The New York office of DDB added two key members to its production team by hiring Chris Klein and Alan Leber as executive producers.
The two will work under chief production officer Madison Wharton, who joined the shop last March as one of CEO Chris Brown‘s first leadership hires following that of chief creative officer Icaro Doria.
Klein, who will primarily work on the Time Warner Cable and J&J accounts, previously spent 8 years with JWT, where he also worked on J&J in addition to Rolex, Puma and various Nestle brands. He also spent several years in production roles at FCB and Lowe.
Leber joins DDB after a 6-month stint at New York branding shop Love & War; he was previously at The Barbarian Group along with Wharton for more than 4 years, working as a project manager on various Samsung initiatives before eventually becoming lead producer on the Etihad Airways account (which recently left Barbarian).
According to the press release, these two hires further DDB’s plans to shift the department toward a more “multidisciplinary, integrated production model” in keeping with the North American network’s cross-office Flex plan.
“We are creating a production team of cross-athletes, and Chris and Alan’s arrival adds additional depth and breadth to the department,” said Wharton. “Whether it be creating long-form choreographed films like #CoolerInCotton or quickly developing customized dog ear muffs for State Farm, our producers have to be able to switch gears at a moment’s notice. Chris and Alan’s expertise and craftsmanship build upon our promise to deliver a multifaceted production team.”