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.
Director Christophe Ruggia Found Guilty Of Sexual Assault In France’s First Big #MeToo Trial
A Paris court found a filmmaker guilty of sexual assault on French actor Adèle Haenel when she was between 12 and 15 in the early 2000s, in the country's first big #MeToo trial.
Filmmaker Christophe Ruggia was sentenced Monday to two years under house arrest with an electronic bracelet plus a two-year suspended sentence. Ruggia had denied any wrongdoing.
Haenel, now 35, was the first top actor in France to accuse the film industry of turning a blind eye to sexual abuse after the #MeToo movement broke out. In 2019, she accused Ruggia of having repeatedly touched her inappropriately during and after filming of the movie "Les Diables," or "The Devils," in the early 2000s.
Haenel appeared relieved, breathing deeply, as Monday's verdict was being released. She was applauded by some women's rights activists as she left the courtroom.
The court ruled that Ruggia "took advantage of the dominant position" he had on Haenel at the time. "During quasi-weekly meetings at your home for over three years you had sexualized gestures and attitudes," as Haenel was "gradually isolated" from her loved ones, the court said in a statement.
Ruggia's lawyer said her client would appeal.
He "maintains that he has never touched Adèle Haenel," the lawyer, Fanny Colin, said. "Sentenced in these conditions and on the sole basis of her words seems to us not only unjustified but dangerous."
Haenel, star of the 2019 Cannes entry "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," has in recent years vocally protested what she's called an insufficient response to sexual abuse in French filmmaking.
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