Archibald/Williams
The full-service Australian agency Archibald/Williams has appointed Chris Yong as managing director, with Yong bringing over 13 years experience in Australia and the UK to the agency. Prior to joining A/W, Yong was with Clemenger BBDO for four years, and before that Saatchi & Saatchi, where he worked with agency founder Bram Williams. Williams said “The agency has been growing continuously over the past 2 years,” and with the appointment of several new staff they “Saw the need to bring in a Managing Director to help drive the agency through the next phase.” Thanks to their prior experience working together, he knows “What a great fit Yong will be,” and both himself and co-founder Stuart Archibald are delighted to have him join the team.” Archibald/Williams was founded in 2012. Their clients include News Corp Australia, Citibank, Nando’s, Syngenta, Suncorp, White Ribbon, GWF and Weave Youth & Community Services.
Y&R
Y&R has appointed John Fraser as president of Y&R Chicago, with Fraser set to lead the strategic vision and growth of the agency. Kary McIlwain, who has worked with Y&R for 26 years in both its New York and Chicago offices, will step into the role of non-executive chairman to help assure a smooth transition. Y&R global CEO David Sable said “John is an inspiring leader with deep knowledge of the Chicago market and a proven track record of growth for both agencies and marketers.” He adds that “His entrepreneurial approach is perfectly suited” to Y&R's culture and client base.
Y&R has appointed John Fraser as president of Y&R Chicago and Alex Hughes to the post of global chief marketing officer
Sable also announced this week that he was naming Y&R Advertising veteran Alex Hughes to the post of global chief marketing officer. In this role, he will be responsible for leading marketing and new business development efforts, collaborating with VML CMO Beth Wade, and going to market together when appropriate, as more and more clients are requesting global integration. Sable said “Alex has spent 27 years at Y&R Advertising and Wunderman, helping clients address their communications challenges and opportunities.” He adds that Hughes is “Smart, grounded by real business acumen, solves problems strategically, creatively and inventively, and knows every corner of Y&R thoroughly.”
Y&R has also announced a new leadership team in Shanghai
Y&R has also announced a new leadership team in Shanghai, naming Kien Hoe as executive creative director and Annie Boo as managing director. Boo returns to Y&R after stints with BBDO China and JWT Malaysia, whilst for Hoe the role is a promotion, having joined Y&R Shanghai as group creative director in September 2013 with an impressive array of China and regional campaigns and award wins for clients including Adidas, McDonald’s and Dove. It was also announced that Y&R China chief creative officer Nils Andersson will be stepping down in the summer. Matthew Godfrey, president of Y&R Asia, said they “Warmly welcome Annie Boo back to Y&R as managing director in Shanghai,” and is confident that her and Hoe will “Lead the team to continued success.”
180LA
180LA has announced award-winning creative directors, David Povill and Dave Cuccinello, have joined the agency, bringing some extensive experience and awards to the agency's Mitsubishi account. While partnered for the first time at 180LA, Dave and David sat in adjacent offices to each other whilst at David & Goliath. Povil jokes, “We’ve shared a wall, but this is the first time we’ve actually been able to physically see each other.” He adds that he always respected his new partner's though and Dave too is “Really excited to work with William again, and be a part of the great creative culture that he and the rest of the 180 team have built.” The team now shares an office overlooking the California Pacific complete with seagulls, ocean breezes, and the daily “180 Instagram hour” sunset.
M&C Saatchi
M&C Saatchi has announced Claire Croft, former coach and leadership trainer and planning partner at Proximity London, to the newly created role of head of talent at the agency. She'll report to Camilla Kemp, who was recently promoted to COO, and will oversee career development across the agency, ensuring the creative shop continues to attract, develop and retain the best possible talent. With ten years’ experience in agency-side strategic planning, Croft has held senior positions at Proximity London, Craik Jones and Archibald Ingall Stretton.
M&C Saatchi has announced Claire Croft to the newly created head of talent role
Tom Bazeley, CEO at M&C Saatchi, said that “Whilst people may well make the world go round, they also make agencies into brilliant places to work.” In this sense, he feels that hiring Croft will help grow both their people and their agency.” Croft herself added that she's “Been passionate about helping to nurture and grow talent in people for several years,” and she's excited to have the opportunity to make this the sole focus of her role at M&C Saatchi.
BBH New York
BBH New York is recognising a handful of deserving individuals for their hard work and tenure with several promotion announcements, reinforcing the agency's philosophy of creating world-renowned creative work. Paul Kamzelas was promoted to the role of group creative director. He began his career in design, but soon gravitated toward advertising, holding positions at Fallon, M&C Saatchi and Archibald Ingall Stretton before joining BBH NY in 2014 as creative director. The agency has also hired a new Creative Director and promoted three more individuals to this role as well: Daniel Bonder, creative duo Hugo Bierschenk and Dean Woodhouse, and Dave Brown. Bonder is a new hire who joins BBH New York from Venables Bell and Partners in San Francisco.
