NEW YORK—Deborah Sullivan, who’s served as executive VP/director of broadcast at FCB, New York, since December 2000, is leaving that post to join bicoastal/international @radical.media as an executive producer.
Plans call for Sullivan to remain with FCB through the completion of some current production projects. She expects to start in her new role at @radical sometime in May. At press time, there was no word as to Sullivan’s successor at FCB.
Sullivan will share @radical’s executive producer title in New York with Gregg Carlesimo, who’s been with @radical and its predecessor shop for two decades.
She will also work closely with @radical’s senior production staff in Santa Monica, including executive VP Frank Stiefel and executive producer Donna Portaro, as well as with executive producers in the company’s international offices (London, Paris, Berlin and Sydney). Jon Kamen and Frank Scherma are chairman and president, respectively, of @radical.
Sullivan brings extensive experience on the agency and production house sides of the business to @radical. Prior to FCB, she headed the broadcast production department at DDB Worldwide, New York, for two-and-a-half years. Previously, she held executive producer/director of broadcast production positions at N.W. Ayer & Partners, New York; Hal Riney & Partners, San Francisco; Berlin Cameron & Partners, New York; and its predecessor agency, Berlin Wright Cameron.
On the production company front, from ’85 to ’88 Sullivan was in various production capacities at the former Jon Francis Films, San Francisco.
Her mentor there was company partner Sandra Marshall under whose tutelage Sullivan became a producer. In ’88, Sullivan moved to Red Dog Films, West Los Angeles, as executive producer for directors/partners Marc Chiat (who now directs spots via Green Dot Films, Santa Monica) and Stephen Kessler (now at Trio Films, Venice, Calif.). Later she joined The Bomb Factory, Venice (now in Malibu) where she was executive producer for creative director/owner/director Mark Fenske.
Kamen said that the hiring of Sullivan is part of @radical’s ongoing efforts to recruit top-drawer ad industry talent.
"Our search for a senior production executive who can complement the management staff we already have in place is a direct result of how this company has grown and matured over the past two years," he stated. "We spent considerable time and effort searching for someone with the right background, the right perspective and a proven ability to work with clients, creatives and directors, and Deborah’s name kept coming up."
Scherma added, "Deborah’s insight into the needs of both ad agencies and advertisers will prove especially valuable to us, both in terms of our TV commercial production work and also in our efforts to create and produce branded content for major advertisers."
"I’ve always considered myself an advocate for creatives and directors, and have enjoyed doing everything I can to plus the work right at the source," said Sullivan.
"Considering the range of projects that @radical works on," she continued, "I believe there will be lots of opportunities for me to help agencies bring their ideas to life via the talents of the company’s directors and producers."
