Leadership and hiring updates
Krystle Mullin and creative duo Anthony Chelvanathan and Manas Abrol join Edelman as executive creative directors. Chelvanathan and Abrol arrive from Leo Burnett, and Mullin joins from RPA. Andrew Simon, Chief Creative Officer in Canada, is also being promoted to Global Creative Lead for one of the agency’s clients, while retaining his CCO position. “I’m eager for what’s next for our growing team and proud that we have attracted top level talent that will support our firm’s global evolution,” says Global Chief Creative Officer Judy John. “Highly awarded globally, Anthony, Manas and Krystle’s unique backgrounds and international exposure will help our clients show up differently through bold and inspiring ideas.”
McCann Worldgroup’s production arm Craft has appointed Stuart Walker to the role of chief operating officer U.K. and EMEA and Jon Compton as director of operations U.K. and E.U. Prior to joining Craft, Walker held a number of senior level operational roles at agencies including SapientRazorfish and headed up digital shop De-construct. Compton has held positions at Prodigious Worldwide, Hogarth & Ogilvy and Spring Studios.
Publicis Groupe has hired Natalie Lam as its first-ever chief creative officer, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Lam will be based across Hong Kong and Singapore, reporting to Loris Nold, CEO Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Lam has worked across the U.S. and Asia, starting out working on Nike at R/GA, before joining Ogilvy One as regional creative director out of Shanghai in 2008. She has worked in executive creative director roles at McCann and Razorfish, and most recently, she was at Google in New York, leading the creative team for Art, Copy & Code.
VCCP New York appointed Ray Del Savio as executive creative director, overseeing all creative work from the office. He joins from Droga5 New York, where he spent nine years, and has worked with brands including the New Museum, Google, Chase, Hershey's and Prudential, whose “Challenge Lab” earned him a Titanium Lion.
Mother in Los Angeles expands its leadership team with the addition of Celeste Hubbard as head of mothering and Amaris Singer as head of strategy. Previously, Hubbard was group account director at Chemistry Agency in Atlanta, working with clients including Netflix, YouTube and Red Bull. Singer has led business and brand strategy for companies including Disney, Fahrenheit 212, and Wolff Olins. “Amaris easily has the most frustratingly impressive resume I’ve ever read. She has hit the ground running and is impacting Mother immediately,” says ECD and Partner Joe Staples. “Celeste Hubbard has incredible energy. She balances a passion for great work with a tremendous respect for people. She is a massive addition to Mother, not just the Mothering group. Also, she’s so nice, I haven’t felt it appropriate to make one single ‘Mother Hubbard’ joke yet.”
Paula Maki joins Elephant as vice president, creative, working with the agency’s West Coast clients. Previously, she was creative director at 72andSunny, where she worked on brands including Tinder, Uber, Allstate and eBay. Prior to that, she spent 10 years at Mono in Minneapolis and San Francisco.
Contributing: Alexandra Jardine, Ann-Christine Diaz
Hey folks, I'm stepping in to pinch hit (and that's the last sports metaphor you'll ever hear from me), so let's get to the final Agency Brief in the "year" that was January 2021.
