People on the Move
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
  • Barry Wacksman and Matt Tepper
    R/GA
    R/GA tapped Barry Wacksman as executive vice president, global chief strategy officer. In his new role, Wacksman will assume global responsibility for all 3 of R/GA's strategic functions: Planning, Analytics and Business Transformation, while continuing to lead the global business development team. Based in New York, he'll continue to report to Bob Greenberg, R/GA's founder, CEO and chairman. "I look forward to gaining tremendous synergy by assigning these critical, thought-leading departments and capabilities under Barry, who has a proven track record of pioneering strategy and innovative approaches to connecting brands and consumers," said Greenberg. In addition, Matt Tepper, currently vice president of R/GA's CRM capability, will take on an expanded role as vice president of Analytics and CRM and will report to Wacksman.
  • Mark Snow, Maria D'Amato, Luke Dreyer, Jennifer Billiot, Dan Drullinger, Lindsay Wakabayashi, Desiree Townsend and Kerri McCarthy
    GSD&M
    GSD&M added eight new employees spanning various departments. Mark Snow joins the agency as creative director for Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards program. He most recently served as associative director at RAPP and DDB. Maria D'Amato was named associate creative director to round out GSD&M's newest experience design team. She joins GSD&M from R/GA, where she served as associate creative director. Luke Dreyer was named strategy director to lead research and strategy for the agency's Southwest Airlines and Walgreens accounts, respectively. He most recently served as strategy director at McCann New York. Jennifer Billiot also joins as strategy director and will work alongside Dreyer on research and strategy efforts. She joins GSD&M from mcgarrybowen New York, where she spent six years working as a strategic planning director. Dan Drullinger was named strategist and joins the agency from CP+B LA and Miami, where he was a cognitive anthropologist. Lindsay Wakabayashi was named director of business affairs to handle overall management of the business affairs department. Desiree Townsend was named senior business affairs manager, focusing on the Southwest Airlines business. She previously worked at Publicis Hawkeye in Dallas. Lastly, Kerri McCarthy was named SEM specialist, tapped to lead SEM efforts for clients including Whole Foods Market, U.S. Air Force, Chipotle and Stainmaster.
  • Andrea Lennon
    Critical Mass
    Critical Mass hired Andrea Lennon as general manager for the Asia Pacific Region. Lennon will handle agency operations, leadership on existing client relationships and new business development. She will be based in Singapore and report to John McLaughlin, chief operating offer of Critical Mass. Lennon joins the agency from WPP, where she served as executive vice president, consumer brand lead overseeing omni-channel brand communications work for Bank of America. Prior to that, she was group account director at R/GA, serving as client lead for McCormick & Co. "Andrea's appointment comes at a crucial time as Critical Mass' global client relationships are rapidly expanding in the region," said Dianne Wilkins, chief executive officer of Critical Mass. "Her diverse background, expertise and success leading global accounts will be a major asset as we continue to develop our footprint in Asia."
  • Andrea Ring
    Big Spaceship
    Big Spaceship named Andrea Ring as chief strategy officer, a new position at the Brooklyn-based agency. Ring starts her new position on July 20 and will report to Michael Lebowitz, founder and CEO of Big Spaceship. As chief strategy officer, Ring will be responsible for leading Big Spaceship's strategy discipline. Ring joins Big Spaceship from R/GA, where she served as senior vice president of planning/experience planning. During her 10-year stint, Ring built a team of 40 planners with skills ranging from building products and services to storytelling. Ring worked with brands such as Nike, Google, and Samsung, helping clients rethink their businesses and develop meaningful relationships with the right consumers. "Ring's addition to the leadership team is pivotal as we look to expand our capabilities and strengthen our commitment to our clients," said Lebowitz. "Not only is she an expert in her field, she's a strong cultural fit and a proven leader who will no doubt be a key driver in our continued growth and success." Prior to R/GA, Ring worked as a brand planner with Bigchalk.com, J. Walter Thompson and Digital Pulp Advertising. "I had the pleasure of building my own team at R/GA from the ground up -- I'm an innate builder of things - and I'm beyond excited to step into this leadership position and continue growing the team of expert strategists at Big Spaceship," said Ring.
  • Elliot Parkus and Mark Holden
    Arena Media
    UK-based media planning and buying agency, Arena Media, hired Elliot Parkus as managing partner and promoted Mark Holden to head of strategy. Parkus will work on the recently won Royal Mail account and serve as senior resource leader on core clients including Domino's. Most recently, Parkus worked as UK group director of planning at The Specialist Works, where he was responsible for establishing the planning and client management division, and launching new services, including The Mobile House. Prior to that, he worked at Publicis Groupe agencies ZeninthOptimedia and Starcom MediaVest, where he was responsible for managing clients including BMW, Scottish & Newcastle (Heineken UK), Premier Foods, Mars Masterfoods and BT. In addition, Mark Holden was promoted to lead the strategic output for Arena Media's clients. He will report to Graeme Douglas, chief strategy officer of Havas Media Group. In his previous position, Holden worked as a key strategy lead for Arena Media's Royal Mail account. He has also worked as the digital strategy lead on Domino's UK. "Every agency is founded on its people, and at Arena Media we count ourselves lucky to be working with some of the best in the business," said Henry Daglish, managing director at Arena Media. "Mark has proved himself to be a top-level strategic thinker since he joined in 2012, particularly through his stellar work with Domino's Pizza. Likewise, Elliot's experience speaks for itself, and I know that his passion for the industry will make him a key member of our leadership team."
  • Sean Brown and Gordon McNee
    Extractable
    Extractable named Sean Brown as chief technology officer. Brown previously held roles as managing director at Neo and executive vice president of technology at Barefoot Proximity. In addition, Gordon McNee was named vice president  of creative.
