MEXICO CITY — Hill+Knowlton Strategies has promoted Mauricio Gutiérrez to CEO of Mexico.

In the newly created position, Gutiérrez has overall responsibility for the development of both the Hill+Knowlton and JeffreyGroup operations in the country.

Gutiérrez has been with JeffreyGroup, the Latin American specialist group H+K acquired last year, for more than a decade, most recently serving as Mexico managing director and Latin America CSO. An expert in corporate reputation management, Gutiérrez is currently the ambassador in Mexico for the Corporate Excellence Centre for Reputation Leadership, a Madrid-based global foundation and think tank focused on accelerating ideas and discussions around the management of the corporate and brand reputation.

Gutiérrez will report to Brian Burlingame, H+K’s Latin America CEO.

Gutiérrez’s appointment is one of three recent leadership changes H+K has made in Mexico with an eye on expanding its operation there.

Mariana Tuis has been named Mexico CEO of Ideal, an H+K subsidiary that works with companies focused on disruption, innovation and digital transformation. She will lead Ideal’s operations in Mexico and be responsible for growing the brand and expanding its client portfolio.  A 13-year H+K veteran, Tuis most recently served as managing director of the agency’s Mexico operation.

In addition,  Elisenda Casellas has been promoted to managing director of JeffreyGroup Mexico. Casellas will oversee the day-to-day operations of JeffreyGroup Mexico, including direction of the staff and client service.

She has been at JeffreyGroup since 2020, most recently as its COO in Mexico.

“Mauricio is an innovative leader who generates value for our clients and growth opportunities for our team of dedicated professionals; and Elisenda is a talented multidisciplinary professional who has earned the trust of our clients and staff,” Burlingame said. “H+K and JeffreyGroup will continue to operate as separate brands with independent team structures, while the consolidation of leadership at the country level will help our operations act with the agility and efficiency our clients and the market demand.”

The leadership moves come a year after H+K dramatically expanded its capabilities in Latin America with the purchase of JeffreyGroup, its first acquisition in almost a decade. The addition of JeffreyGroup doubled H+K’s footprint in Latin America.

H+K also relaunched the firm’s Brazilian operation, Ideal, as an international brand, now focused primarily on disruptive and emergent technology companies.