40 Under 40 2025: Nana Cao, BBDO Shanghai

Nana Cao

Business director
BBDO Shanghai
China

Nana Cao’s extraordinary talent for business strategy has not only driven substantial revenue growth and expanded BBDO’s market footprint but has also ignited a culture of innovation, elevated operational excellence, and significantly enhanced client satisfaction. For validation, look no further than the most recent Agency of the Year Awards where Cao and her team won the Greater China New Business Development Team award.

Not content to sit on her laurels, Cao has led her team to unprecedented success in new client acquisition in the first half of 2025. Within just five months, they clinched six new clients—sweeping every single pitch with a flawless 100% win rate, contributing substantially to new business revenue targets.

As a passionate brand builder and creative advocate, Cao brings energy and dedication to every project. With over 18 years of experience in the advertising and communications industry, Nana Cao has been on a transformative journey with renowned global agencies such as Ogilvy, DDB, McCann, Proximity, and now BBDO. Her client portfolio spans across multiple industries: from well-known FMCG brands like KFC, Mengniu, and Hershey’s; to similar standout brands in the automotive, health, beauty and finance sectors.

In recent years, Cao has focused on building innovative technology-driven brands such as Rednote and Airwallex, shaping brand strategies and communication initiatives. Guided by BBDO’s ‘Do Big Things’ philosophy, Cao led the creation of impactful work for Alibaba during the Paris Olympics, which earned recognition at the Digital Media Awards and Topdigital in the AI Experience Marketing category. 

A key element of her facilitation of BBDO’s Olympic work with Alibaba was to empower women and support people with disabilities using new AI technologies, evident in Cao’s promotion of the Alibaba Cloud Memento project enabled wheelchair users the ability to generate their own virtual on-field moments.

In complex cross-regional and cross-departmental collaborations, Cao has demonstrated outstanding resource integration capabilities. She has worked side by side with more than two offices and five different creative teams worldwide, quickly identifying the core of problems and formulating precise and efficient bidding strategies. Over the past 18 months, she has successfully led more than 10 marketing campaigns across different industries. Her outstanding charisma and strategic vision make Cao not only an excellent decision-maker, but also a team leader adept at uniting forces and stimulating potential.