All are promoted from within; women hold seven of eight new roles
Brunet|García, a minority-owned agency specializing in social impact programs for government agencies, nonprofits, foundations and brands, has formed a new leadership team.
Co-founders Jorge Brunet-García and Diane Brunet-García, who established the agency in Jacksonville in 2003 before expanding to Atlanta and Washington D.C., will step back from day-to-day roles to become Board co-chairs.
Kimberley Collins, formerly EVP, media & engagement, is now CEO responsible for the strategic vision and growth strategy for the 55-person agency.
Kim Vermillion, who was EVP, brand & marketing strategy, assumes the role of chief operating officer, focusing on operations and ensuring B|G has the right processes and talent to serve clients and agency administration.
Rounding out the new sr. leadershp team is Eduardo Sarmiento, formerly EVP, creative, who is now chief creative officer responsible for strategic creativity across all departments and advancing creative innovations.
The agency transformation continues on the department level with the formation of a new leadership team, representing the next generation of B|G leaders: Aerien Mull becomes SVP, creative; Kate Jolley is now VP, creative operations; Anna Jaffee steps up to VP, accounts; LeShaundra Cordier is VP, communication strategy; and Iwalani Camacho is SVP, media.
All of the new roles are the result of promotions from within, with women holding seven of the eight new leadership positions.
“The senior leadership team of Kim, Kim, and Eduardo have been involved in all operational and strategic decisions for the past four years, so the most seamless way to move the agency forward is to increase the involvement of this core team,” said Jorge Brunet-García, cofounder and co-chair. “This new leadership structure leaves our clients in highly capable hands and positions the agency well for the future.”
B|G has established a strong niche in developing customized, cross-cultural marketing strategies that build awareness and affect change regarding some of the highest profile and most complex social issues impacting the country, including the opioid and HIV epidemics, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency was awarded a 10-year, $100-million opportunity in 2015 to provide national health marketing services to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That work established the agency as a leading communicator on issues related to the opioid problem and other health and safety issues.
B|G has concurrently developed successful programs for clients such as Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Agriculture.
The agency has also built transformative campaigns for both nonprofit and private sector organizations, such as Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Citra Health, Baptist Health, Florida Blue, ProCureWorks, and Mayo Clinic.
Among recent campaigns is the “Stop Overdose Initiative” for CDC as part of a comprehensive strategy to affect change in the areas of harm reduction, treatment, and recovery, and “Out Loud,” utilizing human truths to destigmatize life with HIV for women on behalf of HHS.
“Jorge and Diane have built a successful agency with a positive culture–a great place to work with a diverse staff working on worthy causes for important clients,” said CEO Collins. “Our new strategic plan is to enhance client service and grow the business while maintaining that inspiring agency culture.”
“We exist to inspire meaningful change, and that results from providing an environment that fosters creativity and collaboration to create great work for a greater good,” said CCO Sarmiento.
He credits the agency’s “disruption inside the box” approach–using regulatory boundaries as inspiration and motivation to come up with new effective strategic and creative solutions, regardless of how restrictive the guidelines–as a key to the agency’s success.
Singer-Songwriter and Actor Kris Kristofferson Dies At 88
Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, has died.
Kristofferson died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, family spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said in an email. He was 88.
McFarland said Kristofferson died peacefully, surrounded by his family. No cause was given.
Starting in the late 1960s, the Brownsville, Texas native wrote such country and rock 'n' roll standards as "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," "Help Me Make it Through the Night," "For the Good Times" and "Me and Bobby McGee." Kristofferson was a singer himself, but many of his songs were best known as performed by others, whether Ray Price crooning "For the Good Times" or Janis Joplin belting out "Me and Bobby McGee."
He starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in director Martin Scorsese's 1974 film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 "A Star Is Born," and acted alongside Wesley Snipes in Marvel's "Blade" in 1998.
Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake from memory, wove intricate folk music lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music. With his long hair and bell-bottomed slacks and counterculture songs influenced by Bob Dylan, he represented a new breed of country songwriters along with such peers as Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.
"There's no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson," Nelson said at a 2009 BMI award ceremony for Kristofferson. "Everything he writes is a standard and we're all just going to have to live with that."
Kristofferson retired from performing and recording in 2021, making only occasional guest appearances on stage, including a performance... Read More