Hispanic Heritage Month | Icon: Luis Miguel Messianu

Luis Miguel Messianu believes creativity is optimism in action - a conviction proven across over three decades reshaping U.S. multicultural marketing. Born to Romanian parents and raised in Mexico City, he built his career across the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets, helping move multicultural marketing from a niche into a mainstream discipline.

In 1994, he founded alma, growing it into the industry's most awarded multicultural agency, partnering with McDonald's, State Farm, MolsonCoors, PepsiCo and Wells Fargo, among many others. Under his watch alma earned 35 Cannes Lions, 27 Effies, seven Ad Age A-List honors, and Agency of the Year titles at El Ojo, El Sol and FIAP.

His recognition runs deep: ADCOLOR Legend Honoree (2015); three-time Cannes Lions juror - Radio (2016), Sustainable Development Goals (2022) and Social & Influencer (2024); three-time Cannes Lions main-stage speaker - introducing Manuel Oliver and Change the Ref's "3D Activist," alongside a 3D-printed likeness of his son Joaquin (2019), "Collaborativity" with Pepsi's Todd Kaplan (2022), and "When Societal Progress Meets Resistance" with Richard Edelman (2024); CMC Advertising Hall of Fame inductee (2019); and first Círculo Creativo USA Hall of Fame honoree.

He has also shaped the next generation as a longtime Miami Ad School board and faculty member, a University of Miami professor, and co-founder and first president of the U.S. Hispanic Creative Circle, and holds an Executive MBA with honors from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership.

From November 2021 to July 2023, he served as DDB's Global Chief Creative Officer for McDonald's across 46 markets while remaining Founder and Chairman of alma. In June 2023 he launched Included, then partnered with Pete Lerma and Richard Edelman to found MEL, a Culture-first enterprise elevating the presence of Latinos in the U.S. Current clients: Remy Martin, Brandsmart, Centenario Tequila and P&G.

Three decades in, his mission is unchanged: proving that creativity, applied with discipline and heart, is the most reliable form of optimism - and mentoring the next generation of Latino creatives to carry it forward.