Hill Holliday has hired Avin Narasimhan as chief strategy officer. He previously served as CSO at media and marketing communications agency PHD.
“Avin is one of the brightest stars in our industry, capable of integrating different disciplines and making an impact with culture-shaping ideas,” said Hill Holliday president Chris Wallrapp. “He understands our core vision of merging creativity and analytical rigor. A galvanizing presence, Avin will help unify our talent around a common language, evolved ways of working, and approaches to ideas that break down the false binary between driving sales today and brand building over the long term.”
Narasimhan joins Hill Holliday on the heels of significant wins, including being named Valvoline’s AOR and the addition of seven new brands to its healthcare practice. Narasimhan rounds out a creative and strategic team with Icaro Doria, who came on as chief creative officer in 2021. Together, Doria and Narasimhan will build on Hill Holliday’s current momentum and position the agency to compete for world-class new business and talent in 2022.
“Icaro and Avin share a strong point of view that strategy and creative are two sides of the same coin,” added Wallrapp. “Their charge is to continue ensuring that marketing science and data-driven insights are integrated seamlessly into creative planning.”
At PHD, Narasimhan’s strategic skills helped win new clients, including Red Bull, Cole Haan, Varo and CHANEL, and develop media and innovative ideas that drove business outcomes.
“Hill Holliday has been an iconic brand in the industry for decades, leading clients across every category to business performance and brand growth. As we head into 2022, I can’t think of another agency that is better set up for success, or one that has all the aspects of a marketing superpower; analytical rigor, strategic dexterity, media fluency and clout, and creative brilliance under Icaro’s leadership,” said Narasimhan. “Put all those things together, and I could not be more excited to help this storied agency reach new heights. 2022 will be our year to help our current clients thrive in our new world and bring onboard the clients of tomorrow who buy into our vision for their brand and business growth–today and into the future.”
Prior to PHD, Narasimhan worked at several agencies including R/GA, Arnold, Modernista, and Fallon. He has helped create award-winning work for TIAA‐CREF, (RED) and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More