  • Steve Longo
    MODCo Group
    MODCo Group added Steve Longo as SEO supervisor.
  • Ayse Altinok
    Biscuit Filmworks
    Biscuit Filmworks added Ayse Altinok to its directorial roster.
  • Andrew Mencinsky
    SUP magazine
    SUP magazine added Andrew Mencinsky as sales and marketing manager.
  • Justin Fadgen
    Beachfront Media
    Beachfront Media hired Justin Fadgen as vice president of business development.
  • Lindsey Whalen
    KSV
    Lindsey Whalen has joined KSV as a project manager based in Burlington, Vermont. Most recently, Whalen was a project manager in Colorado for Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
  • Sandy Carvalho
    MediaBrix
    Sandy Carvalho joined MediaBrix as vice president of marketing.
  • Rosalynn "Roz" Bostock, Stephanie Pierce and Torrey Tarrali
    Fetch
    Fetch hired Rosalynn "Roz" Bostock as client services director and Stephanie Pierce and Torrey Tarrali as account directors.
  • Kurt Johnson
    AnchorOps
    AnchorOps hired Kurt Johnson as senior vice president of marketing.
  • Aaron Carrera, Kim Stavers, Lynn Lieu and Amanda Reid
    GrindTV
    GrindTV added Aaron Carrera as general manager, Kim Stavers as editor, Lynn Lieu as managing editor and Amanda Reid as social media and Web producer.
  • Le Cube
    Not To Scale
    Film and animation content studio Not To Scale signed Le Cube to its directorial roster. Made up of creative director Ralph Karam and executive producers Gustavo Karam and Juan Manuel Freire, Le Cube specializes in animation, illustration and character design.
  • Resh Sidhu
    Framestore
    Framestore hired Resh Sidhu as a creative director of the Virtual Reality Studio.
  • Paola Palazzo
    Barclays Center
    Barclays Center opened a Los Angeles office and hired Paola Palazzo as vice president of entertainment industry relations and event development.
  • Andre Bliznyuk and Marcos Sanchez
    Runa Capital
    Runa Capital, a global venture capital firm, announced that partner Andre Bliznyuk will move to the U.S. to open an office in San Francisco. Additionally, the company hired Marcos Sanchez to manage global communications for the firm.
  • Nikki Nite
    Entercom
    Entercom named Nikki Nite as vice president of programming and operations in Austin.
  • Amber Guild, Hayden Lockaby, Melissa Braun, Courtney Shares, Yocasta Lachapelle, Peter Lau, Bryna Keenaghan and Clay Kippen
    Collins
    Collins hired Amber Guild as president; Hayden Lockaby as group client director; Melissa Braun as client director; Courtney Shares as producer; Yocasta Lachapelle as creative manager; Peter Lau as digital strategy director; Bryna Keenaghan as strategy director and Clay Kippen as experience designer.
  • Dan Federico
    SocialCode
    SocialCode tapped Dan Federico as chief financial officer.
  • Juana Summers
    Mashable
    Mashable hired Juana Summers as its first politics editor to direct day-to-day political coverage and reporting on the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
  • Mike Gilpin
    Siteworx
    Siteworx hired Mike Gilpin as chief technical officer.
  • Ben Freer, AJ Murillo, Benjamin Tomastik and Melissa Elston
    Eleven
    Eleven promoted Ben Freer to mixer; AJ Murillo to mixer; Benjamin Tomastik to staff assistant mixer and hired Melissa Elston as client relations and facility coordinator.
  • Rob Pritts
    Lucky 21
    Rob Pritts joined the directorial roster of Lucky 21.
  • Stacy Peterson and Julia Williams
    Cut+Run New York
    Cut+Run New York promoted Stacy Peterson to editor and Julia Williams to head of production.
  • Lizzie Komar
    Index Exchange
    Index Exchange hired Lizzie Komar, former associate analyst at AdExchanger Research, as director of research & insights.
  • Dominic Losacco
    Moe’s Southwest Grill
    Moe’s Southwest Grill hired Dominic Losacco as vice president of global marketing.
  • Shannon Lords
    Humble
    Humble hired Shannon Lords as executive producer in Los Angeles.
  • Andrew Baird
    8th Street
    8th Street added Andrew Baird to its directorial roster.
  • Jeff Miller
    Entercom Communications
    Entercom Communications hired Jeff Miller as vice president/general manager of SmartReach Digital.
  • Shawn Gurn
    Moasis
    Moasis hired Shawn Gurn as vice president of sales for the southwest region.
  • David Karnstedt
    Quantifind
    Quantifind hired David Karnstedt as CEO.
  • Malek Tayara
    Siteworx
    Siteworx hired Malek Tayara as managing director for the central region.
  • Nicole Labadie Walker
    TPN Retail
    TPN Retail promoted Nicole Labadie Walker to group account director of the Chicago office.
  • Veronica Chao
    Boston Globe
    The Boston Globe named Veronica Chao as editor of the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.
  • David Shackley
    RedPeg Marketing
    David Shackley was promoted to president of RedPeg Marketing.
  • Brian Morrison
    Lighthouse eDiscovery
    Lighthouse eDiscovery tapped Brian Morrison as a director of business development in the Northeast.
  • Ali Patterson
    Magline
    Magline named Ali Patterson as director of new product development.
  • Kevin Bartanian
    StandardVisions
    Kevin Bartanian was named executive vice president of sales & business development at StandardVisions.
  • Christian Busch
    Indiegogo
    Indiegogo tapped Christian Busch as senior vice president of marketing.
  • Chris Negron
    Undertone
    Undertone added Chris Negron as vice president of sales, central region.