Alessandra Lariu

Alessandra Lariu is a leader in the creative industries, with a career in marketing, advertising, and experience design spanning more than 25 years across London, New York, and other global markets. Brazilian-born Lariu has held senior roles at digital agencies such as LBi, Agency Republic, and AKQA, and served as digital executive creative director for McCann New York, where she led the agency to its first digital Cannes Lion and One Show Pencil. As SVP group creative director at McCann, Lariu worked with clients including MasterCard, General Mills, Kohl's, Nikon, and Verizon. She later became executive creative director at frog design, where she developed the studio's brand strategy offering for clients.

Lariu co-founded SheSays, a global community for women in the creative industries, which has grown to more than 70,000 members and expanded to chapters in over 55 cities worldwide. SheSays is known for its grassroots mentoring initiatives and the Golden Stiletto Awards, which recognize female creativity. Lariu also launched Women with Epic Ideas (WEI), an app designed to address challenges faced by women in the modern creative landscape.

Lariu has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the 100 most creative people in business and was included in the publication's League of Extraordinary Women. She has been named World's Most Influential Female Creative Director by Adwomen and received the Greatest Individual Contribution to New Media Award from NMA Magazine. Lariu has represented women creatives at the White House and Number 10 Downing Street.

Lariu has spoken at events including TEDx, SXSW, Wharton Business School, Columbia University, and CES. She writes a monthly column on digital culture for the Brazilian edition of Wired Magazine, serves on the board of the Art Directors Club, and advises Wharton's Future of Advertising Program. Lariu teaches at Hyper Island, Miami Ad School, and BDW, and has led brand, marketing, and experience design for Smart Qatar, a digital transformation program by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology. She holds a master's in electronic publishing from University of Plymouth and a bachelor's in communications from Brazil.