We’re in that slight lull period between the holidays and the Super Bowl blitz. But that doesn’t mean the revolving door gets a rest. Nay nay, it keeps spinning with the latest blitz of new hires, promotions, account wins and other assorted agency moves. Step inside and see who found a new professional home this week.
62Above
San Diego-based independent agency 62Above has named Greg Carson a full partner in the agency. Agency veteran Carson joined in the newly created role of president in January of 2020. Carson joins partners Indra Gardiner Bowers and Jon Bailey in ownership of the agency.
AnalogFolk
AnalogFolk Group has launched a behavioral transformation consultancy called MindWorks Consulting. The consultancy is designed to improve business outcomes through applying behavioral economics to both marketing strategy and organizational design.
With experts in behavioral economics, data and technology, the MindWorks team helps its clients achieve their business transformation ambitions by embedding behavioral science methodologies at the heart of the business to allow it to be nimble and reactive to changing business and customer needs.
Arts & Letters Creative
Arts & Letters Creative Co. has been awarded lead creative duties for Zola, a one-stop site for couples getting married, after a competitive review. The agency becomes the first long-term creative partner for the wedding company, which has simplified the entire planning journey from engagement into newlywed life for over one million couples since launching in 2013.
Arts & Letters will be tasked with developing and executing a full-scale brand repositioning and re-launch, slated for the second half of 2022.
Cannes Lions
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced the names of the jury presidents who will lead juries to award this year’s Lions and set the global benchmark for excellence in creativity. Yasuharu Sasaki, Paul Hirsch, Ronald Ng, Beth Ann Kaminkow, Alan Kelly, Raja Rajamannar, Chrissie Hanson, Lisa Smith, Luciana Haguiara, Fred Levron, Maria Garrido, Amani Duncan, Marcel Marcondes, Patrick Milling-Smith, David Lubars, Colleen DeCourcy, Patricia Corsi, Nils Leonard, Cleve Gibbon, Daryl Lee, Hugo Veiga, Eugene Cheong, Brett O’Connor, Judy John, Natalie Lam, Mariana O’Kelly, Caitlin Ryan, Kimberlee Wells and Rob Reilly were all named jury presidents.
Cramer-Krasselt
Independent agency Cramer-Krasselt (C-K) appointed Ante Lisnic to the new role of executive vice president, associate chief financial officer. Lisnic will work closely with the agency’s current chief financial officer Wanda McDonald.
Lisnic has held senior positions at several agencies, most recently as chief financial officer for Performics, a division of Publicis that specializes in performance marketing. He previously led regional financial operations for the architecture and design firm Gensler. Lisnic also held roles at both Ketchum and Accenture.
Dept
Global digital agency Dept has hired Mickey Kalifa as chief financial officer. Kalifa, currently CFO of M&C Saatchi, will join Dept in May of this year and will be based in London. He will be responsible for supporting the agency’s continued growth and global expansion across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific.
Prior to serving as CFO at M&C Saatchi for the last three years, Kalifa held leadership roles at Sportech, OpenTV, Liberty Global and Sky.
Empower
Brett Mowry has joined Cincinnati-based agency Empower as svp of intelligence, bringing together research, data science, media analytics and data solutions to unlock performance.
Prior to Empower, Mowry honed his analytical prowess in leadership positions across multiple global marketing agencies like OMD, Digitas and Wunderman. He has led marketing transformations for brands including Bank of America, Whirlpool, Disney, Eli Lilly, State Farm and the U.S. Army. Mowry also brings a strong collaborative approach from his training grounds at Price Waterhouse, where he was key to growth initiatives at McDonalds, Bristol Myers Squibb, Unilever, and the U.S. Postal Service.
Essence
Essence Global, part of GroupM, has promoted Tim Irwin to global chief operating officer. In his new role, he will drive Essence’s growth and operations across the globe. He will continue to be based in London.
