• Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016
Brittany George, Maria Allen join Alkemy X
Brittany George
PHILADELPHIA & NEW YORK -- 

Creative media company Alkemy X has added Brittany George and Maria Allen as, respectively, manager of TV & digital content, and controller.

George will work alongside EVP of TV & digital programming Andy Singer--former Travel Channel GM who joined Alkemy X this summer--to develop original content. Alkemy X’s most recent title in this division is season two of “Unique Rides” on the upscale men’s cable network Velocity. In the show, world-renowned automotive designer and host Will Castro builds customized cars for celebrity clients.

George previously worked at Leftfield Entertainment, which produced FOX’s “American Grit”; History’s “Alone” and “Pawn Stars”; and Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey.” During her tenure with the company, she developed original content for Discovery, MTV, History, Animal Planet, Lifetime, Snapchat and Vevo, among a variety of cable networks and digital platforms. George was also integral to the growth of Riot Creative, a subsidiary of Leftfield, as well as program development for eight of its other brands. A Marist alumna, George broke into the professional ranks as an executive assistant at ITV and Leftfield Pictures. Her first taste of the entertainment business was college internships for “Live With Kelly and Michael” and “The Dr. Oz Show.”

Allen spent the past three years working at NBC Sports Group in Connecticut, during which she served in two different roles: as manager of financial reporting, she was responsible for all financial activity related to NBCSN, NBC Broadcast, and the NFL; as accounting manager at NBC Sports, she was responsible for all Sports Regional Networks.

Prior to the Comcast/NBC merger, she was an accounting supervisor for Comcast SportsNet and the American Board of Internal Medicine, respectively, in Philadelphia. During her nine years with Comcast/NBC, Allen’s responsibilities spanned annual budgeting, long-range planning, forecasting, audits, and monthly close cycles.

  • Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016
EP Andrea Theodore joins Washington Square Films
Andrea Theodore
NEW YORK -- 

Washington Square Films has added Andrea Theodore as executive producer. Theodore has over 15 years of experience in the advertising field, spanning agency, production and postproduction. She comes to the NY-based Washington Square Films from Dress Code NY, where she was executive producer, after spending five years as EP and head of production at Humble. 

Theodore will spearhead business development, as well as talent strategy and curation in her role at Washington Square Films. She will work closely with company president/founder Joshua Blum and managing director Jonathan Schwartz.

Theodore began her career on the agency side as an account executive and quickly made the transition to production after getting hooked on her first on-set experience. She climbed the ranks from PA to line producer, working on commercials and music videos, and managing projects in the U.S. and abroad. From there, she spent five years as EP/managing director of Boston-based post house Finish, spearheading talent curation and a full studio renovation. In 2010, she joined Humble in New York as head of production, expanding her expertise into production and stepping up as EP in 2014. In 2016, she joined boutique production company Dress Code NY as EP.

  • Monday, Nov. 14, 2016
Sarah McMurray named EP at RSA's Hey Wonderful
Sarah McMurray
LOS ANGELES -- 

RSA’s Hey Wonderful, the integrated commercial production company founded earlier this year by industry veteran and managing director Michael Di Girolamo, has hired Sarah McMurray as staff executive producer. McMurray brings extensive experience as a line producer, working with a cross-section of directing talent including Peking, Eliot Rausch and Augustus Punch. 

Among McMurray’s most notable work as a line producer is a series of award-winning commercials for Skype with Peking, Hey Wonderful’s directing duo of Nat Livingston Johnson and Gregory Mitnick. She produced Pereira & O’Dell’s Skype pieces “Stay Together” and “Born Friends” in 2013, which won two Cannes Silver Lions, a One Show Gold Pencil and a multitude of other industry honors, and in 2015 the commercial films, Skype’s “Turning the Tide” and “Pet Detective,” which were honored with an AICP NEXT award for Product Integration.  Most recently, McMurray and Peking collaborated on Doritos’ new Rock the Vote commercial via Goodby Silverstein & Partners and Hey Wonderful.

