Men. BBDO also created Snickers’ “You’re not you when you’re hungry” ad with Betty White, and many more iconic campaigns in its 134-year history.

As a Dubai-based CEO who oversees BBDO Worldwide’s business in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Richa argues that risk is a relative concept in fast-changing markets and times. He recalls thanking one CEO for taking a bold risk with a campaign, only to be told, “What? What risk? What do you mean? The biggest risk I would have taken is not doing that.”

“The starting point is choosing partners that share your values,” he said.

In an era where brands can whip up AI-generated ads—Guess’s AI-generated model in Vogue is hopefully not a harbinger of what’s to come—Richa’s work is a reminder that technology alone will never triumph when it comes to bold ideas and creativity that’s rooted in real issues. “Big ideas that touch people, that move people, that move businesses, that never changes,” said Richa, while noting that BBDO “uses digital and social [media] like never before to amplify that messaging.”

The best ads don’t just sell products, they can change culture, politics, and the way people think. One especially memorable and award-winning campaign under his watch was “the Elections Edition” in 2022 for Lebanon’s An Nahar newspaper, which ran a blank edition, followed by an invitation for people to fill the pages with messages to politicians. It went viral, generating massive public pressure for elections and citizens’ right to vote.

Richa compares AI to giving a camera to everyone and then realizing the best photographers produce different results. “AI is going to give you tons of stuff,” he says. “To pick the right message takes a lot of experience, a lot of creative judgment.”

You can listen to our full conversation on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

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