Nick Barham, former global director of W+K Tomorrow, has been named to the newly created role of chief strategy officer for TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles. Barham, 41, will join the agency’s executive leadership team and will oversee strategy functions across all parts of the L.A. group. He will work across all key accounts and report to TBWAChiatDay LA’s president, Carisa Bianchi.
Barham brings with him an extensive background in global, strategic planning and technology. Most recently as global director of W+K Tomorrow in Portland, Barham led a team responsible for creating new revenue and working models, with a focus on sustainability and emerging technology. His clients included Nike, Target, the Gates Foundation and EcoDistricts.
Prior to Portland, Barham was based in Asia, where he worked for Wieden + Kennedy in Shanghai as planning director. At Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai, he was on a management team that helped grow the agency from a single client, China-focused agency to a multi-category offering with the capability to deliver regional campaigns for clients including Nike, Coca Cola and Nokia. Originally from London, Barham has also worked at Karmarama, BBC and BBH.
He rejoins the TBWA network having previously been planning director at TBWAChina. He is a regular speaker at events including PSFK, San Francisco: ad:tech Digital, Shanghai: AAAA Account Planning Conference, Miami; and Go Green, Portland. Barham is also author of Dis/connected (Random House, 2004), a book that explores the different worlds of British teenagers and their vibrant youth culture.
Barham said of his new role and roost, “Throughout my career, I’ve done my best to seek out roles that surprise and challenge me and allow me to keep learning. The unique structure of the TBWAChiatDay LA Group combines agility with scale and presents great opportunities for the work that we create with our clients.”
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More