Josh Gross and Pedro Pérez have been promoted to co-chief creative officers at Energy BBDO. They succeed Andrés Ordóñez who left to become CCO of FCB Chicago. Gross and Pérez were most recently executive creative directors.
Tonise Paul, president and CEO, Energy BBDO said, “For the past five years, Josh and Pedro have been the driving force of brand-building, business-driving work for many of our clients including Mars Wrigley, Pearle Vision, Avocados from Mexico, the American Egg Board and more. Their passion for the work, creative craftsmanship, focus on business outcomes and embodiment of the agency’s core values make them perfect to assume their new roles.” She added, “We’ve had a mutually rewarding past several years with Andrés and wish him only the best.”
Gross and Pérez are best known for award-winning campaigns like Extra Gum’s “Sarah & Juan,” 5 Gum’s “The 85-Year-Old Regret,” Pearle Vision’s “Ben’s Glasses” and Bayer Aspirin’s “HeroSmiths.” They have also been integral leaders in winning new business for the agency including The American Egg Board, Avocados from Mexico, MillerCoors’ Cape Line and Redd’s Apple Ale and, most recently, Champion Sportswear. Throughout their careers, they have won a wide range of awards from Cannes Lions to D&AD and One Show Pencils, Clios and more. Prior to joining Energy BBDO, Gross was an associate creative director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Pérez was a creative director at Badillo Saatchi & Saatchi in Puerto Rico.
The duo will partner closely with ECDs Susan Treacy and Ioana Filip, who have more recently joined Energy BBDO from FCB and MRM/McCann Bucharest, respectively.
“Josh and Pedro are gifted creative thinkers who will help continue to lead the way forward for our clients,” said David Lubars, chairman of BBDO North America and CCO of BBDO Worldwide.
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