People on the Move

TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles has announced two creative promotions on the Gatorade account, a brand that has been with the agency since 2008. Renato Fernandez, who was promoted to worldwide creative director last year, has been named executive creative director on the business, and associate creative director Doug Menezes has been promoted to the role of creative director.
 
Fernandez will partner with fellow ECDs Linda Knight and Matt Heath to help guide TBWA\Chiat\Day LA’s creative department and product under newly minted chief creative officer Brent Anderson.
 
Remarking on the promotions Anderson said: “Renato Fernandez is an almost unparalleled benchmark of leadership and drive. For the last 5 years, I’ve toiled alongside Renato as he relentlessly guides, protects and mentors work that truly matters, and work that defines the soul of our brands.”
 
Anderson continued, “Doug Menezes has emerged over the past two years as leader of both concept and craft. His unique upbringing within the industry and recent work on Gatorade makes him a natural choice to help lead Gatorade and continue to involve the brand deeply in culture.”
 
Fernandez has been with TBWA\Chiat\Day LA since 2011, when he relocated with his family from Brazil. As associate creative director, he played a major role in the pitch-winning team that brought the adidias World Cup campaign assignment to TBWA. In 2014, Fernandez assumed creative leadership of the agency’s Gatorade US business and, in 2015, took over all global projects as worldwide creative director. He is credited with awarding-winning work that includes Gatorade’s now legendary farewell films for retiring athletes Derek Jeter (“Made in New York”), Abby Wombach (“Forget Me”) and Peyton Manning (“Dear Peyton”), and the brand’s latest global push--“Don’t Go Down”--featuring world-renowned footballer Lionel Messi. 
 
Fernandez began his advertising career in 1994 in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil and later joined Almap/BBDO, where he worked on top-tier brands including Volkswagen, Gatorade and Havaianas. Throughout his career, his work has been recognized at several international creative festivals and award shows, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clios, Clio Sports, and the One Show. 
 
Menezes came to TBWA\Chiat\Day in 2013 as a digital design director, transitioning to an associate creative director shortly thereafter to work on both Gatorade and Nixon accounts. His credits include work for Gatorade’s 50th anniversary campaign, as well as its latest Olympic-themed film, “Never Lose the Love.” Prior to TBWA, he worked as associate design director with Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami, and also spent time working in digital design for Xishe and Wunderman in Dubai, UAE. Like Fernandez, Menezes is a native of Brazil, and cut his teeth as an art director working in several shops across Brasilia. He is a graduate of the Miami Ad School and Universidad de Brasilia. 
 
The creative promotions are in addition to the promotion of long-time agency strategist Scott MacMaster, who was named executive planning director on the Gatorade business earlier this month.

Lobo, a São Paulo-based design and animation studio, is staking its claim in new territory with the official opening of its first U.S. office. Partners Nando Cohen, Gabriel Nobrega and Mateus de Paula Santos announced that industry veteran Luis Ribeiro has been named partner and executive producer of the New York office, where he will spearhead all of Lobo’s U.S. operations. 

A native of Brazil, Ribeiro has worked in the U.S. over the last 25 years. Previously, Ribeiro was EP at Framestore NY, where he oversaw business development for the studio’s four main integrated advertising divisions. Prior to that, he worked as the U.S. consultant for FilmBrazil, was new business developer at Whitehouse Post, and VP of the Latin Division for Deluxe Entertainment, and held MD and VP of business development positions at such companies as Speedshape, Method Studios, Beast, and CO3.

Founded in 1994 by Cohen and de Paula Santos, Lobo covers a broad range of media and techniques including 2D animation, stop motion, 3D, VFX and live action. After quickly growing to major player status among top ad agencies, TV networks and film studios in Brazil, Lobo expanded its structure to cater to markets all across Latin America, Europe and the U.S. Along the way, Lobo has raked in plenty of awards recognition from D&AD, The One Show, Cannes Lions, Art Directors Club, and other competitions.

Lobo has been steadily bolstering its ties to the U.S. market via its satellite office launched in Brooklyn last year under the creative direction of Guilherme Marcondes, a member of the original Lobo roster. The addition of Ribeiro elevates the status of the US office, making it an official outpost in addition to São Paulo. Together Marcondes and Ribeiro will work closely with global head of production Loic Dubois. 

Marcondes recently earned accolades for the whimsical “The World of Autism” PSA he and Lobo created in partnership with BBDO NY for Autism Speaks. Touching and informative, the piece educates parents how to identify the early signs of autism in their own children. The film was awarded the Gold Cannes Lion for Design, Motion and Animation, along with two Bronze statues for Art Direction and Animation. This year Lobo returned from Cannes with 12 Cannes Lions in total. 

Lobo is represented by Lisa Houck of Salon Reps for the West Coast and Isabel Echeverry of Kontakto Reps for the Hispanic market.

Jay D. Roth, national executive director of the Directors Guild of America, has announced that Nhu-Y Phan will join the executive staff of the DGA as assistant executive director, local stations, in the Guild’s New York offices.
 
“We’ve recently strengthened our services to address the unique needs of our members who work at local stations, and Nhu-Y has been a big part of that,” said Roth. “Her extensive experience in labor relations and in the field will be a tremendous benefit to our members who work in news and sports.” 
 
Phan will be involved in the negotiation, administration, and enforcement of the Guild’s agreements with local television stations nationwide. The agreements predominantly cover DGA members working on local news, sports, and related programs. She will also have responsibility with respect to diversity and will work closely with the DGA’s Eastern Diversity Steering Committee. Phan reports to Eastern executive director Neil Dudich.
 
Phan joined the DGA in 2014 as a business representative. In that role, she represented members working on news, sports, and variety programs. Prior to joining the Guild, she worked as an associate at Robin, Urann, Spencer, Picard & Cangemi, ALPC where she represented private and public sector unions in legal matters and enforced collective bargaining agreements. She received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and her J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Bazillion Pictures has brought aboard executive producer Heather Christiansen who will be the primary project management producer providing bids and defining scopes of work. She will also oversee project scheduling for the growing 3D animation and visual effects studio.

Christiansen spent many years on the West Coast before returning to her Midwest roots, most recently as a creative operations director at a healthcare marketing firm. She also has worked on independent films in a production manager role, handling multiple responsibilities from developing production schedules and negotiating contracts to casting talent and location scouting.

“Heather brings a comprehensive knowledge of project management and understands how to take care of clients through the entire production process,” said Jeff Beith, president and creative director of Bazillion Pictures. “With her experience on the business side and her background in design, she will be a huge asset to our team of digital artists, animators and editors.”