After losing Hummer, then Cadillac and finally Palm as well as two-thirds of “old” revenue along the way, Modernista! has decided it’s time for a change starting from the top. According to BostonHerald.com, the shop is seeking a return to its glory days beginning with the announcement of a new management team, which includes creative director Davi Liu, managing director Alex Hesz, presidentMatt Howell, director of social media Sebastian Gard and creative director Xavier Teo.
New prez Howell was formerly chief interactive officer at R/GA and served as group director on Nike+, MD Hesz, who joined Modernista! in June, spent time on the digital side at DDB London and oversaw the British Airways and Johnnie Walker business at BBH. Creative director Teo (the one kneeling) meanwhile has been with Modernista! for nearly two years and spent three years before that as a senior AD at OgilvyOne.
Modernista co-CEO/co-founder Gary Koepke tells BH that the agency has transformed into a “media-agnostic” entity over the past 18 months and says of his new executive staff, “There’s nothing better than an infusion of youth and smart young people being energetic and ready to go. It gets [co-CEO/co-founder] Lance [Jensen] and I back into making sure that the creative work is of the best caliber. We’re looking to focus on this management change right now, and let people know we’re on our way back. Not that we ever left, but people thought that we did.”
During the management shift, Modernista! happened to create an ARG effort to promote season five of Showtime’s Dexter. Check out one of the sites involved here.