Tuesday, November 4, 2014
- BARKER
BARKER hired Robert Kellner as senior vice president, strategy. A newly created position, Kellner will oversee new business development strategy and outreach for the agency while working with president and chief idea officer John Barker to identify new growth opportunities. Most recently, he served as senior vice president, business development for Skyline Genesis Event Marketing. While there, Kellner was responsible for providing strategic insight and guidance to clients around trade shows and event marketing initiatives. "We are pleased to welcome Robert to our team," said Barker. "His 20 years of business development experience and strategic thinking will serve as a major asset to our firm as we connect with senior level marketers who continue to face big challenges and need unique perspective." Current BARKER clients include PepsiCo, P&G, Estee Lauder, NYU, IDB Bank and PDI Healthcare. - Omelet
Omelet promoted Mike Wallen to chief content officer, a new position. Wallen, who has been serving as partner and executive vice president, content & development will continue to oversee Omelet Studio, the company's branded content division, which is currently working with roster clients like Microsoft and AT&T, while also producing License to Operate, Omelet's first feature-length film which follows ex-LA gang leaders turned street saviors. Since joining Omelet in 2011, Wallen has brought in clients like Walmart and Red Bull, as well as developed Omelet Studio into a full-fledged content division. Under his leadership, the company began development on its second feature-length documentary and in his new role, he'll continue to shape the future of Omelet-created branded content while also playing a part in the creation and publication of Wake Up, the company's strategic quarterly magazine. Prior to joining Omelet, Wallen was head of Fox Mobile Studios, a unit of NewsCorp, where he developed and produced original and licensed content that was tailored specifically for mobile and online distribution worldwide. "Since joining Omelet nearly four years ago, Mike has proven through integrated Microsoft campaigns, a full-length documentary film, and even a branded content series, that his creative innovation can be applied to any situation," said Don Kurz, chairman and CEO of Omelet. "More importantly, he isn't just one of Omelet's secret weapons, he's also an integral part of our family and we're looking forward to his continued success at our company." - R/GA
Robin Forbes and Anthony Romano both joined R/GA New York as senior vice president, group managing director. Forbes will grow and manage a team, whose clients include Samsung Global, Audible, and Johnson & Johnson, and build new client relationships for the agency. He will report to Seth Solomons, executive vice president, managing director New York, global chief client services officer, R/GA. Prior to joining R/GA, Forbes spent 13 years at Blast Radius where he was part of the senior management team that grew the business and ultimately sold it to WPP in 2007. As managing director for North America, he oversaw 400 employees across seven offices in both the United States and Canada. More recently, he helped lead the integration of Wunderman Network sister agency Designkitchen into Blast Radius, adding an office in Chicago and San Francisco. "Robin is a conceptual creative thinker who is fearless in bringing innovative ideas to his clients," said Solomons. "Equally important, he has a proven track record of building offices and inspiring talent on a global scale." Romano will leverage his agency, client and publisher background to oversee a team of more than 85 people, servicing a host of clients including Samsung, Coca-Cola, MasterCard and Converse. Romano, who also reports to Solomons, joined the agency from AOL, where he served as global head of agency development. Prior to AOL, he was executive vice president, worldwide group account director at Publicis Groupe. While there, Romano ran digital accounts served by Publicis Modem and Saatchi & Saatchi. On the client side, he previously served as vice president, managing director, interactive & emerging media for Polo Ralph Lauren where his team supported the digital and content needs of all of the company's brands globally. "Anthony's diverse background, a mix of traditional, digital and media, makes him an ideal fit for R/GA and reflects our strategy of recruiting best in class, multi-disciplinary leaders," said Solomons. - KBS Toronto
KBS Toronto hired Brenda Surminski as head of broadcast. Surminski joins the agency from a freelancing position. Prior to that, she was head of broadcast at Ogilvy and Mather for 10 years, serving as a key player in the successful repositioning of Unilever's Dove brand. She is perhaps best known for her work on the Dove viral web campaign "Evolution," which received the first ever Cannes double Grand Prix award. In this newly created role, Surminski will oversee all aspects of film and video production and report to Matt Hassell, chief creative officer of KBS. - Momentum Worldwide
Effective November 10, Omid Farhang joins Momentum Worldwide as chief creative officer, North America. Farhang will be based out of Momentum's New York office and lead a creative department that spans across the U.S. Farhang joins the agency from Narrative, where he served as chief creative officer. Prior to that, he was a creative executive at Creative Artists Agency, working with clients including General Motors, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Southwest Airlines and Best Buy. Among his most recognized work at CAA was the "ZZ Shock" campaign for Diageo's Jeremiah Weed whiskey brand, which earned a Bronze Lion at Cannes in 2013 in the Branded Content and Entertainment category. The campaign featured the band ZZ Top performing in a space behind a beer refrigerator, surprising customers at a convenience store. Farhang began his career at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, rising from intern to group creative director, creating work for Volkswagen, Burger King, Gap, the "truth" anti-smoking campaign, Microsoft and Bolthouse Farms. "Omid is not only a tremendous talent, but even more importantly, he's a tremendous cultural fit for Momentum," said Chris Weil, chairman and CEO of Momentum Worldwide. "His work has influenced people across the industry and the world, and his creative talents and vision are going to help Momentum continue creating the best experiences connecting brands and people. We are excited to have him join our family and lead our creative teams." - M&C Saatchi Mobile
M&C Saatchi Mobile hired Jonathan Zajdman as art director. Zajdman joins M&C Saatchi Mobile from Gap’s Global Marketing team, where he redesigned and digitized the company’s internal campaigns as senior visual designer in digital communications.