McMurray got her start when she joined Food Chain Films as staff production manager after graduating from Reed College in Portland, Ore. She began line producing for director Vance Malone, and followed his lead, moving to Los Angeles nearly a decade ago. She found her niche freelancing, working with companies such as Hungry Man, Station Film and Partizan, where she produced Sony Xperia’s “Frames,” directed by Punch and winner of a 2013 AICP honor. She also produced commercials and content for Über Content and Brand New School, and continued to work with Malone--their collaborations included the Sundance short, The Poodle Trainer, and the Cannes Cyber Lion-winning series of mini-docs for Coraline via W + K Portland.

“Michael [Di Girolamo] and I have worked together for years and he’s an amazing collaborator,” McMurray said. “I’ve always found the spontaneous and quick nature of line producing invigorating, but when Michael approached me about joining Hey Wonderful and the RSA family, it was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.” 

She added, “I was drawn to the combination of Hey Wonderful as a new creative boutique that supports my ethos with the resources of a company like RSA Films which has not only a great pedigree in commercials, but also film, TV, music videos, branded content and VR—it’s the best of all worlds.”

Hey Wonderful’s directorial roster includes Tricia Brock, Sam Cadman, John Dolan, Drake Doremus, Alek Keshishian, Little Village, Peking, Sam Spiegel and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan.

  • Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016
Greg Neal named VP, head of production, at The Marketing Arm
Greg Neal
DALLAS -- 

The Marketing Arm, the Omnicom agency behind Pepsi’s award-winning “Uncle Drew” film series and the Dove Men+Care “Real Strength” video, has hired Greg Neal as VP, head of production, a new position at the company. Based in the agency’s Dallas office, Neal will be responsible for leading the agency’s video content studio. He will report to CEO Dan Belmont.
 
“From in-house producers to a network of studio partners and makers, The Marketing Arm’s hub-and-spoke model helps us pivot to the right content solution for our clients,” said Belmont. “Greg’s the perfect guy to build on this model and deliver at the speed and efficiency brands are demanding today.”
 
A seasoned media executive with 20 years of experience launching cable television networks in Los Angeles and New York, Neal most recently served as VP for Silicon Valley-based Clippit, the popular mobile app used by media platforms such as SB Nation, Bleacher Report and USA Today that allows users to share live TV clips to social media.
 
Previously, Neal served on the executive teams that helped launch Pac-12 Sports Networks and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. He also served as a VP of creative for Food Network. His television work has earned more than 70 creative awards, including from Promax, Telly, and the New York Festival.
 
“Over the last several years, I’ve been impressed — and a little jealous — of the terrific content work that The Marketing Arm has been doing for brands like Frito-Lay, Pepsi, AT&T, the NBA, and on and on,” said Neal. “They’re great storytellers, but they understand how to create content that solves many of the challenges that our clients are facing. Great work, great creative minds, big ideas.”

  • Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016
Justin Martin joins Hush as technology director
Justin Martin
BROOKLYN, NY -- 

Experience design agency Hush has added Justin Martin as technology director. A versatile technologist who’s honed his craft in a variety of fields from programming and research to engineering and visual effects, Martin joins Hush after spending the last two years at The Barbarian Group, where he last served as senior developer and worked with clients such as Google, Samsung, IBM and Intel.

Along with his Barbarian Group background, Martin has displayed his technical talents in research and engineering efforts while at Look Effects for high-profile feature films such as Darren Aronofsky’s Noah and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom as well as his personal favorite project, decoding a satellite’s telemetry data using only ‘70s-era mission manuals when it passed by Earth in 2014. “The satellite project required recording a stream of bits from remote radio dishes and writing a decoder that would interpret it into engineering and scientific data,” he explained. “This was possibly the most research-heavy project I’ve done, but it was incredibly rewarding. Also, I learned great words like ‘subcommutation’ and ‘ephemeris’.”

  • Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016
Vior, Butori, Bermudez upped to VPs at the community
Ricky Vior (l) and Rodrigo Butori (photo courtesy of the community)
MIAMI -- 

Cross-cultural agency the community, part of SapientNitro, has promoted three key executives to new leadership roles as VPs. 

Ricky Vior and Rodrigo Butori will be elevated to VP, executive creative director. In these new roles, Vior and Butori will continue to oversee the day-to-day creative work for the community’s clients such as Verizon, Constellation Brands, Converse, The Kroger Company and BMW. In addition, they will also be tasked with helping shape the agency’s future, not just creatively but also from a business perspective. They will continue to report to co-founder and chief creative officer Joaquin Molla.
 
Additionally Ana Bermudez, who currently serves as group account director, will be promoted to VP, group account director. Bermudez will continue to head up the agency’s largest accounts, Verizon and Kroger, among others, and will be tasked to help lead the shop’s future growth efforts as well. She will continue to report to president Luis Montero.
 
“Our position as a creative agency with a fresh voice in a crowded market place is due in large part to Ricky and Rodrigo and their efforts over the years. And Ana right out of the gate has shown a tremendous ability to partner and strategize with our clients,” said Molla. “This group of executives are cut from the cloth of curiosity and I have no doubt that they will continue to help us be fearless and focused as we grow and evolve.”
 
With decades of experience creating breakthrough campaigns, Vior and Butori’s work has been recognized by nearly every major advertising awards show, winning honors at the Cannes Festival of Creativity, One Show, CLIO Awards, D&AD, The New York Festival, The London Festival, Festival Iberoamericano de la Publicidad (FIAP), and more.
 
Vior joined the community in 2000 when it was founded and helped build the agency’s creative reputation from the ground up. He started his career at Vegas Olmos Ponce/Lowe as a sr. art director and at BBDO as a jr. art director. Throughout his career, he has worked with brands like Pepsi, Nike, Volkswagen, Fedex, Audi, MTV, VH1, Citibank, and Subway.
 
A native of Brazil, Butori joined the community in 2009. Prior, Butori held creative roles in both the U.S. and Brazil including at David&Goliath, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Lowe Lintas Brazil, and Young & Rubicam Brazil. Throughout his career, he has created and overseen campaigns for brands like Toyota, Ford Motors, Dannon, Colgate, Beck’s Beer, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Heineken, ESPN, Virgin Mobile, VISA, and Nissan.
 
Bermudez is a recent addition to the community, having joined the agency in 2015. Prior to joining, she was a group account director at Alma DDB where she was responsible for developing and driving strategic plans for brands like McDonald’s, Diageo, and McCormick. Bermudez also held account roles at SapientNitro and Crispin Porter + Bogusky working on such brands as Vitaminwater, MinuteMaid, Breakfast Biscuits, Old Navy and Burger King, both in the U.S. and in Spain.

  • Friday, Nov. 4, 2016
Christian De Gallegos named head of international sales for Insurgent Media
Christian De Gallegos
LOS ANGELES -- 

Christian De Gallegos will be joining Insurgent Media’s Los Angeles team as head of international sales. De Gallegos will report to CEO Ezna Sands and will oversee international sales for Insurgent Media’s growing slate. 
 
Most recently, De Gallegos ran sales for Green-Light International for titles including: Imperium starring Daniel Radcliffe; Urge starring Pierce Brosnan; and Custody starring Viola Davis, among others.  Prior to Green-Light, De Gallegos served as president of International Film Trust, with titles including: Cymbeline starring Ethan Hawke, Milla Jovovich and Dakota Johnson which premiered at the Venice Film Festival; Stephen King’s Cell starring Samuel L Jackson and John Cusack; and Werner Herzog’s Salt & Fire. De Gallegos previously served as VP of sales at Voltage Pictures and handled international distribution for over 70 titles, including Academy Award®-winning The Hurt Locker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Don Jon, Academy Award-nominated Dallas Buyers Club and Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep. De Gallegos started his career at Paradigm Talent Agency.
 
