Ronny Northrop is now ECD at Y&R California. Northrop, who will report to CCO Mimi Cook in the agency’s San Francisco office, previously spent extended stints as a copywriter at CP+B and creative director at GS&P. Before joining Y&R, he spent time freelancing for 72andSunny, Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners and others. While Northrop’s resume indicates that he joined Y&R in February, AdAge mentioned the change for the first time today.
Hawthorne Direct promoted John Pucci to the position of Chief Marketing & Creative Officer. Pucci, who joined the agency in 2011, has served as SVP/CCO since 2013; in his new role he will oversee all “marketing, publicity and promotional activities.” Prior to joining Hawthorne, Pucci served as ECD at Havas Edge in Hollywood, and his recent agency history includes SVP/ECD stints at Publicis and RAPP. Earlier in his career, he worked as art director at Saatchi & Saatchi, held the GCD position at DDB LA, and served as a partner at TracyLocke.
He has also worked in-house for organizations as varied as Walt Disney World, E! Networks and Mattel.
“Leading consumer collaboration agency” Communispace of Boston named Franco Bonadio as CCO. Bonadio, who will report to CEO Charles Trevail, previously served as a “brand strategy consultant” for various firms and held an in-house global creative director at The Body Shop in London.
Kyle Valenta joined creative editorial/post-production facility Final Cut. Valenta, who spent nearly a decade at Wieden+Kennedy before going freelance, will move from Portland to work in Final Cut’s New York office. During his time at W+K, Valenta worked on campaigns for clients including Nike, Dodge and Procter & Gamble. He most recently edited work for Facebook and Apple, including the “Your Verse” iPad campaign that featured Robin Williams reciting Walt Whitman’s “O Me! O Life.”
BARKER of New York hired Robert Kellner as SVP of strategy. Kellner, who most recently served as SVP of Business Development for Skyline Genesis Event Marketing, will work with President/CIO John Barker on new business development strategy.