Global marketing agency MRM, part of McCann Worldgroup, has brought Jayna Kothary on board as its global chief technology officer. Prior to joining the 35-plus office digital and relationship marketing network, Kothary served as CTO for global clients at WPP, where she was based in the U.K.
Kate MacNevin, global CEO of MRM, said of Kothary, “Her experience working as an agency CTO on global clients, as well as with large multi-nationals, makes her an ideal fit as we continue to expand our technology, data and e-Commerce capabilities. Technology and data science, along with strategy and creativity, are among our key expertise pillars. And she is joining us at a point when we are at a new peak in terms of integrating all of these capabilities on behalf of our clients.”
Kothary, who began her career as a management consultant, is a qualified chartered accountant and business strategist. In her most recent role at WPP she partnered with the firm’s largest clients to help them best leverage data, technology and partnerships for business transformation. Prior to WPP, she held technology leadership roles at both Vodafone Group and BP, carrying with her an in-depth knowledge of client needs.
MRM, which this year was designated for the fourth straight year as a “Leader” in Gartner Inc.’s prestigious “Magic Quadrant for Global Marketing Agencies,” has been significantly expanding its data, analytics and technology capabilities over the last few years, both through staffing/training and through operations. It continued to grow its global MRM Commerce capabilities, created and launched four new proprietary data and analytics software programs that generate insights faster and more meaningfully for clients, further leveraged innovative partnerships with Salesforce and Adobe, opened additional international LAB13 innovation labs, and introduced expanded capabilities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) that included registering a number of patents. Additionally, the agency was recently named Agency Of The Year (Midsize) at the 2020 Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) B2 Awards.
“Kate and her outstanding team at MRM have been setting the industry bar on how agencies can continue to innovate with technology in ways that can directly benefit client growth initiatives,” said Kothary. “I am thrilled to be able to bring my experience to bear and be a part of the team that has been driving MRM’s impressive growth and performance.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More