Tuesday, March 10, 2015
- Big Spaceship
Brooklyn-based digital agency Big Spaceship hired Cedric Devitt as chief creative officer, a new position. Devitt will report to Michael Lebowitz, founder and CEO of Big Spaceship. Prior to Big Spaceship, Devitt served as chief creative officer of MRY and was responsible for the creative output of the agency across North America, Europe and Asia. Before LBi acquired MRY in 2013, Devitt spent more than three years at LBi in creative leadership roles, including chief creative officer and executive creative director. "Since we opened our doors in 2000, creativity has always been and will always be the responsibility of every member of our crew, regardless of their role. That's the primary reason for our success and longevity," said Lebowitz. "Our clients are asking us to take on a more central role in their overall efforts. Cedric's experience across traditional, digital and social is critical to meeting the expanded challenges and leadership role being asked of us, while maintaining our philosophy and culture." - SMG Performance Marketing
SMG Performance Marketing, part of Starcom MediaVest Group, announced today that it has hired Dan Matarelli as its new vice president, director. In his new role, Matarelli will manage the Chicago Performance Marketing office along with Kathryn Dillon, and lead various PM account teams He most recently worked at Caterpillar as global customer experience & marketing director, eCommerce, where he helped build Caterpillar's international eCommerce presence. Prior to that, he worked at Novartis Pharmaceuticals as a marketing and sales consultant. Matarelli is also a Starcom/Leo Burnett alum, having worked on clients such as Philip Morris and Miller Brewing Company. - Gyro Chicago
Gyro Chicago hired Mark Witthoefft as head of planning. Witthoefft has worked for digital agencies like Razorfish and R/GA, along with more traditional shops such as Arnold and Element 79. Most recently, he was executive director of integrated strategy at the digital agency, Resource. Witthoefft has worked for clients like Capital One, Gatorade, Grey Goose, State Farm, Sprint and the truth anti-smoking campaign. "Mark's deep brand strategy experience combined with his knowledge across both traditional and digital channels makes him the perfect fit for gyro Chicago," said Mike Hensley, executive vice president/general manager of Gyro Chicago. "He will be a huge asset for our valued clients." - Starcom USA
Starcom USA hired Tim Libby as senior vice president, digital director to lead digital strategy and delivery across the Novartis portfolio, including OTC, Alcon, Pharma and Oncology, overseeing activations and digital investment across each vertical. Libby will also implement processes and best practices for a new, internal Programmatic buying offering. Libby joins the agency from Ruder Finn and has more than 12 years of experience, working on brands like Geico, MetLife, Capital One, CITI, AEN, NBC Universal and Crown Imports. - Doner
Doner hired Jason Gaboriau as executive vice president, executive creative director and Zihla Salinas as executive vice president, managing director. The pair will manage the LA office and report to David DeMuth, co-CEO and president, Doner and Rob Strasberg, co-CEO and chief creative officer, Doner. Gaboriau will oversee creative work and be responsible for the overall creative direction for the agency's clients, as well as Doner LA. Most recently, Gaboriau served as vice president, executive creative director at Crispin, Porter + Bogusky LA, where he grew the agency from a small production outpost with one client to an integrated agency with more than 100 employees and several clients such as Paddy Power, Turkish Airlines and NBA 2K. Prior to that, he was founding partner/executive creative director at Amalgamated. Salinas will develop and oversee all of Doner LA's operations, working closely with Gaboriau. Salinas joins Doner LA from partner company MDC Partners, where she served as senior vice president, strategy and development. Prior to that she was the chief marketing officer of Rapp, where she lead business development, agency branding and client strategy on digital and multi-channel CRM and initiatives. "We're constantly challenging ourselves to create ideas that not only move people, but get them to act," said Strasberg. "Jason and Zihla are insightful, accountable and creative which is why they've been so successful throughout their careers at growing businesses and transforming brands. They're monster creative thinkers and skillful strategic assassins, who are more importantly wonderful people with open minds and big hearts. We couldn't have found two better individuals to come together to take Doner LA to an entirely different level." - Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution
Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution promoted Victoria Marcroft to vice president of its Marketing, Promotion & Publicity department. - Geometry Global
Geometry Global promoted Soche Picard from executive vice president, group account director to managing director, NY and Angela Burton from general manager, JWT, NY to general manager, Geometry Global NY. - Hearst Magazines Marketing Services and iCrossing
Nick Brien was named president of Hearst Magazines Marketing Services and CEO of iCrossing. Brien most recently served as a strategic consultant and early-stage investor in digital media, advertising and technology startups. Brien was CEO of McCann Worldgroup from 2010 to 2012. - KSV
KSV, a Burlington-based marketing firm, hired Brent Sitterly as analytics manager. - Jet
Jet hired Liza Landsman, most recently chief marketing officer at E-Trade Financial, as chief customer officer. - truTV
Maureen Taran was named executive in charge of talent for truTV. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing all talent logistics and casting initiatives for the network including talent participation in events, marketing efforts, digital/social initiatives, ad sales and public relations campaigns. - Saban Brands
Saban Brands tapped Zofia Karpinska as director of distribution, emerging markets. - R2C Group
R2C Group hired Mark Toner as its first chief marketing officer, where he will oversee all marketing and agency growth. - Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications tapped Marc Graboff as president, global business & legal affairs, production management and studios. He will be based in Los Angeles. - Resource/Ammirati
Resource/Ammirati hired Deirdre Egan as managing director of its Chicago office. She most recently served as vice president, associate client partner at Merkle. - Digital Operative
Digital Operative named Rick Gray as senior visual designer. - Rakuten Marketing
Rakuten Marketing named Tony Zito as CEO, overseeing its business in the Americas, Europe and Australia. - Pivot Audio
Boutique audio production studio Pivot Audio opened a Los Angeles office, which will be led by award-winning composer, Guy Amitai. - Beast
Beast has hired Astrid Downs as executive producer to oversee projects for its Santa Monica office. - Ketchum
Ketchum named Dr. Christopher Handler as senior vice president and director of its Social Marketing Practice, responsible for leading communications programs for federal government agencies and nonprofit associations. - St. Joseph Communication
St. Joseph Communication hired Robert Lewocz and Anna Wells as vice presidents of business development for its Content and Print groups, respectively. - Drumroll
Drumroll hired Clare Campa as assistant account executive and Jonathan Hall as account executive. - Wikia
Wikia named Walker Jacobs as chief operating officer, based in New York. In this newly created role, Jacobs will lead the sales, marketing, operations and advertising product development teams. - Mfa, Ltd.
Caroline Andrew and Agatha Capacchione were promoted to senior vice presidents, from vice presidents, at Mfa, Ltd. - Gyro Manchester
Martin Tapley was named head of planning of Gyro Manchester. Tapley joins Gyro from the BBC Marketing and Audiences department where he was senior audience planner. - Stun Creative
Stun Creative hired Michael Vamosy as chief creative officer, a new position at the company. - Krux
Krux hired Chris O'Hara as vice president, strategic accounts and Joydip Das as vice president, products. - Nathan Love
Production and animation studio Nathan Love signed directorial duo, Native to Noise, to its roster. - Kiip
Kiip hired Stephanie Klimaszewski as senior director of sales development & marketing and Chris Gore as data scientist. - Xaxis
Xaxis named Karl Bunch as vice president, global product development. - EVC Group
Rob Swadosh joined EVC Group as managing director and leader of the agency's Integrated Communications practice. - Generator Media + Analytics
Generator Media + Analytics hired Kara Borbely as a communications strategy assistant; Nicole Cross as SEM manager; and Katie Bow was hired as a communications strategy assistant. - Greencard
New York-based production company Greencard added Zac Stuart-Pontier to its roster of directors.