Irwin was most recently CEO of the agency’s EMEA region, overseeing all aspects of Essence’s clients, including Google, BT, Financial Times, L’Oreal and ITV, as well as its people across its offices in the UK, France and Germany.
He is an experienced leader with more than 20 years of executive roles at media agencies, joining Essence in 2018 as COO of the EMEA region. He was promoted to CEO of the region a year later. Before Essence, Irwin was COO at GroupM’s Maxus.
Framestore
Creative studio Framestore has expanded its creative leadership team in New York with the appointments of Victoria Osborn as creative director, VFX supervisor and Brian Drucker as creative director, design.
With over 20 years of industry experience, Osborn will work with Framestore clients, directors and creative teams on a variety of brand projects. Osborn has worked on campaigns for brands including Accenture, Adidas, Cadillac, Coca-Cola and Sony. Prior to joining Framestore, Osborn spent 18 years at MPC, and in 2011 moved from the company’s London office to launch MPC’s Advertising division in New York as head of CG.
Drucker joins Framestore with a 25-year background in art direction, design and visual exploration. At Framestore he will focus on a wide variety of cross-platform projects. Drucker spent time at companies such as Preymaker, Taylor James, Los York, Superfad, The Mill, Imaginary Forces, Psyop and Method. He has overseen, crafted and designed projects for broadcast, digital and social.
G&S Business Communications
Syngenta Crop Protection has chosen incumbent G&S Business Communications as its U.S. region agency of record—and expanded the firm’s responsibilities to include original creative development and advertising. The renewal follows a competitive pitch process.
Harmelin Media
Travis Adams has been promoted to senior vice president of Harmelin Media. Adams has over 20 years of experience in media planning and buying with a focus on digital media and the healthcare category. In 2021, Adams co-launched the Healthcare Center of Excellence at Harmelin Media, created to establish planning best practices and facilitate innovation and data-driven strategies within the category.
Havas
Less than a year after becoming chief creative officer of Havas Chicago, Myra Nussbaum has been promoted to the dual role of president and chief creative officer of the creative agency. Nussbaum, the first woman CCO within Havas’ North American creative network, now adds agency leadership responsibilities to her current creative remit, which has been focused on creative development and advancement for Havas Chicago’s entire portfolio of clients and teams. Now, Nussbaum will be responsible for the agency’s strategic oversight and guidance to continue to positively position the Havas Chicago Village in the marketing marketplace.
With Nussbaum’s appointment, the agency will continue to prioritize creativity. Another recent hire, Vincent Geraghty, joins Havas Chicago as head of production and studios, where he’ll work closely with Nussbaum to develop best-in-class campaigns and work. Geraghty is a 30-year advertising industry veteran.
IPG Mediabrands
IPG Mediabrands has elevated Lynn Lewis to global chief marketing officer. Formerly the U.S. CEO of global network agency UM, Lewis will retain her role as the agency’s global CMO while taking on the position of Mediabrands global CMO, where she will lead all marketing efforts for Mediabrands.
As IPG Mediabrands CMO, Lewis will define, align and activate Mediabrands’ marketing activities around the world including key initiatives around media responsibility, DE&I and sustainability in media.
Just Global
Just Global, a B2B marketing agency, has appointed its growing leadership team for their Singapore office. The company has promoted Jevic Batalon to senior account director in recognition of her commitment to supporting Just Global’s client and agency growth.
Arjun Ghosh has joined the Just Global team as digital marketing director to further support the agency’s continued expansion. Ghosh comes to Just Global from MediaCom and Mindshare. Also, Joy Tang joined the APAC team as senior copywriter from previous tenures at April Six, Cohn & Wolfe and Hill Knowlton Strategies.
Kerv Interactive
Kerv Interactive, a digital advertising platform, has expanded its leadership team by hiring Michael Fleischman as chief financial officer. Fleischman, who has an accomplished career working in corporate finance and strategic planning for public and private companies, will be instrumental in advancing the company’s growth-focused initiatives. Prior to joining Kerv, he served as CFO of the Digital Remedy for more than 10 years.
