Young & Rubicam (Y&R), Chicago, has hired Karim Bartoletti as senior VP/ director of broadcast production. He will succeed Enid Katz, who retired at the beginning of the year.
Slated to officially come aboard on July 10, Bartoletti moves over from DDB Chicago, where he had most recently been a senior producer. He joined DDB as an associate producer in ’97 and was promoted to producer after nine months; he became a senior producer a year ago.
At DDB, Bartoletti worked primarily on Anheuser-Busch fare, including numerous spots for Budweiser and Bud Light. Among his latest work as senior producer was a two-spot package for Finesse, "Personal Shopper" and "Directions," helmed by Nicholas Barker of bicoastal/ international Chelsea Pictures.
The addition of Bartoletti is the latest in a series of moves meant to revitalize Y&R Chicago, which began with last fall’s hiring of executive VP/chief creative officer Mark Figliulo (SHOOT, 11/5/99).
Figliulo said that, in his search for a production head, Bartoletti quickly became a prime contender for the job. "Karim’s name kept coming up and it rose to the top very quickly; he has a very good reputation," stated Figliulo. "And when he came in, we hit it off immediately. When you meet certain people, you just know you can work together."
After reviewing Bartoletti’s work, Figliulo said, he was impressed, particularly given that Bartoletti is 28 years old. "I liked his reel quite a bit," said Figliulo. "You can tell he had a hand in everything because each spot seemed like it came from the same place-in a good way."
Bartoletti said he had asked around Chicago about Y&R and found that people are "very excited" about the new regime, and added, "There’s a big buzz around the city." He related that his discussions with Figliulo and Y&R Chicago CEO Howard Breen convinced him this was the right move.
"They have goals, visions and realistic dreams for Y&R," said Bartoletti. "I liked the fact that they had a very clear idea of where they wanted to be as an agency and how they wanted to grow. Mark was very direct about it, and is excited about the possibilities. He has the people, the brains and the goodwill [to do it]. He’s very interested in growing the current clientele and building upon that, and also going after clients that might allow you to be more creative."
Figliulo’s production experience, including his previous stint as a director with West Hollywood-based Dark Light Pictures, also factored in Bartoletti’s decision. "It was very important for me to know that Mark knows what it means for a director to be on a conference call, for a production company to bid a job. He knows the frustrations when he was getting boards that could have been better, but the creatives wouldn’t budge … [because] they didn’t want to go back to the client again. … It makes my communication with him easier."
Prior to DDB, Bartoletti worked as a producer from Jan.’96 to Nov. ’96 at Nemo Productions, Milan, Italy. (Bartoletti was raised in Milan and Iran). At Nemo, he produced European spots for such clients as Renault, Diadora, Audi and Mazda.
Before this, he worked in various capacities in the Chicago market, including a stint from July ’94 to March ’95 at now defunct Producers Alley where he executive produced and directed informational and training videos. Also during that period, he worked on the side as executive producer at Ripchord Productions, Chicago, a company Bartoletti founded that produced low-budget music videos for bands such as Archers of Loaf and Black. From Feb. ’95 to Jan. ’96, he executive produced and directed spots, industrials and training videos for now defunct video production company Walter Joseph Communications.
Bartoletti came to Chicago in ’90 to attend Evanston, Ill.-based Northwestern University, from which he eventually earned a degree in radio/television/film. During his summer breaks, he returned to Milan to work at Nemo in various capacities, starting out as P.A. and a runner before progressing to associate producer, assistant director and eventually producer.
Observing that Nemo gave him his first production experience, Bartoletti added, "I was lucky because I knew English better than they did. I became the liaison between Nemo and other production companies and other directors. That made it easy for me to then be an assistant director or producer on the set."
Bartoletti will head a Y&R production department that includes VP/senior producer Lee Goldberg, senior producer Doug Harper and associate producer Karen Kane. Now that Bartoletti is in place as head of the department, the agency will likely add more producers, said Figliulo.
Declining to speculate on any changes he might make at Y&R, Bartoletti said he needed to spend time at the agency to assess its needs. "It’s easy to put your stamp on something from afar," he said. "It’s much more difficult when you get into the reality of how a place works. I need to adapt to [Y&R] before I have them adapt to me."
Y&R Chicago’s current clients include Sears, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Rayovac batteries, Barilla Pasta, Armour Golf, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Farmland National Beef, Equal, Nutrasweet and Jim Beam.
