Much of his work will center on DDB’s U.S diversity and inclusion efforts
DDB North America, part of Omnicom Group, has hired Julius Dunn to serve as director of talent. Based in New York, he will report directly to Mark O’Brien, president of DDB North America. In this new role, Dunn will be responsible for executing the agency’s talent strategy and programs to identify, retain and develop top talent across local offices in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, Dunn will focus on culture throughout DDB North America and a large part of the work will be around DDB’s U.S. diversity and inclusion efforts.
“Julius understands that agencies must do more to focus on culture and inclusion today to attract and retain young talent,” commented O’Brien. “We are excited to have someone of his caliber and experience to demonstrate our commitment to culture and inclusion. DDB was founded by Bill Bernbach to blaze new trails almost 65 years ago and we will continue to do so with Julius’s guidance and support.”
Dunn said, “The workplace should allow people the freedom to be themselves and to co-exist in a place that celebrates the subcultures we all identify with in our personal lives, while driven by the mission to produce great work. Knowing that the concept of promoting an inclusive environment is common sense, our goal is to make it common practice, and that need is even more important in our business where our people are our inspiration.”
Prior to joining DDB North America, Dunn served as Industry Liaison at the 4A’s, where he oversaw all of the organization’s educational initiatives for member agencies. During this time, he was instrumental in establishing the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media and was a member of the founding team for The Manhattan Early College School for Advertising.
Dunn is also a co-founder of Madison’s Collective and has been recognized by the advertising industry for his work as the founding director of Adversity, a nonprofit organization established to promote multiculturalism and diversity in creative media industries which partnered with the One Club in 2008.
His efforts resulted in a collaboration with ADCOLOR and the One Club, and the co-founding of the One Club | ADCOLOR Creative Award, established to recognize creative advertising professionals of multicultural background for excellent work in the categories of Advertising, Design and Interactive Media.
Dunn is also a loyal supporter and member of ADCOLOR, and was honored by the organization in 2013 as a Rising Star. He also serves as a volunteer board member for the New York City Department of Education and mentor for local youth development initiatives in urban communities.
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