BBDO
Abbe Hale joined BBDO this week as global business director across the network's Fonterra accounts. She will be based out of Singapore and will report to Jean-Paul Burge, president of BBDO Southeast Asia and CEO of BBDO Singapore. She joins BBDO from Y&R Auckland where she optimised client relationships and built and developed the account management team. Much of her 17 year career has been spent between the US and the UK, with 5 years at BBH in London and 2 years at Anomaly in New York. In 2008, she rejoined BBH in New York and in 2011 was appointed to the board and the position of head of account management, where she remained until her return home to New Zealand in 2013.
Abbe Hale joined BBDO this week as global business director across the network's Fonterra accounts
Burge said that Hale has a “Fabulous track record and is a proven performer on large, complex accounts,” and he is “Delighted to have someone as accomplished” as her taking on the Fonterra account, one of the agency's best pieces of business, and one they have been “Extremely proud of for several years.” Hale adds that she's “Delighted to join the team at BBDO,” a network she has admired for its “Commitment to drive creative and commercial excellence.” She's “Very much looking forward to working with Fonterra to develop and grow their consumer brands on the world stage.”
Razorfish
Razorfish announced two big hires this week in the form of Ian Sohn, who was appointed as senior vice president of client engagement, and Christian Barnard, who joins the agency as group vice president of client engagement. Sohn will be based out of Razorfish's Chicago office, where he will be responsible for driving innovation on behalf of global clients, developing and driving strategic opportunities, and managing the internal client engagement team. Barnard, meanwhile, will be responsible for providing client oversight for portfolio brands in Austin, Texas, as well as growing revenues of existing accounts and expanding the agency's client roster.
Ian Sohn was appointed as senior vice president of client engagement at Razorfish
Sohn, who will report to central region managing director Diane Slater, most recently spent eight years at Ogilvy & Mather, where he founded the agency's award-winning social media practice in 2008. In addition to his time spent at Ogilvy, Sohn also served as senior vice president of client strategy and marketing at the Chicago-based technology startup Tap.Me, a mobile ad platform acquired by MediaMath in 2012. Sohn said “Razorfish is the industry leader in developing world-class commerce and customer experiences,” and he is “Honoured to be joining a team passionate about driving their clients' business forward." His intention at his new home is to apply his experience “Experience managing diverse client portfolios and cross-functional teams to enable a deeper level of growth and business transformation for both the clients and the agency itself.” Slater, his new immediate superior, said Sohn's “Entrepreneurial mindset, strong track record building successful businesses for global brands and ability to develop world-class marketing talent makes him a natural leader.” She feels he “Shares Razorfish's vision for driving business transformation,” and is thrilled to have him on the central leadership team.
Christian Barnard joins the agency as group vice president of client engagement of its central region
Barnard, who will be based in Razorfish's Austin office and will report to central region president Deb Boyda, joins Razorfish from SapientNitro, where he served as vice president. Prior to this, Barnard led program management and delivery practice as global vice president of Frog Design. Barnard said that “Razorfish combines world-class creative, media and innovative technology capabilities in a way that makes them an unrivalled partner." He is “Thrilled to be joining an agency that drives business transformation through every facet of digital and commerce experiences.” Boyda added that she is excited for Barnard to join the team, because she feels his “Passion for design, technology and business strategy will enable him to bring a new element of critical thinking to Razorfish.”
VCCP
VCCP has promoted Jonny Goodall and James Storey to the new positions of interactive creative directors, two years after they joined the agency. The pair, who initially joined as digital design director (Goodall) and digital creative lead (Storey) will be reporting to executive creative director Darren Bailes. Prior to his time at VCCP, Goodall worked on a freelance basis for We Are Social, whilst Storey served as EMEA creative director at Infusion.
VCCP has named Jonny Goodall and James Storey as interactive creative directors
Michael Sugden, the chief executive at VCCP, said that at VCCP, they “Don’t view digital as a department or a silo.” In fact, he says they are “Utterly allergic to anything that attempts to pigeonhole aspects of the digital ecosystem,” and he feels the dual promotion of Goodall and Storey will help them continue to deliver this vision. Goodall himself also added, “The last few years have been a minefield of next big things, but we’re now seeing what’s stood the test of time,” so it's the perfect time for a promotion!
adam&eveDDB
Two of the star creative directors from adam&eveDDB have been promoted, with Richard Brim and Daniel Fisher, the team behind the multi-award winning 2013 Harvey Nichols Christmas campaign and Monty's Christmas for John Lewis, taking on the roles of ECD and deputy ECD respectively. Brim will be leading the creative department alongside fellow ECD Ben Tollett, and will also be working with Alex Hesz, who was named the agency's first director of digital, and Xavier Rees, who was recently promoted to group managing director. Company founder and ECD Ben Priest, meanwhile, will be assuming the role of chief creative officer. Brim will be replacing Emer Stamp, who will step down in the summer to focus on a burgeoning career as a children's book author following the success of her first book, “The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig.”
