Campaign’s Creative Faces to Watch 2026 – Hanz Lionel Valbuena, Associate Business Director, Strategy and Insights, Saatchi & Saatchi
Campaign’s Creative Faces to Watch 2026 – Hanz Lionel Valbuena, Associate Business Director, Strategy and Insights, Saatchi & Saatchi
Age: 28
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Nominated by Tahaab Rais, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Publicis Groupe MENAT:
I liked Hanz since we hired him. What stood out (and what continues to stand out) is his ability to take on a category many others run from (health and pharma) and find a way to make the output sharp, human, and scientifically sound. He’s also disciplined. He doesn’t look for shortcuts. He shows rigour. He’s consistent, calm under pressure, and willing to do the unglamorous work that unlocks growth. Plus, he’s a genuine creative soul. He always contributes creatively to Groupe-wide proactive opportunities. And I can’t wait to see his stock consistently climb. Starting with this feature.
Career highlights
My phone background says, “Just ***** do it,” because that’s the only solution to overcoming difficult things. And recently, I’ve learned that overcoming difficulty is the best pre-workout ever.
That lesson matters in my world. I work with challenging clients in a highly regulated health & pharma category, where I’ve learnt that grit is the key ingredient to combining creativity + science.
That mindset has earned me the trust of agency leaders to help build new verticals and unlock growth. With them, I learned that real expertise is simple: do the hard stuff and create work that truly matters, not just creds decks.
Guiding principles
Good isn’t good enough. Choose greatness or growth, never mediocre. Have a point. If you don’t, listen. Read hard books. Seek out people you disagree with. Then earn your perspective.
Sportsmanship is everything. This should be fun. So, if you’re miserable and mean, unclench. It’s never that serious. For real.
Side hustle
I’m currently attending a non-fiction writing class. AI was taking over my brain, so I needed to command my own words again. If I’m good enough, I’ll be published in a literary journal in a few months. If I’m not, I’ll do it again.
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