People on the Move

Jack Perone has been named chief strategy officer of DDB Chicago, responsible for heading the planning department for the agency.  He previously served as VP, director of planning and global planning director at J. Walter Thompson, and will transition into the new role of CSO effective on November 3.

Perone will report to Paul Gunning, CEO of DDB Chicago. In his new position, Perone will be responsible for leading the full strategic planning process, including all analytics functions.

During his 18-year career at J. Walter Thompson, Perone managed an integrated planning department, overseeing key agency accounts and generating a number of major new business wins, among them Tylenol, Motrin, Kit Kat and Special K..

A multi-award winning planner with more than 20 years’ advertising experience, Perone has also served as a 2012 Effie Judge and as a 2013 Cannes Young Marketer Judge, and is a 2014 APG Canada Board Member.

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced that Linda Woolley has been named president and CEO of TAG, the joint marketing-media industry program to eradicate digital advertising fraud, malware, ad-supported piracy, and other deficiencies in the digital communications supply chain.

Formerly known as the Trustworthy Digital Supply Chain Initiative, TAG is a first-of-its-kind cross-industry accountability program to create transparency in the business relationships and transactions that undergird the digital ad industry, while continuing to enable the astonishing levels of innovation that have propelled digital advertising into the largest ad medium in the United States. The IAB, ANA, and 4A’s announced their joint plans to create the new collective organization at the IAB MIXX Conference in September 2014. The group will operationalize principles around these critical issues, monitor the ecosystem for compliance, and develop incentives for broad industry participation and consequences for untrustworthy actors.

Woolley was a member of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council’s board of directors from 2012 to 2014. Her extensive leadership experience includes nearly six years in executive roles at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), where she most recently served as CEO and president, and before that as head of the association’s public policy office in Washington. Prior to that, Woolley spent more than 30 years in public affairs, government relations and policy via her own firm, LegisLaw Consulting, as well as ITT Industries, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health & the Environment.

TAG is being created with the intent to spur an industry-wide change in behavior at an unprecedented scale, focusing on four core areas: eliminating fraudulent traffic, combating malware, fighting ad-supported Internet piracy, and promoting brand safety through greater transparency.

“Establishing a trustworthy digital supply chain--and rooting out fraud--is one of the most important things we can be doing right now,” said Woolley. “The CEOs of IAB, ANA, and the 4A’s have shown remarkable leadership and foresight to create TAG. I am honored to be working with them on this groundbreaking project.”
 

Oscar-winning visual effects and creative content studio Framestore has hired two executive producers of live action: Jennifer Siegel who will work out of the company’s NY shop, and John Duffin, based in the L.A. office.

Siegel and Duffin will be responsible for overseeing live action and design. Their scope will also allow them to provide valuable input on various projects within Framestore’s Virtual Reality Studio, which opened earlier this year. The studio has recently produced massively popular and diverse Oculus Rift experiences for HBO’s Game of Thrones and Marriott Hotels in partnership with experiential agency Relevent, and for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film Interstellar.

Jon Collins, Framestore’s president of Integrated Advertising Worldwide, said, “We’re constantly being approached with extraordinary opportunities that are allowing us to push our limits, enter the game earlier in the creative process, and play with our capabilities across different disciplines. These all-in projects have become the norm here at Framestore, and hiring Jennifer and John to grow and spearhead our Live Action department from both coasts was an essential move to address these unique briefs.”

Siegel joins Framestore with over 20 years in TV commercial production and has been responsible for all facets of managing production companies. She was most recently executive producer at Shilo TV, where her position spanned oversight of live action, visual effects, animation, CG, design, post and editorial. Prior to that, she was EP at Tool of North America, where she held various positions since 1997.

Duffin comes to Framestore from Epoch Films, where he served as EP. He began at the company in 1997 to help launch its Los Angeles office.

The SIM Group has hired Suzanne Lezotte as director of marketing. In this position, Lezotte will take the lead in creating a streamlined marketing solution for the company’s divisions, which include SIM Digital, PS Production Services, Bling Digital and Chainsaw.

Rob Sim, president and CEO of The SIM Group, said of Lezotte, “Her impressive background and extensive network within the cinematography and production community will help us promote our services on a broader scale.”

The SIM Group provides an array of services: cameras and production equipment rentals through SIM Digital, grip and lighting (in Canada) through PS Production Services, and postproduction services through Bling Digital and Chainsaw.

“With the merger of Chainsaw to our group of families, we are committed to providing a workflow from production through postproduction,” said James Martin, chief strategy officer. “Suzanne’s ability to promote and communicate our services through cohesive marketing strategies will help us reach a new level of company recognition.”

Prior to joining The SIM Group, Lezotte was director of marketing for Bexel, a worldwide provider of broadcast solutions, and a division of the Vitec Group. She led the creation and deployment of cohesive marketing strategies and campaigns, including social media. She worked closely with other divisions of the Vitec Group, including Anton Bauer, Litepanels, O’Connor and Autoscript.

Before Bexel, Lezotte served as worldwide marketing communications director for Panavision, where she was responsible for all communications both internally and externally, including maintaining relationships with magazines and online publications. In addition, she coordinated well-received events for production facilities including Panavision Atlanta, Panavision Hollywood and Panavision Woodland Hills. Her role also included promoting greater visibility for Panavision with the community via web stories and social media. Before her work at Panavision, Lezotte served as communications manager for ARRI as well as editorial director at Creative Planet and editor of ICG Magazine.

After her eldest son was born with Down syndrome, Lezotte served as the Southern California committee chair for the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation. In her tenure with the organization, she has been successful in creating greater awareness within various organizations and has helped to raise more than $100,000 in research funds. She was also the spokesperson for a nationwide PSA produced by Women in Film, which garnered an Aurora and a Telly award.

Lezotte is a graduate of Western Michigan University. She, her husband and their three children reside in Southern California.