Laura Forman has been appointed chief strategy officer of integrated creative agency David&Goliath (D&G). She officially starts her new role at D&G on September 3. Reporting directly to D&G founder and chairman David Angelo, Forman will lead strategy practice across the agency’s client base and will help usher in D&G’s next generation planning function as both a business strategist and a creative planner.
Her responsibilities will include the elevation and growth of D&G’s strategy department, ensuring the usage of best-in-class tools, techniques and talent. She will also be responsible for creating product and service offerings that add value to the agency’s creative work.
Forman joins D&G from TBWAChiatDay New York where she consulted as the North American strategy lead on Nissan. Prior to that, she was executive director of brand strategy at Forsman & Bodenfors in New York. She directed strategic teams on Dean Foods, Amex, and Seagram’s, and guided strategy on three of the agency’s four new business wins last year. Her career also includes posts from established strategic and creative agencies such as group planning director at Ogilvy & Mather, VP account planning at Deutsch, planning director at Fallon and account planner at Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
For 25 years, Forman has tackled challenging brand, creative, and CRM assignments for companies including Target, Sony PlayStation, Nestle, American Airlines, Got Milk?, and Chevy. In addition, she’s managed and conducted research in more than 20 countries for global clients such as Heineken, Sprite, and ABSOLUT.
Forman has also been a major contributor to the advancement of the advertising industry. She was an instructor at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where she taught dozens of students how to look for new ways companies and people can interact together.
Forman is a well-respected member of the strategy and impact community, having long established herself with initiatives like The One Club for Creativity, the 3% Movement, and serving as an Effies’ judge.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More