Yumi Prentice has been appointed president and managing partner of independent creative ad agency David&Goliath (D&G), reporting directly to founder and chairman David Angelo. Prentice officially starts her new role on September 5, replacing D&G president Brian Dunbar who left the shop in June to pursue his own venture.
With expertise in global, integrated and digital marketing, Prentice will be responsible for introducing new modes of collaboration that facilitate agency growth and digital integration. Prior to joining D&G, Prentice was founder/principal at Silicon Valley-based Manila Envelope Consulting, helping start-up and Fortune 500 leaders at critical inflection points define their organizations’ brand, messaging and go-to-market strategies. Before that, Prentice spent over four years as SVP, managing director at T3’s San Francisco office, and held senior roles at WPP agencies including Grey San Francisco and JWT Asia (Bangkok and Singapore). Over the course of her career, she has led geographically and functionally matrixed agency collaborations and has overseen global, regional and national initiatives for clients such as Hotwire, Microsoft, Nokia, Charles Schwab and Unilever. Having lived and worked in three continents, Prentice has made a life of connecting with people from all corners of the world, and a career of helping brands do the same.
“As we continue our quest towards being a fully integrated purpose-driven agency, we wanted to find someone who embodies purpose-driven values and is highly proficient in digital and CRM strategies. Yumi’s extensive integrated marketing experience, consulting expertise and entrepreneurial mindset make her the perfect person to help take our agency to the next level,” said Angelo.
Prentice related, “I’m thrilled to be working with an agency that lives and breathes its Brave philosophy and purpose-driven culture 24/7. This mindset redefines what ‘great work’ is–work that makes a material difference to the brands, businesses and people that touch it. In many ways, it feels like I’ve finally come home.”
D&G's current clients include Kia Motors, California Lottery, Jack in the Box, New Amsterdam Vodka, popchips, VIZIO, Universal Studios Hollywood, Homeboy Industries, Covenant House and IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America)
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More