After spending the last six months freelancing, Tim Pontarelli has jumped back into full-time agency work and joined up with Energy BBDO as SVP, group creative director on the agency’s Frito-Lay portfolio (which includes Lay’s, Lay’s Kettle Cooked, Sun Chips, etc.).

Prior to his latest agency gig, Pontarelli practically spent his entire career–20 years, give or take–at fellow Chicago-based institution Leo Burnett, where he worked his way up from a copywriter writing “on hold” messages for United Airlines to ECD on the agency’s Hallmark account. Along the way, Pontarelli worked on creative for past and present Leo clients including Delta, Kellogg’s, Miller Lite and Heinz. His SVP, group creative director post at Energy BBDO is a newly created one at the agency.