BBH New York made several promotion announcements this week
Hailing from England, Bierschenk and Woodhouse worked together at BBH London for four years before joining BBH NY In 2010 as a creative team. The duo will now take on the role of creative directors. Brown, meanwhile, began his career in New York as an art director at R/GA before moving to CP+B in Boulder, where he played a role in the Titanium Grand Prix-winning Twelpforce campaign for Best Buy. In 2011, he returned to New York to join BBH, where he has created award-winning work for PlayStation, Axe and Unicef. He will now assume the position of creative director. In addition to these creative hires, BBH has also announced the promotion of Connor Keeshan to account director, Heather Livengood to associate account director, James Bundy to associate account director, and Samantha Cescau to group strategy director.
Grey Group India
Grey Group India has appointed Vishal Ahluwalia to head its Bangalore office as vice president and office head. He will report to chairman and managing director Sunil Lulla. Ahluwalia joins Grey with two decades of marketing communications experience across various geographies and disciplines. Until recently, he has worked as a member of the board at IRIS Worldwide, in which he spearheaded the digital and retail verticals. Prior to this, he was the head of TBWA-South India, head of the Unilever business for JWT-Taipei and a senior member of both Contract and JWT. Lulla said that Ahluwalia “Brings a great blend of advertising savviness and digital smarts to Grey,” and believes that “His experience across geographies and diverse categories, will strengthen the leadership team at GREY.” Ahluwalia's mandate will be to further the agency's integrated offerings to various clients and help their brands become more effective.
Spot Welders
Spot Welders has hired industry veteran Victoria Guenier as executive producer and director of development. Working closely with co-founder and managing partner David Glean and EP’s Carolina Sanborn and Joanne Ferraro, Guenier will be on the forefront of growing business and developing talent in the merging worlds of entertainment and advertising. She most recently worked as head of production at boutique agency Omelet, and prior to that she was director of broadcast and content production at Deutsch LA. Glean said “Victoria brings a unique insight and passion” to the company and has a “Great understanding of both sides of the business.” He is “Thrilled to have her on board.”
The White Agency
In an effort to bolster its account management and production teams, The White Agency has appointed Dan Ludlow as senior account director and Rebecca Merrifield as executive producer. Merrifield brings more than 13 years of experience in digital production to White, joining the agency from Digital Arts Network where she was responsible for streamlining and improving digital production processes for agencies internally and across multiple clients. Ludlow moves to The White Agency from M&C Saatchi, where he was senior account director on IAG (NRMA Insurance) and Optus. In his new position at White he will be responsible for managing a number of key brands in the Lion portfolio.
The White Agency has appointed Dan Ludlow as senior account director and Rebecca Merrifield as executive producer
A number of key internal promotions have also been announced at the agency. Grant Flannery, who joined the company last year, has been promoted to associate strategy director, Isabel Matias moves to senior art director and Philippa White to program director. Commenting on the appointments and promotions, Andrew Davenport, managing director of the agency, said they are “Delighted to be able to recognise and reward people from within the organisation for their commitment and talent, as well as attract great new talent from the industry.”
Karmarama
Karmarama is appointing Liz Wilson, former CEO at Stack and chair of the IPA’s Client Relationship Group, as its chief operating officer. Wilson, who is an IPA Council Member, will serve as head of operations across the entire Karmarama Communications Group, which recently expanded to 300-people following the acquisition of the Nice Agency mobile app shop. This is the first time the agency has appointed a group-wide COO, and she will be leading the integration of specialists from advertising, direct, data, digital, mobile, social media, PR and content, as well as running day-to-day operations of the business and delivery across the group.
Karmarama is appointing Liz Wilson as its chief operating officer
She will join Karmarama at the end of March 2015 and will report into CEO Ben Bilboul. He said they are “Delighted to have someone of Liz’s calibre” to help them deliver a more seamless, integrated approach for their clients. He added that “She’s got a great track record across a very diverse set of agencies and will fit brilliantly into the Karma family.”
Razorfish
Razorfish has announced the appointment of AKQA’s Nick Turner to the role of international creative director. He will continue to nurture and grow the creative department for the UK office and will be a driving force in promoting experience led innovation throughout the agency’s international offices. He'll report directly to Daniel Bonner, Razorfish global chief creative officer, who said “It speaks volumes about the positive trajectory of Razorfish's international markets that Turner has been hired to lead and coordinate their creative output.” I’m incredibly proud of the best-in-class, award winning talent Razorfish is attracting. Nick brings his own unique abilities and experience to this role that will make it possible for us to push boundaries even further.” Turner’s appointment is effective from Monday 30 March. Prior to joining Razorfish, he spent 16 years at AKQA.
Havas Adwork
Havas Adwork has appointed Matt Wiggers as CEO. In his new role, Wiggers will report to Levent Guenes, chief operating officer of Havas Worldwide Southeast Asia. He has more than 20 years of experience in the industry, starting out on client side and moved to agency side when he founded his own marketing and communications agency, PSI – Problems Solved Inc. in 2002. Guenes said “Matt’s achievements with his great team over at Publicis Indonesia and PSI – Black Pencil make him the ideal choice to lead the agency.” He's confident that “Under his strong leadership, the Jakarta team will provide quality work as well as services to their Indonesian clients and be brought up to greater heights.”
