Darwin’s evolution: from Guy Geerts to Daniel Schots

Since March 1st, Daniel Schots has moved within the BBDO Group from BBDO Belgium to Darwin in order to co-manage the agency with Guy Geerts. At the end of June, Daniel will take full charge and Guy will leave the agency that he has been running since 1997.

Daniel Schots has held various positions within the BBDO Group for more than 20 years. He started with DMC (which became Proximity BBDO), a pioneer in digital marketing. He then launched and managed Engage BBDO, which rapidly became a leader in brand activation. When BBDO Belgium merged all communication disciplines in 2012, Daniel Schots became Chief Commercial Officer. In this position, he was responsible for national and international clients. He will now take on the general responsibility for Darwin, which has its own positioning within the group as a brand communication agency. As a “BBDO boutique” alongside the larger BBDO Belgium, Darwin focuses on thorough client relationships and goal-oriented quality work. This is the case for an impressive list of A-brands that have all been won locally, like Levis and Sikkens for AkzoNobel, Baloise Insurance, Come a casa and Arla. This often leads to long term client relationships as is the case for KU Leuven since 2004 and VLAM since before 2000.

“After a strong 2021 – and a nice growth record the past few years – the time is right to look towards a new future for Darwin and hand over the torch. For me, it’s time to explore new horizons,” says Guy Geerts.

Daniel Schots is enthusiastic about the new evolution: “I am looking forward to enriching and developing the story of Darwin as ‘a BBDO boutique’. Creating quality on a human scale is a strong market offer. The agency’s specificity and its close-knit team are a combination with a great upside.”