Droga5 London is expanding its offering into brand consultancy with the hiring of Grace Francis as its first chief experience officer.
Francis joins from Grey London, where she was head of experience design and planning and a founding partner of Grey Consultancy. In her new role she will be responsible for ensuring that clients express themselves creatively throughout the consumer experience as well as lead on the Barclaycard account, reporting to chief strategy officer Dylan Williams. She is also a former head of UK and content at Isobar.
Williams said, “After three years at Droga5, Bill, DK and I felt we were now ready to broaden our offering and help brands express themselves creatively across the consumer experience. We interviewed extensively and Grace won hands down. We’re very happy to make her our first C-suite hire.”
Francis added, “As Droga5 enters a next phase of growth, I’m joining to develop an experience design offering that will see us drive innovative and meaningful human-centric design solutions for all our clients and create meaningful experiences between brands and people.”
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More