MSL U.S. has hired Matt Zavala as chief creative officer.

Starting September 3, Zavala is leading MSL’s creative center of excellence, managing the agency’s creative strategy, idea programming and visual design team, MSL said in a statement.

Zavala reports to MSL U.S. CEO Diana Littman and is based in New York. He replaces Roya Partovi who served as MSL’s first chief creative officer. She was appointed in 2022 and departed the agency in June. 

“The human experience is evolving significantly between AI and digital and real life and, from an earned first and hard earned influence perspective, the creative work that we can bring to our clients, and that our clients can bring to the world, is growing immensely across the board,” Littman said of Zavala’s appointment. 

Earned creative is on an “upward trajectory,” Zavala said, noting increasing client demand and an interest from younger creatives wanting to add it to their portfolio. 

“They want to be part of brands who not are not only a part of big social change, but brands who want to embed themselves in cultural conversation and change the shape of culture,” he said. “We’re definitely on the cusp with something big here.”

Zavala joins MSL after nearly a decade at DJE Holdings agencies Mustache and Edelman. Most recently at Mustache, Zavala served as EVP and creative director, leading creative for Google’s Maps and Search social platforms, M.A.C. Cosmetics and Eli Lilly and Company.

At Edelman, Zavala was the group creative director for the Unilever client portfolio, including brands such as Dove, Dove Men, Axe, Suave and Vaseline. He worked at 

He announced his departure from Mustache and Edelman, where he worked simultaneously,  in a LinkedIn post in August. Zavala joins other recent creative departures from the agency, including former Edelman EMEA co-chief creative officers Mattias Ronge and Stegan Ronge, who launched a consultancy called Earned Identity. 

Edelman did not respond to requests for clarification regarding Zavala’s replacement. 

Prior to pivoting into PR full time, Zavala spent 16 years leading teams at creative, advertising and digital and social agencies including J. Walter Thompson, R/GA and Razorfish.

His over 20 years of experience across varying parts of the industry is what makes him ideal to lead creative going forward at MSL, Littman said. 

“[Zavala] is very well poised in the industry to lead a creative revolution in earned and in influence on a broad scale,” she added. “I obviously don’t have small ambitions for this agency, but my ambitions are for clients and our people and for our work to be true business partners for our clients across the board. Creativity plays a leading role in that.”

MSL has had an “incredible” year for earned and PR in 2024, according to Littman. Zavala’s appointment will help MSL take creativity to “penultimate heights” at this “tipping point moment for the industry,” she said. 

Earlier this year, Bath & Body Works brought on MSL as its U.S. PR AOR. In March, the agency promoted Bailey Pescatore to U.S. health practice lead.

MSL reported flat growth at $425 million globally and a 6% revenue increase to $77 million in the U.S. in 2023, according to PRWeek’s 2024 Agency Business Report. 

This article originally appeared on PRWeek US.