Lobo
São Paulo and NYC-based creative design studio Lobo has tapped Harrison Elkins of Hero Management for West Coast sales representation. As founder/president of Hero Management, Elkins specializes in modern talent representation for premiere advertising and branded content companies.
Luckie
Luckie has hired Fred Schank as chief experience officer (CXO). In this new role for Luckie, Schank will build the agency’s experience and content strategy practice to help client partners reach their potential customers in meaningful ways to drive growth. He will serve as the agency’s innovation champion, leading the adoption of new and emerging technologies.
Schank joins Luckie from Omnicom Group’s Zimmerman Advertising, where he led digital transformation, experience and technology strategy for the agency’s top retail brands. He also served on Omnicom’s Innovation Community, an initiative focused on identifying and driving innovation across the enterprise.
Main Street Hospitality
Hospitality marketer Main Street Hospitality has appointed Scott Williams to its leadership team. As the new vice president of brand and creative, Williams is responsible for enterprise-wide brand architecture and positioning, development, marketing and communication initiatives and experience design for the independent hospitality group and its portfolio of eight properties.
Matter of Form
Experience design consultancy Matter of Form has appointed Marcus Dunford as design director, with responsibility for building the agency’s behavioral design practice. Dunford joins Matter of Form from The Bio Agency, where he led the creative department and digital innovation. In his new role, Dunford will be working across all the agency’s accounts, joining a team of 12 designers and user experience specialists to deliver brand-led digital experiences across every touchpoint.
Maverick Group
Pendragon, a U.K. automotive retailer, has appointed independent agency The Maverick Group, as its full-service integrated agency of record. The appointment will see the group work on some of the company’s motoring brands, including Evans Halshaw, Stratstone and CarStore. The new appointment was the result of strategic work done during the pandemic, including work on Pendragon’s refreshed corporate branding and re-positioned click and collect service, which became pivotal to Pendragon’s success during 2021.
Mediabrands Content Studio
Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS) has named Dawn Reese as its first-ever U.S. president. Reese joins Alejandro Lopez on the U.S. leadership team. Lopez recently assumed the role of U.S. chief creative officer, broadening his creative remit to focus on the growth and expansion of the division’s creative capabilities.
Reese, who most recently served as svp, managing director at UM Studios U.S., will now run U.S operations. The pair will jointly lead content across Mediabrands agencies, UM, Initiative and Reprise, and will deploy Mediabrands resources to ensure that programs are both highly effective and are of top caliber creatively.
Mediaplus
Mediaplus, a large independent and partner-managed media agency in Europe and a subsidiary of the Serviceplan Group, has named two key executives to lead the agency into its next level of growth in the Americas. Tamara Alesi assumes the newly created role of chief client officer, while Jasmine Presson is appointed as chief strategy officer.
In her new role Alesi will spearhead the agency’s new business efforts and expand the Mediaplus team in the Americas. The growth of Mediaplus is also at the top of Jasmine Presson’s agenda. In close cooperation with the agency’s executive leadership, she will develop the agency’s positioning and range of services and help with the growth of Mediaplus clients.
Alesi previously served in senior management roles at leading media agencies including WPP’s MediaCom, Omnicom’s OMD and Publicis’s Zenith. Before joining Mediaplus, Presson worked most recently as a freelance strategy and insights consultant. Previously in her career she worked in various roles at MediaCom.
MGO
MGO has named accounting industry veteran Danielle Berg as its president and chief experience officer. Berg joins the firm as a partner with responsibility for all aspects of the client and talent experience. She joins the firm from Aprio, LLP, where she led rebranding and growth, first as chief marketing officer and then as chief growth officer.
Berg will also be responsible for opening the firm’s southeastern regional headquarters, serving the Atlanta market and beyond.
