People on the Move
Wednesday, August 28, 2002

  • Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners has hired MARC BLANCHARD as an Interactive Director/Creative Director. Assigned to New York, Blanchard will lead an interactive team in the development of integrated online ad concepts and campaigns, primarily for the Intel account. Blanchard comes to the agency from Zendo Studios, a Bay Area-based online entertainment company that he co-founded in 1999.

  • BILL HUMPHREY has been named President, Liberty Livewire Media Group. In his new role, Humphrey will have oversight of the company's extensive Media Group businesses.

  • Playboy Enterprises Inc. promoted RANDY A. NICOLAU to President of Playboy.com Inc., replacing Lawrence R. Lux. Nicolau has been with Playboy.com since last year as Senior Vice President responsible for marketing, e-commerce and subscription services. Prior to joining Playboy, Nicolau served as Senior Vice President of Small World Media Inc., an online fantasy sports company.

  • Former Cartoon Network President BETTY COHEN said Friday that she is leaving AOL Time Warner in one month to talk to investors about financing a project that she has been developing at the company for about a year. AOL Time Warner could no longer pursue the project, which Cohen described as multimedia programming for young adults.

  • Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is looking for a new vice president of advertising and marketing, a position that has been vacant since the departure of BOB MERZ one week ago. Merz left "to pursue other options," according to 7-Eleven representative Dana Manley.

  • Time veteran MARK GLATZHOFER has moved to Media Networks, where he will be the new Vice President/General Manager. Glatzhofer had been at Time since 1988, working most recently with the Fortune Group (including Fortune, Business 2.0 and FSB). Glatzhofer has also worked for Money and Life.

  • CBS has promoted Manager of Broadcast Television Research MARIANNE O'LEARY to Director of Media Research. She will be headquartered in New York and report to Greg Kasparian, Vice President of Television Audience Measurement.

  • It was announced this week that CHRIS ROHRS, President of the Television Bureau of Advertising will serve a second three-year term at the nonprofit group.

  • Yahoo Inc.'s Chief Product Officer TIM BRADY plans to retire from the company at the end of August. Brady's retirement marks the departure of another member of the company's original management team. A company spokeswoman said Geoff Ralston, who heads up the company's communications group, will assume many of Mr. Brady's responsibilities.

  • WILLIAM G. MOLL, President of Clear Channel Television, announced today the appointment of five new Regional Vice Presidents to oversee the operations of the company’s 36 television stations. The new Regional Vice Presidents and the regions they will oversee are: MARK FAYLOR -- North Coast Group (Monterey/Salinas, Santa Rosa and Eureka, Calif.; and Eugene, Ore.), STEVE KIMATIAN -- New York Group (Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton, Elmira, Utica and Watertown, NY), DON PERRY -- Southwest Group (San Antonio, Texas; Tulsa, Okla.; Wichita, Kan.), DAVE REID -- Northwest Group (Bellingham, Wash./Vancouver, B.C.; Fairbanks, Alaska), and STEVE SPENDLOVE -- Central Coast Group (Salt Lake City, Utah; and Bakersfield, Fresno, Santa Maria/Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo, Calif.)

  • Razorfish, Inc., the digital solutions provider, announced the appointment of CESAR BREA to Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Prior to joining Razorfish, Brea was Vice President of Business Development at ArsDigita Corporation, an open-source enterprise application software firm.

  • Oxygen Media said Tuesday it is laying off nearly two-thirds of the staff at its oxygen.com website and is scaling back the site's content because of difficult business conditions. Twenty-nine people, out of a total 44 at oxygen.com, are expected to lose their jobs over the next three months, bringing the site's total staff to 15. The focus of oxygen.com will also shift to promoting the Oxygen cable network, rather than original content.

  • STEPHEN P. HILLS, a Vice President of The Washington Post who oversees its advertising, circulation and marketing departments, will become President and General Manager of the newspaper effective Sunday. Hills, who joined the newspaper in 1987, will oversee Post business operations. The positions of president and general manager have been vacant since September 2000.

  • Freedom Communications Inc. promoted Broadcast President ALAN BELL to Chief Executive as part of a broader plan to restructure the private media company. Bell replaced Samuel Wolgemuth, who resigned under pressure from owners of the media group to provide higher profits. As Broadcast Division President, Bell has overseen the group's eight network affiliates.

  • Bertelsmann, the German media group, has launched a reorganization and downsizing of its group headquarters. The move is the latest indication that Günther Thielen, who took over for Thomas Middelhoff as Chief Executive last month, is rolling back his predecessor's efforts to prepare Bertelsmann for a 2005 initial public offering.

  • Citing recent account losses, Omnicom shops BBDO and DDB have laid off a total of 26 people, agency representatives said. DDB Chicago laid off 19 employees, or about 3 percent of its staff, as a result of the loss of Qwest's $100 million account to Foote, Cone & Belding early in August. At BBDO Chicago, seven people, or 4% of the staff, were let go. In July the agency lost its $20-25 million Allied Domecq business, which included the Kahlua, Stolichnaya and Beefeater brands.

  • GOODSPOT DESIGN and GOODSPOT EDITORIAL, which specialize in branding and design for the marketing of feature films, TV networks, commercials and other innovative companies, announced that MANDY MARTIN has been appointed to the position of Executive Producer for both divisions. Prior to joining GOODSPOT, Martin was Executive Producer for ATTIK/San Francisco, since 2000. Before ATTIK she was with Pittard Sullivan for two years, where she began as a Producer and later became Executive Producer, specializing in major international projects.

  • J.G. SANDOM is leaving his post as Vice Chairman of RappDigital, the digital-marketing arm of Omnicom Group's Rapp Collins Worldwide, New York. Sandom, who founded RappDigital, assumed the role of Vice Chairman in October when John Anderson, previously Executive Vice President of the agency, was promoted to General Manager. Sandom, who is leaving to pursue other opportunities, will continue to work with RappDigital on a consulting basis.