People on the Move

Above+Beyond has hired Shez Lord as creative director to lead the Subway account. He reports into Dom Goldman, chief creative officer.

Lord previously served as associate creative director at Wunderman Thompson where he delivered work across HSBC, Nestle, First Direct, HSBC and BT. Prior to that, he was associate creative director at The &Partnership for three years, working across its News International business with specific responsibilities for The Sun.

Lord spent the first five years of his career at BMB, working on brands including Virgin Money, Christian Aid and Bing. He has also had stints at AMV BBDO, JWT, Leo Burnett and WCRS. His awards include the Podium D’Or at the Sportel Awards and a Kinsale Shark for The Sun’s “Knockabout.” Other notable work includes turning Westminster into a jungle for The Times and an award-winning campaign for Christian Aid revealing the “Roots” of poverty.

Postproduction studio The Colonie has hired Zach Day as producer/new business. Day brings more than 15 years of ad agency experience, most recently as a sr. producer at Leo Burnett. In his new role, he will focus on developing business and forging agency alliances beyond the studio’s base in Chicago.

The Colonie partner/editor Bob Ackerman said that the studio has collaborated with Day on numerous projects over the years and feels he is the perfect choice to lead a new expansion initiative. “We know Zach’s producing skills, we know his client skills, we know how passionate he is.  I have no doubt his enthusiasm for our industry will strengthen the Colonie’s relationship to Chicago agencies as well as agencies in Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Madison and other cities across the Midwest.  He understands their perspective having worked on that side for so long.”

Partner/executive producer Mary Caddy added that Day brings a fresh perspective to postproduction. “We’ve built a great business, but we can always improve,” she said. “We have a lot of respect for Zach and feel his ability to look at things with fresh eyes will help us move forward.”

For his part, Day says he was seeking a new challenge and has always enjoyed the editorial and postproduction side of the business, especially his interactions with The Colonie. “A ton of the work that I produced at Burnett passed through this studio,” he noted. “I came to see myself as part of the family because that’s how I was treated.”

A Chicago native, Day earned a degree in advertising and marketing from Columbia College before joining Leo Burnett as a junior account executive in 2005. He soon gravitated to a production role and moved up the agency ranks, becoming a senior producer in 2016. As such, he has produced work across a variety of media for brands including Samsung, Aldi, United Healthcare and Budweiser.

Day is looking forward to introducing The Colonie’s expertise to new agency partners and to helping the studio broaden its service offering. “We’ve got a great team and my role is to ensure we’re bulletproof on every project that comes through the door,” he said. “We have a lot of resources and expertise across a range of services, but there is more room to grow. I’d like to explore possibilities for bringing other facets of production into the studio.”

Creative agency Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners (RTO+P) has hired Joshua Bull as associate creative director. 

“Joshua is a wonderfully conceptual creative and he’s also an art director who has the highest regard for well-crafted design,” said Steve Red, president and co-chief creative officer at RTO+P. “As an art director by trade, both of those traits warm my heart.”

Bull will collaborate on concepting and crafting creative, as well as oversee and guide junior level creatives, on accounts across the agency including Dietz & Watson, Nesquik, E&J Gallo and Nature’s Bakery.

In his previous role as an associate creative director at Taylor Strategy, Bull worked with the likes of Secret, Stoli, Guinness, Captain Morgan, Gillette and Smirnoff. He also managed a group of the agency’s art directors, copywriters and designers. Prior to that, he served as a sr. art director and design lead at Six+One and held art director positions at Havas and 360i, where he worked across brands including Prudential, Calvin Klein, Spectrum, Liberty Mutual, Keurig, Hershey’s, Coca-Cola and Simply Orange.

Bull is also a passionate creator and maker outside the agency world, founding and creating The Resistance Collection, a social justice apparel line, playing the drums, producing music and writing a successful blog.

“With a myriad of ways to tell a story, it’s RTO+P’s clear mastery of each medium that drew me in. The potential to work with new brands and bring great narratives to life is what I’m most excited about,” said Bull. “As a Black man in a predominantly white industry, I have a responsibility to rise, thrive and hopefully inspire the next class of minority creatives. I’ve looked to do so at every shop I’ve worked at and RTO+P will be no different. I appreciate their efforts to make a real difference in the Black community in Philly and beyond. I’m excited to learn and grow and make an impact alongside the team.

Women-owned bicoastal edit house The Den has brought editor Jess Brunetto aboard its roster. Brunetto is best known for her work on the hit HBO Max show Hacks, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder. Season two of the Emmy-winning ensemble comedy premiered Thursday, May 12. 

Brunetto is a self-professed queer comedy witch, as well as an award-winning writer, editor, and director who earned a BFA from the SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory.  

Brunetto’s feature film credits include Sicko, nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary, and Capitalism: A Love Story, both for documentary director Michael Moore; The Girl in the Book; The Wait; Zipper; Trek Nation; and They Came Together, starring Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler. Brunetto has edited for multiple hit television series including Amazon’s reboot of A League Of Their Own, Broad City, Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, American Vandal, Miracle Workers, Man Seeking Woman, Another Period, The Electric Company for PBS, and Jordan Peele’s The Last O.G. Comedy specials like Ferrell Takes the Field, starring Will Ferrell, and Kristin Schaal: Live at The Fillmore; various episodic series and pilots for FX, Netflix, Funny or Die, Adult Swim, and Comedy Central; and All Flowers in Time, a short starring Chloë Sevigny, round out Brunetto's cutting credits. 

Brunetto’s film work has screened at Cannes, Venice, Sundance, SXSW, AFI Fest, Raindance Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival, among others. She was nominated for a primetime Emmy for her work on the pilot episode of Hacks. 

“I’ve built my career alongside many talented women in comedy and collaborating with a company led by strong female leaders will allow us to push the industry forward together,” said Brunetto. “I’m excited to bring my energy and enthusiasm to the team at The Den, and I look forward to laughing with the most sharp minds in comedy.”

Rachel Seitel, co-founder of The Den, said, “We couldn’t be happier to have the brilliant Jess Brunetto as part of The Den. Jess is a comedic powerhouse and will bring a fresh perspective to female-led comedy in the advertising industry. I’ve been a huge fan of her work for years and probably quoted one too many Broad City lines when we first met–––thankfully that didn’t deter her. It feels great to add another immensely talented woman to our team and further elevate our capabilities.

Brunetto connecting with The Den marks her first commercial signing as an editor. She also recently garnered her first commercial production company representation as a director when she joined the roster of Chromista.