Overview

Gender

male

Thomas L. Bernardin (Tom Bernardin) is the Chairman & CEO, Leo Burnett Worldwide; Member of the P12.

He has seen plenty of change in the advertising
and marketing industry over the past three decades, including
the past seven years as Chairman and CEO of Leo Burnett
Worldwide. But there has been at least one constant: his
overarching belief that creativity is the most important asset
in business.

Tom has turned his ideals into action, starting with the complete restructuring of Leo Burnett Worldwide, by taking a lead role in the development of both one global creative standard and the agency’s strategic
philosophy called HumanKind.

Throughout his tenure, Tom has fostered a culture committed to understanding human behavior and clients’ businesses — and creating ideas that capture the intersection of both people’s and brands’ needs and aspirations.

He has focused on finding the right people for the right jobs and inspiring people from all 95+ Leo Burnett
offices in 86 countries to realize their creative potential, working on such world-class clients as Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, Philip Morris, P&G and Samsung.

And you’d be hard-pressed to find a global CEO who has spent more time traveling to offices around the world to build a cohesive agency, and ensure that the agency’s best ideas and practices permeate the entire network.
Tom’s vision and hands-on approach have paid off for Leo Burnett and its clients.

The agency has achieved year-on-year growth for the past five years, thanks to smart acquisitions, consistent double-digit growth in emerging markets and the progressive stewardship by the agency’s Chicago headquarters of key global clients.
Meanwhile, Leo Burnett is the second-most-awarded network in the world, with more offices contributing to the creative reputation than any other network.