Insurgent Media recently partnered with VICE Films, 20th Century Fox and Chimney Pot to produce and finance Lords of Chaos, co-written and to be directed by Jonas Åkerlund and starring Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, Jack Kilmer, Valter Skarsgård and Sky Ferreira. Insurgent Media’s current and past slate projects include Cathy Conrad’s TV thriller Cicada 3301; Academy Award®-winning documentary The Cove; and the Leonardo DiCaprio documentary, Before The Flood

  • Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016
Preston Garrett promoted to EP at The Sweet Shop
Preston Garrett
LOS ANGELES -- 

The Sweet Shop has promoted its head of production, Preston Garrett, to the role of executive producer. Garrett will oversee all production that comes through the Los Angeles office, driving future growth for The Sweet Shop in North America by expanding opportunities for its directors. 

With over nine years of experience, Garrett began his career in film and commercial advertising as a staff production coordinator at Form. He then worked as a freelance copywriter for commercial, TV and feature projects before joining Green Dot Films as a staff producer in 2011. Garrett joined The Sweet Shop in 2014 as head of production working on key projects, including the first ever commercial for Houzz, as well as ads for Lexus and Walmart. He has also worked with brands Audi, Dodge, Coors, Chevy, Wells Fargo, Dannon, Houston Methodist Hospital, McDonald’s, Almay, Netflix and NBC.
 
Laura Thoel, managing director of The Sweet Shop’s U.S. operations, described Garrett as “the backbone of our LA office.” 
 
“For the last few years, Mr. Garrett has been integral to The Sweet Shop’s growth in the U.S. market,” said Paul Prince, The Sweet Shop’s CEO and founding partner. “He shares our philosophy and our goals and he’s ensured the quality of our directors’ work throughout the region.”

  • Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016
Peter Zillig named chief exec of Cheil London
Peter Zillig
LONDON -- 

Cheil London has appointed Peter Zillig, a former chief executive of Havas Worldwide New York, as the chief executive of its London office. His appointment follows the resignation of Paul Hammersley, the chief executive of Cheil UK, last month.  Zillig, who will report to the chief executive of Cheil Europe Kevin Park, will take responsibility for the Cheil London office. BMB, under chief executive Juliet Haygarth, will operate as a separate entity within Cheil UK with Haygarth also reporting to Park.
 
Zillig has extensive experience both on the client and agency side. He is a former EMEA head of advertising, UK communications director and marketing and communications director for e-commerce for Compaq, working in Munich, London and Houston. As well as working at Havas Worldwide, where he rose from president of global brands to CEO of the New York office, Zillig is a former EMEA chief executive of Tag Worldwide, where he led its digital transformation, and has also worked at Lowe Worldwide as global business director.

  • Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016
Framestore Pictures signs directors Anh Vu and Marcus Ubungen
Anh Vu
NEW YORK -- 

Framestore Pictures has signed directors Anh Vu and Marcus Ubungen. The NYC-based Vu has a background in design and visual effects. Having started at Psyop in 2007 as a designer, Vu quickly elevated into Psyop’s director collective. To date, she has contributed to several award-winning campaigns for brands like Aetna, GE, Volkswagen, JBL, Samsonite, Stand Up To Cancer, Michelin and Silk. 

San Francisco native Ubungen has worked at creative agency Goodby, Silverstein, & Partners directing content for clients Chevrolet, Motorola, Adobe, Google, and Specialized Bikes. In 2014 he turned to directing full-time and went on to shoot campaigns for Gatorade, Samsung, Toyota, and Porsche. His last short film Halloween Meets Gasoline was staff picked by Vimeo and screened at SXSW.

Both directors have recently launched compelling personal projects; Vu’s Never to Forget portrays the lives of women and children from the state of Rajasthan, India, and their fight for equality while Ubungen’s Beyond The Fields follows child boxers in rural Thailand.

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