2022 Silver Medal Recipient - Andrew Swinand

CAF is proud to name Andrew Swinand, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Groupe Creative and Production U.S., as our 2022 Silver Medal Award winner. The CAF Silver Medal is a prestigious honor, given to someone who has achieved significant success working in the advertising or marketing world; has worked toward increasing the stature and raising the standards of the advertising profession; has shown evidence of a consistent and high degree of creative, original thinking; has contributed to the development of others in the advertising industry through professional, civic and community activities; and has spent his career in Chicago.

About Andrew Swinand

Andrew Swinand is the CEO of the Creative Group across all Publicis agencies, Publicis Production in the U.S. as well as the CEO of Leo Burnett. Andrew is also the co-founder of Abundant Venture Partners, a Chicago-based incubator dedicated to improving the human condition through investments in healthcare and technology. Andrew became CEO of Leo Burnett when they acquired two companies he founded, which were focused on personalized content and search analytics. Being a serial entrepreneur, Andrew has founded ten companies and had seven exits.

An innovative and engaging leader, Andrew’s journey to advertising is anything but conventional. As he explains himself, “I had good grades and no money, so I joined the army to get a scholarship and start my career.” He credits his time in the military as influencing his “roll up your sleeves” leadership style of working alongside and supporting teams. He served in the U.S Army for eight years, where he learned many business lessons that he still references many decades later. One of those lessons is to “mission first, people always,” which acknowledges that a great team and talent are critical to any success.

Another of Andrew’s guiding principles is the power of servant leadership, to earn the trust of his teams and remain in service to them – always taking care of them first. This is evident in his quest for diversity and equity across Publicis Groupe Creative where he serves as executive chairman for DE&I and oversees a team of strong, strategic thinkers to bring the Groupe’s belief system of valuing and respecting everyone to life while developing unique products and solutions that allow further connection with diverse and multicultural audiences.

He also oversees Leo Burnett’s philanthropy through Leo Love and The Pencil Project, a program that supports young creatives in underserved communities by investing in their talent through scholarship and mentorship. Most recently, Leo Burnett pioneered a Creative Bootcamp during the Spring semester at Chicago State University, the city’s only Predominantly Black Institution (PBI) for higher education. Employees offered students real-world, for-credit experience in the advertising industry, from pitching a client to reporting results. As a pathway for groups traditionally overlooked by the industry, the course resulted in five students hired for summer internships at Publicis Groupe agencies.

Andrew is also engaged in multiple social impact companies and partnerships that focus on wellness and mental health. He’s invested in education and youth development through Off the Street Club and serves as a member of the CEO Advisory Council for the American Heart Association.

About the program

The annual Silver Medal Award program was created in 1983 to recognize a distinguished member of the Chicago advertising community for their contributions to the advertising profession, mentorship, support for the broader community, and their accomplishments.

Past CAF Silver Medal Recipients