The Martin Agency announced the remainder of its executive management team on the heels of Kristen Cavallo being named CEO and Karen Costello’s promotion to chief creative officer.
“Today we doubled the representation of female leaders on the executive committee to give men and women equal opportunity for success,” said Cavallo. “Gender discrimination isn’t an HR issue. It’s a culture issue. And the fastest way to change a culture is to level the playing field in leadership.” Making it her first priority as CEO she said, “I’m proud of this news. But we’re not done. Not by a long shot. We’re not diverse enough. We see it. We’re on it.”
Fifty percent of officers at The Martin Agency are female.
CCO Karen Costello added, “I love the ambition and multidisciplinary talent of these leaders. They share a collective vision to nurture a culture of collaboration, innovation and positive change. The feeling of momentum inside the agency is palpable.”
In January, Costello became the first female CCO in the company’s 53-year history. She succeeded Joe Alexander who left on Dec. 1, 2017, after sexual harassment allegations surfaced against him. According to reports, Alexander has denied those allegations.
Just a couple weeks following Alexander’s departure, Cavallo joined The Martin Agency as the first woman to serve as its CEO. She came over from MullenLowe Group.
The Martin Agency will retain its executive committee structure with nine members including four new appointments and one newly created position.
Carmina Drummond will take on the newly created role of chief culture officer. Formerly SVP/managing director of agency operations, she has always made it a priority to build the agency’s culture. In her new role, Drummond will be in charge of diversity and inclusion, learning and development initiatives, and employee satisfaction.
Along with Cavallo and Costello, Drummond joins a fourth female executive member, chief financial officer Janet White.
Chris Mumford has been promoted from managing director to president. He will continue to serve as the account leader across all of the agency’s client relationships. His primary focus will be the coordination of IPG integrated service offerings for the clients who access multiple disciplines across the network, including accounts such as TIAA and GEICO. Mumford earned his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Steve Humble has been elevated from managing director of integrated content production and development to chief operating officer. He was recruited to Martin to spearhead the agency’s rise to a TV production heavyweight and played an integral role in the last five years in its digital conversion. He is the architect of the agency’s in-house in social content unit and its editorial and animation facility, Running With Scissors. Humble’s responsibilities will include building new capabilities along with amplifying the efficiency and growth of the Richmond headquarters.
Jerry Hoak has also been appointed to the executive committee as executive creative director, managing director. He has been instrumental in shaping the creative direction of the company, in tandem with Costello. Hoak will continue to work closely with Costello, implementing a progressive creative vision across the agency. He is also a graduate of Richmond’s own VCU Brandcenter, Class of 2005.
Chief strategy officer Michael Chapman and chief marketing officer Chris Shumaker round out the slate of nine executive committee members.
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