MullenLowe U.S. has brought Jordan Muse on board as president of MullenLowe East, and promoted Kelly Fredrickson to chief culture officer and Javier Passerieu to president of MullenLowe West.
“Innovation is fuel for growth. Brands that continually innovate grow faster than their peers,” said Kristen Cavallo, CEO of MullenLowe Global. “We’re applying this truth to ourselves. We need great leaders who are empowered to push boundaries so we can continue to offer strategic business and brand solutions for our clients that go beyond what is expected. I’m excited about the people we’re introducing today. I’m confident that Kelly, Jordan, and Javi will complement and accelerate our vision.”
Fredrickson steps into the newly created role of chief culture officer after a five-year stint leading MullenLowe Boston. As chief culture officer, Fredrickson will aim to foster a culture that encourages inquisitiveness, positive dissatisfaction, creativity, experimentation, and risk taking. In the same way the agency encourages clients to innovate and differentiate themselves from their competition, Fredrickson will ensure the agency leads by example.
Fredrickson fostered a culture of effectiveness that landed MullenLowe in the top five on both the Effie and WARC U.S. effectiveness rankings, and she modernized the agency by championing the growth of both the social and behavioral sciences capabilities. She was pivotal in the launch of a first-of-its-kind Momternship program designed to bring mothers back to the workforce, created a speaker series called “Stoking Curiosity” to spark creative collisions virtually, and championed the agency’s five ERGs to build communities on their own terms.
Muse, executive partner at The Martin Agency, is taking the role of president of MullenLowe East. He will partner with executive creative director Tim Vaccarino and head of strategy Ellie Gogan-Tilstone to elevate the creative output across the offices’ marquee clients: KFC, Navy Federal Credit Union, USGA, E*TRADE, Scotts, JAMRS, Bayer, and Banner Health, among others. Muse will continue to lead GEICO at The Martin Agency as executive partner and will oversee MullenLowe’s relationship with the brand, since it became a social partner earlier this year.
Muse comes with an extensive creative pedigree, having spent the last five years at Martin and a decade at Wieden+Kennedy. He was behind award-winning campaigns including Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” Nike’s 2016 Olympic basketball campaign, and “Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony” for Buffalo Wild Wings. He was inducted into the AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement the same year his father, advertising visionary Jo Muse, was inducted to the Hall of Fame.
Cavallo also promoted managing director Passerieu to president of MullenLowe West. Under his direction, the agency went through a business and creative transformation, helping Corona return to growth, repositioning the global Grey Goose business, contributing to Acura’s most effective campaign to date, and elevating Patrón to a premium brand with an unwavering passion for craft. Prior to moving to the U.S., Passerieu spent three years as global business director for Unilever at MullenLowe London. During his 19-year career building brands and teams on three continents, he also led award-winning work for Coca-Cola, Sony, Axe/Lynx, Absolut Vodka, and Whole Foods Market. As West president, he will continue to work in partnership with executive creative directors Laura Sampedro and Carlos Alija and head of strategy Kristina Jenkins.
Review: Director Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked”
It's the ultimate celebrity redemption tour, two decades in the making. In the annals of pop culture, few characters have undergone an image makeover quite like the Wicked Witch of the West.
Oh, she may have been vengeful and scary in "The Wizard of Oz." But something changed — like, REALLY changed — on the way from the yellow brick road to the Great White Way. Since 2003, crowds have packed nightly into "Wicked" at Broadway's Gershwin Theatre to cheer as the green-skinned, misunderstood Elphaba rises up on her broomstick to belt "Defying Gravity," that enduring girl-power anthem.
How many people have seen "Wicked"? Rudimentary math suggests more than 15 million on Broadway alone. And now we have "Wicked" the movie, director Jon M. Chu's lavish, faithful, impeccably crafted (and nearly three-hour) ode to this origin story of Elphaba and her (eventual) bestie — Glinda, the very good and very blonde. Welcome to Hollywood, ladies.
Before we get to what this movie does well (Those big numbers! Those costumes!), just a couple thornier issues to ponder. Will this "Wicked," powered by a soulful Cynthia Erivo (owner of one of the best singing voices on the planet) and a sprightly, comedic, hair-tossing Ariana Grande, turn even musical theater haters into lovers?
Tricky question. Some people just don't buy into the musical thing, and they should be allowed to live freely amongst us. But if people breaking into song delights rather than flummoxes you, if elaborate dance numbers in village squares and fantastical nightclubs and emerald-hued cities make perfect sense to you, and especially if you already love "Wicked," well then, you will likely love this film. If it feels like they made the best "Wicked" movie money could buy — well, it's... Read More