Periscope welcomes new leadership hires

Periscope has inked two new leadership appointments that help underscore a renewed focus on elevating design excellence, increasing operational efficiencies and advancing client relationships. Annette Fonte has been named Senior Vice President, Business & Brand Leadership, while Veronica Padilla joins as Vice President, Head of Design. Both hires come on the heels of Periscope’s updated mission to “See beyond the expected to build brands and impact communities in inventive ways.”

At Periscope, Fonte will focus on advancing the agency’s client partnerships, overseeing integrated marketing and cross-cultural engagement for a broad portfolio of brands including UnitedHealthcare, Bellisio, Minnesota Lottery, PEMCO and more. At its core, Fonte’s role will be to dig deep to understand the agency’s client business, uncover opportunities to build brands and deliver excellent service support.

“I was taken in by Periscope’s amazing team and mission to partner with clients and deliver beautiful work that drives brand growth,” said Fonte. “Many promise this, but I truly believe Periscope is geared up to deliver, and it’s why I joined. For mid-sized brands in particular that are seeking to break out and are challenged by the number of agencies on their rosters, Periscope has an unmatched toolkit from brand identity and strategic insights to integrated brand engagement that truly surrounds consumers from digital to retail. Toss in an unmatched media offering that enables clients to see how their dollars are performing live at any time — it blew me away.”

Having held roles at Leo Burnett and FCB Chicago, Fonte has worked on several programs with Coca-Cola Company, including the Olympics; created interactive and AR programs for Molson Coors; and launched new brands for Purina. Her past agency work has been recognized by the Effies, Clios, D&AD, The One Show and Cannes Lions. Most recently serving as EVP, Managing Director at VMLY&R for the past six years, Fonte is an admired leader in innovative thinking across traditional CPG, beverage, shopper marketing, integrated communication and multicultural marketing.

Padilla’s appointment as Vice President, Head of Design is a new role for the agency and underpins the continued evolution of Periscope’s standing design practice, Favorite Child, which launched in July 2022. As the agency continues to refine its design offering, Padilla has been tasked with expanding the creative output and work to make Favorite Child a category “favorite” in design circles.

“I was hooked by the name ‘Favorite Child,’ then drawn in by the Reverse RFP because I love work with a higher purpose. As soon as I met the people, I was sold — genuine, kind and excited to do great work with a bend toward social good. My greatest area of expertise is in designing to evoke feelings. And since I’m a people person, I’m most excited to build warm relationships that foster community so we can create meaningful, memorable work that sparks joy from the inside out,” said Padilla.