Just so we’re clear, there are two outfits named Blitz in the U.S. that we’re aware of, one being an interactive agency based in Santa Monica that serves as digital AOR for the likes of FX Networks and PepsiCo’s Naked Juice and the other a Boston area firm that has evolved from a media buying/planning agency to a “connections company” over the course of 25 years. This news concerns the latter.
Anyhow, Boston’s Blitz has elevated Melissa Lea from SVP to interim president and a member of its board of directors. Lea, who joined the company 15 months ago, is a Boston agency vet, having spent nearly six years as EVP, director of business development at Mullen and led such efforts in MA, as well as Winston-Salem, Pittsburgh and Detroit. During her time at Mullen, she was involved in the acquisition of clients such as XM Satellite Radio, Orbitz and MassMutual.
Prior to Mullen, Lea spent seven years at Arnold as SVP of marketing and helped launch the global Arnold Worldwide Partners network. Blitz’s new (interim) president, who’s also a licensed attorney (guess that can be beneficial) replaces Chris Perkins, who’s moving on to a client-side job.
Update: AdAge has just reported that Chris Perkins is taking on the post of CMO at the Corporation for Travel Promotion, which appointed JWT as its global marketing AOR last week.