Hung Le, Creative Director: Born in post-war Viet Nam, Hung had a challenging childhood. From surviving political turmoil to enduring food shortages and ultimately attempting to escape the new communist regime by boat twice—one of which resulted in prison time at the age of 9 — Hung prides himself on having very diverse perspectives on life. Once his family settled in Texas, he earned a Bachelor of Arts at University of Houston, in one of the best graphic communications programs in the state.
Feeling like a big fish in a little pond, he jumped into the freelance world where he worked as a storyboard artist, motion designer and compositor on commercials and film titles, zigzagging the country wherever and whenever his help was needed.
He learned from the best working onsite and remotely with various companies like Digital Kitchen, Elastic, Brand New School, Leviathan, WeAreRoyale, WoodShop, Yu+Co, and others.
He then jumped into the biggest pond of them all—New York City. Aside from working at some of the most well-known design studios, he also started to work directly with agencies like 50,000feet, Weber Shandwick, and R/GA. After 5 years in NYC, Hung moved to LA, looking for new challenges, and of course, the weather.
Founding BIEN with Ricardo is an accumulation of everything Hung wants to accomplish with his career—finding great international clients to collaborate with on new challenges and doing work for a good cause.
Ricardo Roberts, Executive Producer: Ricardo was born in the Voz Andes Hospital in Quito, Ecuador. At the time, his American father was a Peace Corps volunteer, and his Ecuadorian mother was the director of an orphanage. In the early 80’s the young family eventually made their way to Raleigh, NC where they suddenly had to adapt to a new culture and new language. That move was the start of a fascination with culture and the role media plays in shaping it.
He once traveled to rural Honduras to direct a documentary about slash and burn farming. On this trip, his gear got soaked by monsoon rains, leaving him with a pair of flip-flops instead of boots. During one outing in the rural foothills near the Guatemalan border, he came face to face with a Two-Step snake. If you’re bitten, you take two steps and die. Glad that didn’t happen.
Ricardo loves his family. His ultimate goal in life is simple—be a good dad. Listening to music, eating great food, and reading business books like Good to Great and Shoe Dog are what keep him inspired and curious. He also loves traveling, mainly to South America. Favorite MC: Nas. Favorite Movie: City of God. Favorite Food: Ceviche. Favorite City: NYC.
