Mod Op is adding to its leadership team with Audra Pace joining as creative director/brand strategist in New York City and Andy Hann joining its Los Angeles office as a Creative Director. Their arrival follows the recent merger between Modus Operandi and Eyeball to form the full-service creative digital agency Mod Op. Hann was previously an executive creative director at WME/IMG. There, in addition to spearheading activations for Sundance Film Festival and New York Fashion Week, he was also integral to securing the Visa account. Most recently, Pace was a creative director for Gluttony and has spent time at A+E …

Julie Berger is departing IPG's Initiative Media to join Media Storm as executive director, audience networks. In this newly created role, she will focus on clients’ campaign integrations across the digital and addressable media ecosystem as well as oversee the management of the agency’s digital efforts which include Media Storm’s influencer marketing, biddable media, and programmatic capabilities, particularly as they expand into other channels. She will be based at the agency's Los Angeles office, reporting to Steve Piluso, Media Storm’s executive director, head of media & integration.  

Translation has appointed Eric Steele Group Creative Director. He will report to Chief Creative Officer John Norman.  Previously Steele served as Group Creative Director at 72andSunny New York, where he helped build the office from a startup operation. While there he led creative efforts on Smirnoff, Samsung, ESPN and Comcast Xfinity.   Earlier Steele spent nearly a decade at Wieden+ Kennedy as a Creative Director and Writer in the New York office, partnering with brands like ESPN, Nike, Jordan, Heineken and Delta. 

Publicis Groupe has appointed Alex Lea as executive creative director at DeptW, the company unit dedicated to the Groupe's Walmart account.  Lea will be based at Saatchi New York’s offices and report to Saatchi NY Chief Creative Officer, Javier Campopiano and Publicis New York Chief Creative Officer, Andy Bird.  This position reunites the industry veteran with Publicis Groupe after working with a host of agencies including Droga5 and CPB. Most recently he was group creative director at Grey New York, and prior to that, ECD at Erwin Penland and Co. Earlier in his career, he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi …

San Diego advertising and marketing agency I.D.E.A. has appointed Danielle Nuzzo as director of PR and social media. The position is new and combines PR, social media and influencer marketing responsibilities. Nuzzo brings over a decade of experience in brand communications and digital storytelling to the role, including a stint at New York digital agency 360i.    

In what’s being billed as a growth management move, marketing services outfit The Ad2Pro Group named Vikram Menon President of Global Operations. Menon comes to Ad2pro from OgilvyOne Worldwide and Neo@Ogilvy, where he was President and India Country Lead for the last four-and-a-half years.  Menon is the most recent Ogilvy alum to join the firm which earlier this year formed a new agency called Madras and recruited two long-time Ogilvy senior creative executives--Bill Davaris and Andrew Ladden—to help run it.    The Group also announced that Co-Founders Gopal Krishnan and Todd Brownrout are assuming the roles of Executive Chairman and CEO, …

Independent media agency Crossmedia announced today that it has named Karim Sanjabi, Executive Director, Cognitive Solutions, a new position. Sanjabi’s remit at Crossmedia is to bring data-driven creative and artificial intelligence practices to the agency.  Sanjabi will launch Crossmedia’s Cognitive Solutions Practice, which will develop machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and applications for clients. The new unit will also develop other of-the-moment technologies such as data-driven creative, 360/interactive video, VR, and AR creative content.  “Karim is an amazing talent who will help lead Crossmedia into the future,” stated Kamran Asghar, CEO Crossmedia. “We share the same vision: that technology can remove the ego from the …

Robert S. Scalea, former NA Chief Strategy Officer at WPP’s  J. Walter Thompson and CEO of sibling branding agency The Brand Union/Americas has joined Collegium Holdings where he will lead firm’s business innovation and integration efforts, and join the Collegium Board of Directors. Before his 12-year stint at WPP, Scalea spent seven years as EVP/Director of Marketing Sciences at Interpublic Group’s Hill Holliday in Boston. Massachusetts.

NewCo—the temporary name GroupM has given to the combined MEC/Maxus agency—has appointed Christina Vacharanetr to the role of Managing Director Thailand, effective with the rollout the new agency next January. Vacharanetr led Maxus in the region between 2011 and 2014 and became Managing Director for MEC in 2015. The 20-plus year agency veteran has worked on numerous blue chip accounts during her career including Colgate, L’Oréal, Mercedes Benz, Danone, Unilever and Ford to name a few. 

WPP mobile marketing firm Bottle Rocket has announced the addition of a new Chief Mobile Architect, Jonathan Campos, who joins the company with more than 10 years’ experience working with enterprise applications in the Dallas technology space. This addition supports the company’s renewed strategic focus and strengthens its position in application development for mobile and new digital experiences. The company said that Campos would be instrumental in its efforts to modernize and expand the technology capabilities of the company.