Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles has named Lalita Koehler executive director of integrated production, effective May 1.
The hiring of Koehler marks the third high-profile talent acquisition for Saatchi LA in the last 11 months, following the hiring of chief creative officer Jason Schragger in June of 2014 and executive director of talent, Kirk Guthrie, just three months later.
As the agency of record for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. for over 30 years, Saatchi LA employs more than 450 full-time staff.
Koehler, a native of Brazil, has more than 15 years of experience in helping stories come to life. Prior to working in advertising, she spent half a decade at Yahoo!, where she produced and launched many products.
After the birth of her daughter Chloe and a break from working in Silicon Valley, Koehler decided to bring her knowledge to the advertising industry, working in San Francisco, first at Pereira O’Dell and, later, with DOJO.
When the family moved to France, the veteran joined TBWA DAN Paris as head of production. It was there that she first demonstrated her multi-disciplinary beliefs, creating an integrated production department at the agency, which directly led to award-winning work for clients such as Dom Perignon, Michelin, PlayStation and SNCF.
After returning to the United States a short while later, Koehler joined The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., as executive integrated producer, working for several clients, including Mentos, Pizza Hut, Tylenol, Walmart and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
In 2013 she moved to Los Angeles. Since her arrival in Southern California, she has done project work on the rebirth of Myspace, and on the Apple 30th anniversary project as well as on iPhone 5C.
Most recently, Koehler served as executive producer at Omelet, producing work for AT&T, Microsoft, Square Enix and Ubisoft.
