Planning executive William Charnock has been appointed R/GA‘s chief strategy officer, a newly created role at the agency. He will be based in the New York office and report directly to Bob Greenberg, CEO and global chief creative officer.
Charnock will be responsible for overseeing R/GA’s global strategy across offices in the U.S., and London, as well as in future offices in Brazil and Singapore. He will also manage the strategy, planning, and research teams along with the international development of the strategic services group, and contribute to the development of thought leadership across the agency.
Previously, Charnock was at JWT New York as director of strategic innovation and co-head of strategic planning. In the latter role, he doubled the size of the department to over 40 planners and strategically transformed the structure, integrating communications planning, digital, and analytics into a single department. He was instrumental in helping JWT and WPP win pitches for HSBC, Samsung, Nokia, Dell, and Jet Blue and was responsible for ongoing strategic leadership for Domino’s, Merrill Lynch, Nokia, Cadbury, and Johnson & Johnson. Charnock sat on JWT’s worldwide planning council and was the architect of JWT’s Anxiety Index, an ongoing research study that tracks and measures global trends. As director of strategic innovation, Charnock led JWT’s experimentation with new revenue streams and venture capital/technology partnerships.
Prior to JWT, Charnock held director roles at FCB, New York, and BBDO New York. In both shops he spearheaded integration efforts.
Earlier in his career he was recruited from Ogilvy‘s London office to work as partner/planning director for the IBM account in New York. As a core member of the IBM team, he was integral to the development of IBM’s e-business strategy and advertising campaigns that aligned all 17 global business units around a single brand strategy.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More