Ad agency Tombras is expanding its New York creative team with the appointment  of Avinash Baliga as the agency’s first executive creative director. He will report to Tombras Chief Creative Officer Jeff Benjamin, who is based at the agency’s Knoxville headquarters.   Baliga will be responsible for further building out the NY creative team as well as for new business efforts at the agency’s Big Apple outpost.   

Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P) has named Leslie Barrett president of the agency, succeeding Derek Robson, who left last year for Ideo where he is CEO.  Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Barrett moved to the US at the age of 13. She began her advertising career at Anderson & Lembke, where she worked on the Microsoft account for three years.   During her …

Candace Queen has joined the American Advertising Federation as vice president of the AAF Mosaic Center, which implements all of the AAF’s multicultural and diversity initiatives. The efforts range from its Most Promising Multicultural Students program to Mosaic Awards, HBCUs for Advertising, APEX Multicultural Speakers Bureau and more.    Queen has championed diversity, equity, and inclusion through her work with the AAF …

Jenkins will lead a team across a portfolio that includes Acura, Corona, Grey Goose and Patron.

She joined the agency seven years ago and has worked on CPG, consumer tech and real estate accounts.

Laura Robichaux is a 16-year marketing veteran, who has worked with numerous top brands.

Previously, she served as SVP of production at the Wrigley Media Group.

Doe-Anderson has added two agency veterans to its Maker’s Mark team with the hiring of Jennifer Billiot Garrett as VP, Strategy Director and Alex Goulart as Creative Director.  Billiot Garrett brings nearly two decades of advertising experience, having worked with  agencies across the U.S and UK - including GSD&M, Grey Group, McGarry Bowen and Breaking Blue - and was most recently the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of brand and qualitative research company Big Sky Strategy. 

Hutchinson will lead initiatives across all aspects of product marketing, demand generation and brand communications.