R/GA Announces New Americas Leadership Team

(April Quinn, Josefina Casellas, Paul Turzio, Melissa Jackson Parsey)

In an effort to access the very best talent for clients regardless of where they are located, R/GA recently combined its US and LATAM regions into a single Americas operation. April Quinn, previously president of R/GA US, is now president of the new Americas business unit. April will focus on reinforcing R/GA’s leadership position as a creative innovation company while supporting its next phase of growth and integration of AI to empower its clients and talent to think beyond traditional boundaries and push the limits of what’s possible. R/GA will continue to focus on a combination of US based and global clients alongside local clients across the region. 

“Our new Americas model provides the opportunity to work alongside a broader collection of talent across the region – a change that not only facilitates collaboration with a diverse range of clients but also enables quicker access to regional innovations,” said global CEO Robin Forbes. “Having worked alongside April for eight years, I’ve watched her transform our client engagement teams and lead the US team to great things. She is the ideal person to be at the helm and bring the best of the Americas region to our clients.” 

April started at R/GA in 2016, leading the Verizon business, one of our most tenured client relationships. She went on to lead a larger portfolio of clients for the New York office in 2018, generating significant growth with new client wins such as DuPont, Express Scripts, Cigna and organic growth across clients such as Nike, ESPN and JPMC. She spearheaded the launch of R/GA’s new Health practice in 2020 and became managing director of the New York office in 2021. 

Prior to joining R/GA, April began her career on the CRM and data-driven digital side of the business, working at agencies within IPG, Omnicom and an integrated media/creative shop while with Publicis. April is known for her leadership, integrity and passion for great work. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and resides in New York City with her husband and four children. 

In Buenos Aires, Josefina Casellas, vice president, executive creative director, is taking on the role of general manager for Spanish speaking LATAM. Josefina will lead the Argentina and Chile offices and is responsible for promoting the company's culture and values, as well as enabling close collaboration between teams within the region and across the network. She will continue to foster innovative creative work that drives impact for our clients. 

With more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Josefina joined R/GA in 2018 as creative director, becoming group creative director, leading a team of multidisciplinary talent with Tech, Visual and Production profiles. In 2022, she took on the role of ECD, and was promoted to VP, ECD a year later. A specialist in leading integrated teams, throughout her career she has participated in many different types of work which gives her a more end to end and holistic approach in creating work for brands. 

Additionally as part of the restructure, Paul Turzio, who joined the company in 2015, will be stepping into a new role as EVP, head of strategy and applied intelligence for the Americas. In this new position, Paul is responsible for integrating our strategy, data and research capabilities into one team while overseeing all strategic development for our clients. He’ll continue to focus on building best in class strategy solutions that are hardwired to solve our clients’ most challenging problems. 

Melissa Jackson Parsey will take on a new global role as SVP, global managing director, brand design and consulting (BDC) where she will lead the global BDC practice, helping to further integrate our BDC talent around the globe while developing new services to continually meet our clients’ needs. She’ll continue to focus on creating purposeful, connected brands that add value to people’s lives and building collaborative teams that operate at the intersection of culture and technology. Melissa joined R/GA in 2021 to lead the company’s US BDC practice, and since then, the practice has grown 50% under her leadership in the US and just recently rebooted the Android brand, and the creation of a new brand for the much anticipated joint venture between ESPN, FOX Sports, and Warner Bros. Discovery.

April is working with the newly formed Americas leadership team which includes Nick Coronges, global chief technology officer; Paul Turzio - executive vice president, head of strategy and applied intelligence; Josefina Casellas - vice president, executive creative director and general manager of SS LATAM; Marcio Oliveira - vice president, managing director, Brazil; and Alaina Everson - vice president, executive finance director.