- Huge
Huge promoted Jon Jackson from executive creative director to global creative director. - Interactive Advertising Bureau
The Interactive Advertising Bureau promoted Lisa Milgram to senior vice president of membership programs; Carl Kalapesi to vice president of industry initiatives; and Virginia Rollet Moore to vice president of events. - SK+G
SK+G promoted Jessica George to group design director; Janae Niell and Camille Mumpower to designers and Tim Deneau to interactive designer. - Hornall Anderson
Brand design firm Hornall Anderson has opened a New York studio to be led by Kathy Soranno as executive creative director and managing director. - Young & Laramore
Young & Laramore hired Brian Thibodeau as senior art director; Dustin Zimmerman and Kyle Nordsiek as designers and Will Calderwood as assistant account manager. - iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia named Adam Denenberg as chief technology officer. - Turner Broadcasting
Dan Riess was promoted to executive vice president of integrated marketing and branded content for Turner Broadcasting's Ad Sales division. - O Positive
O Positive has signed director Brian Billow for global representation. - Paramore
Paramore promoted Jenni Williams to account manager; Scott Hutcheson to strategy director; Matt Burch to content director; and Melinda Dale to social content specialist. Phillip Englehart has joined the agency as a front-end engineer. - PlaceIQ
PlaceIQ hired Nadya Kohl as senior vice president of business development. - SutherlandGold Group
SutherlandGold Group hired Lisa Broock as vice president; Melissa Klein as senior vice president of media and content and Dana Zemack as vice president, leading the Story Studio and content program. - PK4 Media
PK4 Media has hired Jessica Chow as director of product strategy based in Los Angeles. - Cronin and Company
Cronin and Company hired Micah Murray as a senior interactive project manager and Zach Doyle as a digital media assistant. - Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate promoted Jennifer Marchetti to chief marketing officer. - Turner Broadcasting System
Stephano Kim has been named senior vice president, ad operations and chief data strategist for Turner Broadcasting System's Ad Sales division. - Tapad
Tapad hired Isaac Payam Ahdout as senior vice president, engineering. - Datalogix
Datalogix hired Brandon Watson as vice president of enterprise product management. Prior to joining Datalogix, Watson was head of Kindle Reader Software products at Amazon. - Genius Brands International
Genius Brands International hired Rebecca Hershinger as chief financial officer and promoted Matthew Kornberg to vice president of finance. - Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications hired former Shine America CEO and Disney executive Rich Ross as president, the Discovery Channel. Ross will join the company in January 2015, and will be based in LA. - Process
Production company Process added Clubhouse -- the directorial team comprised of Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, and Jonathan Paley -- to its roster of directors. - Framestore
Framestore hired Jennifer Siegel as executive producer of Live Action in Framestore’s New York office. John Duffin will take on the same position in Los Angeles. - McCann Erickson
Eric David Johnson, aka DJ Bunny Ears, joined McCann Erickson in New York as executive music producer. - uSamp
uSamp promoted Scott Stein to vice president, research solutions. - Elmwood
Elmwood tapped Jessie McGuire as strategy director.
