Global creative agency VCCP has tapped Jed Grossman as its first-ever chief creative officer in the U.S. This appointment comes hot on the heels of VCCP NY merging with its San Francisco-based creative agency Muhtayzik Hoffer (M/H) to create one entity earlier this year. Reporting to global chief creative officer Darren Bailes, Grossman will be the architect of the creative vision for VCCP US, driving the agency’s development and growth in the North American marketplace.
“VCCP US has seen solid momentum, bringing in clients including Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Nutribullet, and Native and welcoming a new CFO, Janisse Wong. Amidst that, a high-level creative perspective to unite both offices has remained the missing piece of the puzzle,” said Brett Edgar, CEO at VCCP US. “Now, with the merger of VCCP NY and M/H complete and Jed coming on board, we have the leadership in place to propel the agency to new heights. He has a challenger spirit that aligns with our values, and I look forward to seeing his impact on our business.”
Grossman most recently served as executive creative director at Arts & Letters, where he managed a cross-agency team and developed its overall creative vision. During his five-year tenure, the agency grew from 18 to 160+, solidifying itself as a global agency with clients like Google, ESPN, and Tito’s Vodka.
Prior to that, Grossman played an instrumental role in the transformation of B-Reel by leading its New York office toward operating at the intersection of culture, technology, and storytelling. He spent the bulk of his career at Mother New York, where he began as art director in 2008 before ascending to the position of creative director over his eight-year tenure. His career began at Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
Grossman’s work has received recognition from major advertising competitions including Cannes Lions, The One Show, The Clio Awards, D&AD, and the Art Directors Club.
“VCCP US embraces bravery and openness in its approach to creativity, and those values ultimately drew me toward the agency,” said Grossman. “I look forward to partnering with leadership to inspire this team of dreamers toward developing work with our clients that transcends traditional advertising.”
Maggie Smith, Star of Stage, Film and “Downton Abbey,” Dies At 89
Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" in 1969 and gained new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey" and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Friday. She was 89. Smith's sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, said in a statement that Smith died early Friday in a London hospital. "She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother," they said in a statement issued through publicist Clair Dobbs. Smith was frequently rated the preeminent British female performer of a generation that included Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench, with a clutch of Academy Award nominations and a shelf full of acting trophies. She remained in demand even in her later years, despite her lament that "when you get into the granny era, you're lucky to get anything." Smith drily summarized her later roles as "a gallery of grotesques," including Professor McGonagall. Asked why she took the role, she quipped: "Harry Potter is my pension." Richard Eyre, who directed Smith in a television production of "Suddenly Last Summer," said she was "intellectually the smartest actress I've ever worked with. You have to get up very, very early in the morning to outwit Maggie Smith." "Jean Brodie," in which she played a dangerously charismatic Edinburgh schoolteacher, brought her the Academy Award for best actress, and the British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) as well in 1969. Smith added a supporting actress Oscar for "California Suite" in 1978, Golden Globes for "California Suite" and "Room with a View," and BAFTAs for lead actress in "A Private Function" in 1984, "A Room with a View" in... Read More