Vicky Ortega is the new chief executive officer of the strategic planning think tank BrandLab, effective April 16, 2008.
The other Ortega—Vicky’s husband Jos—stays on as chairman of BrandLab, focusing on strategic partnerships with international specialists.
Vicky was one of the true-blue strategic planners in the industry, having single-handedly set up the Lintas (now Lowe) Strategic Planning Department, back when strategic planning was deemed largely an Account Service function.
Recognizing the breadth and depth of expertise that goes into insight discovery, Vicky went on to champion various methods of getting to the heart of consumers. Vicky and her team were instrumental in unearthing the insights that led to the highly successful Surf “Wais” campaign, which remains to be a gold standard in planning circles today.
Today, she champions BrandLab, a strategic consultancy firm dedicated to brand transformation from the organizational level. As such, Vicky is instrumental in directing various new approaches to brands—utilizing disciplines such as Brand Anthropology, designing and facilitating strategic workshops and co-creating Brand Stories with clients.
