He starts on 10 September and will be based in New YorkCortizo-Burgess will be responsible for driving MEC's integrated planning offer, internally and externally, and will report to Mel Varley, chief strategy officer, global and Marla Kaplowitz, chief executive of MEC in North America.
He joins from Grey North America where he was chief strategy officer, responsible for a department of 55 people and working for clients such as P&G, Diageo, Pfizer and Canon.
Prior to joining Grey, Cortizo-Burgess was director of creative strategy and board member global content at ITV in the UK where he was responsible for the design and implementation of business vision, mission and values identity for the UK's largest commercial broadcaster, as well as the overhaul of the company's global identity, ITV Studios.
He is also a member of the faculty at the Miami Ad School, teaching account planning and creative development across many campuses in the US.
Varley said: "We're committed to investing in our strategic leadership and Pele is an excellent example of the strategic firepower that we’re amassing in MEC.
"Pele's experience of building and integrating planning across disciplines and connecting it more effectively with the development and activation of content, will help us deliver even more effective communication solutions for our clients."
MEC recently won the global planning and buying account of the British design company Mulberry.
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