Observatory names a new CEO and president

Brendan Shields-Shimizu, who was elevated to president and chief operating officer of Observatory in January, will now add the title of CEO and relinquish the president post. The news comes a couple of days after it was announced that Jae Goodman, who founded the agency 16 years ago, is stepping down and will continue on as a board advisor to Observatory and parent company Stagwell. With the move, Shields-Shimizu, who has been with the agency for 11 years, becomes the second CEO in the agency's history. Linda Knight will be elevated to president in addition to her role as chief creative officer, a position she took on in January 2020. Prior to Observatory, Knight served as chief creative officer for Phenomenon and held creative roles across TBWA\Chiat\Day and Wieden+Kennedy, Portland and Amsterdam. “I realized recently that I’ve been operating on the same platform since a year before the launch of the iPhone, and while I'm unlikely to stray far from the intersection of brands and entertainment, it might be time to take a moment and assess where and how I do that,” Goodman said in a statement. “My decision to step away from the day-to-day is only possible because Observatory is doing so well. The agency has never been in a better place, has never had better leadership, and is doing its best work ever. I look forward to supporting Brendan and Linda in my new advisory role.” Also at Observatory, Caroline Doyle will assume the role of head of brand. “Observatory’s mission is to create content that attracts and engages rather than interrupts and annoys,” Knight said in a statement. “These past three years we’ve cranked it up to a whole new level and cracked the code on how to help brands achieve engagement. Waffle Iron Entertainment alone has over a dozen active entertainment projects.” The new appointments follow Observatory's strong showing at Cannes, coming away with five Lions this year. Also in the last month Observatory helped Waffle Iron Entertainment, the content studio Observatory built for Nike, ink a deal with Apple Original Films, helped launch a "Stranger Things" concert in the “Upside Down” for Netflix, and launched a campaign for Martha Stewart’s wine brand Martha’s Chard which include an action figure that resembles Stewart.

Observatory names a new CEO and president

Featured Stories