People on the move: Hires and departures at BBC, Twitter, Pernod Ricard and more
This week has seen another wave of appointments and departures at brands, media owners and agencies. The Drum has rounded up the key hires below.
BBC
The BBC’s director of television, Danny Cohen, is leaving the public broadcaster.
The news follows months of speculation that Cohen, who has served eight years with the BBC, would depart the broadcaster following the license fee negotiations.
He has yet to announce his next appointment but it is understood that he is considering offers from both UK and US companies.
Twitter has snapped up one of Google's earliest staff members in a move to get the company back on the offensive after slashing eight per cent of its workforce.
Following the company announcing its intention toaxe eight per cent of its global staff, new chief executive Jack Dorsey has appointed Google veteran Omid Kordestani as the executive chairman of its board.
Pernod Ricard
Xavier Beysecker has been selected as the vice president of digital of Pernod Ricard Asia.
Moving on up from his positon as vice president of marketing at Absolut, Beysecker will be based in the firm’s Hong Kong office, where he will report to Philippe Guettat, chairman and chief executive of Pernod Ricard Asia.
Archant
Archant has appointed Matt Kelly to the newly created role of chief content officer.
The regional publisher has tapped the talent pool of rival group Local World where Kelly served as digital content director.
From his new positon, Kelly will lead content strategy across Archant’s full portfolio of newspapers, magazines, websites, apps and TV.
Publicis
Publicis Singapore has hired Troy Lim and Jon Loke as executive creative directors, joining from Ogilvy & Mather Singapore.
The pair have worked as lead creatives on accounts for major brands such as KFC, BMW, Kimberley-Clarke, GlaxoSmithKline and Ministry of Culture.
ZenithOptimedia
ZenithOptimedia has unveiled a series of senior promotions as part of its programme to drive growth.
Grant Millar, currently UK chief executive, is to take up the newly created position of chief client officer and will join ZenithOptimedia Worldwide, while managing director Mark Howley has been promoted to UK chief executive.
Nurun
Nurun, the digital agency owned by Publicis Worldwide, has named Dawn Winchester as its global managing director.
Reporting to chief executive, Arthur Sadoun, Winchester, who is chief digital officer for Publicis America, will take on the role working alongside global chief technology officer Steve Tremblay.
She will also continue to report to Andrew Bruce in delivering her responsibilities in the US, tasked with progressing Nurun to attract new talent and drive organise revenue for the agency.
Barnardos
Barnardo’s has appointed two new corporate directors.
Adam Pemberton will take the position of corporate director for strategy and performance, and Louise Parkes will be corporate director for income and innovation.
Both are set to start in January 2016.
Sunshine
Sunshine has named its first senior team since its inception in October 2012.
The creative agency’s executive team now consists of seven – expanding on the three partners: Al MacCuish, Kit Hawkins and Gideon Simeloff.
Joining them is Lost Boys’ Nadya Powell, managing director; Hollie Newton, executive creative director; as well as newly appointed Jenny Howard, head of strategy and Gemma Knox, head of business growth. They will be responsible for driving growth, product and service development and focusing on the creative agenda in the business.
Geometry Global
Geometry Global UK has announced the appointment of Juan José Posada as chief creative officer.
Formerly Geometry Global executive creative director Latin America and executive creative director Geometry Global Colombia, he will relocate from Colombia and join chief executive Sarah Todd and her leadership team in January 2016.
Brand Union
WPP’s global brand strategy and design agency, Brand Union has appointed Marta Swannie to the new position of digital creative director. She will be leading the overarching direction of the agency’s digital creative strategy.
Swannie brings with her 18 years of experience delivering award-winning, interactive campaigns for global brands and will play a pivotal role in ensuring that creativity remains at the heart of Brand Union’s proposition.
She joins the London team after working as a freelance consultant for a wide range of brands, including the National Trust, as well as several start-up companies.
Cohaesus
London-based technical partner Cohaesus has added Stewart Birch to its growing list of technical directors.
Working with organisations such as M&C Saatchi, Essence, Holler, R/GA, Widen and Kennedy and VML, Birch will head up front end development with an emphasis on bridging the gap between technical and creative teams.
He has over 12 years’ experience in design and development including roles at Jobsite, Carlson Marketing, Addison, and Tribal.
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