Creative Strategy Director, Paradais DDB, Ecuador
Maria Paula Mera Velez is the Creative Strategy Director at Paradais DDB in Ecuador, where she combines a deep analytical approach with emotional visual storytelling in her work. Throughout her career, she has won more than 60 international and regional awards, including a Grand Effie Latam, two Grand Effies in Ecuador, a gold at Young Lions Worldwide in Cannes, as well as awards from Effie Worldwide Best of the Best, Ojo de Iberoamérica, the Clio Awards, and WARC. In 2024, the prestigious publication Adlatina recognized her as one of the most outstanding creatives of the year (Destacados 2024).
Maria Paula earned a bachelor’s degree in social communications and marketing from Universidad Casa Grande, and she also completed a master’s degree in strategy at Hoala (Spain) and attended the Sister program at Brother Ad School. She has served as a course facilitator and speaker for the Roger Hatchuel Academy program at Cannes Lions, taught at Universidad Casa Grande, and represented Ecuador in the Google Creative Lab Mountain View program.
She has extensive experience serving on juries at international festivals, including Effie Latam, the AME Awards (New York Festivals), and Cannes Young Lions. Her client portfolio includes developing strategic and creative solutions for McDonald’s, Banco del Pacifico, Pacificard, Xtrim, Cris-Sal, and Ronald McDonald’s House Charities.