M/Six
To strengthen its leadership in support rapid growth, Jess Burley takes on the role of executive chair for m/SIX globally and Jack Swayne, previously CEO for EMEA, joins the global board to lead the day to day running of m/SIX globally.
Ogilvy
Ogilvy UK has appointed Jo Arden as chief strategy officer. Arden will oversee Ogilvy’s strategic team of 97 experts across all five areas of the business. Arden was most recently at Publicis•Poke and Mullen Lowe, working with a wide range of clients including Morrisons, BUPA, British Heart Foundation, the Co-Operative Bank and NHS.
Pound & Grain
Toronto agency Pound & Grain has made several additions to its senior leadership. The hires include the agency’s first-ever media director, Josee Thibault, a 15-year media veteran who will be responsible for the agency’s overall media product.
Thibault is joined by director of strategy Thomas Morton, a media planning veteran who has worked at agencies including Cossette, Proximity, Modern Craft and JWT. Morton will lead a diverse and cross-disciplinary group of strategic talent. Pound & Grain has also hired Emmanuel Davis as head of technology, who has worked at Ogilvy and Isobar.
Jeff Monaco has joined Pound & Grain as group account director. The agency’s new head of production is Alex Tangi, and design director is Oleg Portnoy.
Praytell
Brianna Bishop and Chris Newkirk have joined Praytell as creative svps. Bishop was formerly a creative director at Golin, and vp creative director at Taylor. Newkirk was previously with TBWA\The Integer Group, Edelman and most recently Golin.
Bishop is primarily tasked with leading the creative strategy group at the agency and spearheading creative work for Destination Canada. Newkirk is primarily tasked with leading the agency’s growing portfolio of integrated campaign work, including all creative work for a major Electrify America campaign.
Quiet Storm
Independent U.K. creative agency Quiet Storm has won a place on the government’s advertising roster and is now a part of the communications marketplace, which supports the U.K. government and public sector bodies to run public service campaigns.
The agency, which also works with Google, Haribo and Women’s Equality Party, joins the Government’s Communications Marketplace Dynamic Purchasing System, alongside other notable agencies such as Engine and M&C Saatchi.
Reach Agency
Reach Agency has named Jennine Matthias svp of influencer marketing. Matthias brings over 10 years of experience in influencer marketing from companies such as Famebit, Savage X Fenty, Fabletics and Beachbody. At Reach, she will lead the influencer marketing division, including campaigns for clients such as Nestle and Clorox, in addition to developing media and performance capabilities.
Shadow
Shadow will be handling media relations on behalf of Olly, a pioneer in health and wellness with vitamins and supplements.
Shift Paradigm
Digital agency Shift Paradigm has hired Elizabeth Ross as chief executive officer. Shift Paradigm’s co-founder and former CEO Morgan Stewart will move into a new position on the Shift Paradigm board of directors. This transition and expansion of the leadership capabilities builds on a series of initiatives and investments to manage and drive growth for clients.
Ross brings more than two decades of experience in key leadership roles in the marketing industry, most recently serving as chief marketing officer at Bright Health Group. Prior to that, she was the CEO of Periscope, an agency in Minneapolis she helped sell to Quad Graphics in 2019 for $132.5 million. Ross has also held leadership roles at DDB, Digitas, and IPG Mediabrands.
Starcom
Starcom has launched a new report titled Future Tensions in the Metaverse, with five podcast episodes exploring what the Metaverse is, how it might impact brands and why it is of interest to the media industry. The report aims to provide clarity about the Metaverse, understand the tensions that will exist for consumers in these new spaces, as well as what roles and responsibilities will be needed by our industry and by advertisers as the metaverse evolves into our everyday lives.
Tag
Toronto agency Tag is building on its senior team with the additions of Simon Hancock as senior brand strategist and Pajan Kazemi as senior copywriter and the promotion of Shantel Salewski to director of account services. Hancock brings over 15 years of strategic marketing experience from Evangeline PR and Encore Canada. Kazemi was most recently with Elemental and Innocean Worldwide.
