Joana’s a Creative Director with a proudly nonlinear path. Born and raised in the Amazon jungle, she built her career at some of Brazil’s most prominent agencies. Her last corporate role was Creative Lead for StudioX, overseeing all creative work for The Coca-Cola Company across Latin America. She has served as a Juror at Cannes Lions four times – and also at other major global festivals. This is her fourth time speaking at the Academy. She was part of the first edition in 2012. She was also the first Black president of the Brazilian Creative Club. Outside of advertising, she has authored a children’s book, Manual de Penteados para Crianças Negras, created the first Black image bank in the world produced by Black women, and co-founded a basketball team. Her journey proves that creativity has many paths and that leadership doesn’t have to look just one way.