Team Bubbly
NYC-based video production agency. Team Bubbly has signed Miles Warren to its directorial roster. With his first U.S. commercial representation, the filmmaker funnels his passion for telling authentic Black stories, spanning everyday narratives from film to advertising beyond those rooted in stereotypes.
ThinkArgus
Boston-based ThinkArgus, a woman-led, minority-owned branding and marketing agency that works with purpose-driven organizations has made several key hires, including Gretchen Driscoll as head of people and Jamie Ong-Goldring as group account director. Ong-Goldring most recently worked at Thompson Habib Denison.
UM
UM, the global media agency network of IPG Mediabrands, appointed W. Joe DeMiero to U.S. chief executive officer. DeMiero is charged with driving and enhancing the agency’s Futureproof approach across its culture, capabilities and client services, taking over the role from Lynn Lewis, who has been elevated to global chief marketing officer, Mediabrands.
DeMiero will be responsible for the strategy, direction and operations of UM’s largest market—and will oversee management for clients including USPS, E.J. Gallo, Rocket Mortgage and Zillow. DeMiero will also drive UM’s commitment to diversity, equity and belonging (DEB), sustainability, media responsibility and marketplace equity.
Most recently, DeMiero served as CEO of Publicis agency Hawkeye. He founded TiltShift, Publicis Groupe’s immersive reality capability and CloudTix, the first software-as-a-service mobile ticketing platform. Prior to that, DeMiero held leadership positions at Saatchi & Saatchi and SapientRazorfish.
Uncle Toad’s Media Group
Production company Uncle Toad’s Media Group has been tapped by the Natural Selection Tour as its official production partner as part of a three-year partnership deal. Uncle Toad’s will spearhead the entire production of the three-stop event, including live broadcast, offline content creation, vendor selection, drone development, graphics, technology, staffing and logistics.
UTA
Global talent, entertainment, and sports company UTA has named Lindsay Wagner as chief diversity officer. In her new role, she will expand and drive innovative strategy for the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Prior to joining UTA, Wagner served as svp and head of diversity, equity and inclusion, North America at Ketchum, developing and executing a community-centered DEI strategy and structure. She also worked across the wider Omnicom network to help establish the first-ever global town hall for Black employees, which led to the creation of the Black Together Employee Resource Group in support of Black employees. Before that, she worked as an account manager for nearly eight years at Brandware Public Relations.
Volt Studios
Content company Volt Studios has added senior producer Jenny Cadwell. She previously worked at Carmichael Lynch and also as an independent rep, before joining Fallon as a post producer. This was followed by a successful tenure at Martin Williams, where she was a senior producer.
Wunderman Thompson
Wunderman Thompson has appointed Tony Weber as chief data officer North America. Weber takes on this role after first joining Wunderman Thompson in 2017 as principal consultant, where he led digital transformation initiatives.
The marketing veteran joined the company from Time Inc., where he drove subscription and retail purchase capabilities for the consumer magazine business as vp for digital marketing, analytics and capabilities.
Young & Laramore
Young & Laramore has promoted Tom Denari, president and chief strategy officer, to CEO, as Paul Knapp has stepped out of day-to-day operations after 25 years leading the agency as CEO. Knapp will remain in his role of chairman of the board.
In 2005, Denari became president and CSO, leading Y&L’s consumer insights and brand strategy for all clients. Going forward he will continue oversight of those roles, in addition to leading all business operations.
Denari has been with Y&L since he joined as an account manager 32 years ago and previously served as Y&L’s director of client services.
Zulu Alpha Kilo
Canadian agency Zulu Alpha Kilo has hired Christine McNab as its first ever chief marketing officer. In this newly created role, McNab will lead new business development and help shape and grow some key areas of Zulu’s offering, such as augmented reality, Zulubot, media innovation and CX.
McNab joins Zulu from independent agency Rain where she was president for the past three years. Prior to Rain, she held senior roles at Publicis, FCB and Grey.