Full-service business agency GALE has hired 18-year Razorfish veteran Patrick Frend as managing director. Frend will be joining GALE’s global management team to help shape the agency’s service offering and grow its global business. Frend will be reporting to GALE’s president and CEO Brad Simms.
“GALE’s connected agency and consultancy offering is a great fit for Pat–a former management consultant and agency veteran with vast expertise across automotive, financial services, CPG, travel, and retail,” said Simms.
Prior to joining GALE, Frend served as president, East Region of Razorfish, managing its New York, Atlanta, and Toronto business. In this role, he handled a $150-million P&L and oversaw more than 600 employees, working with clients including: Mercedes-Benz, Ford Motor Company, UNIQLO, Delta Airlines, Unilever, and Citibank.
“GALE’s seamless integration of business consulting and creative expertise, along with the agency’s long-term vision, inspired me to join the team” said Frend. “Many aspire to adopt that model, but GALE pioneered it three and half years ago and has proven its value out with brands including BMW, BMO, and Genting. GALE is about the same size and age as the organization I joined the last time I made a change 18 years ago; I look forward to looking back on how I’ve contributed to GALE 18 years from now.”
Headquartered in New York with offices in Toronto and Bangalore, GALE brings together the strongest aspects of the agency and consultancy models and supports this through proprietary data and insights platforms including ASK GALE and ALCHEMY. GALE’s clients include: BMW, Bank of Montreal, Allstate, MGM, Hain Celestial, Genting, and David’s Bridal.
Hwang Dong-hyuk On Season 2 of “Squid Game,” Wrapping Production on Season 3; What’s Next?
Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix's "Squid Game," but those simulated deaths have a different effect on its creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk feels happiness seeing them go.
The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was "really difficult" to manage everyone on set.
As characters would die, Hwang recalls saying to the actors on their last day, "'Oh no! How sad! I won't see you tomorrow,' but I was always smiling inside."
"Squid Game" season two premieres Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don't know is that losing the game is deadly.
Hwang originally conceived of the show 15 years ago as a two-hour film but it failed to gain traction with financiers or even interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. He then had the idea to make it a TV series instead and took the project to Netflix. There, it could reach a wide audience.
"I never in my wildest dream thought it was going to be this huge," said Hwang, who spoke about the show and what comes next. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What have you learned from "Squid Game"?
HWANG: I learned that I shouldn't give up. If you love something and if you want to create something, it might not work now, but the time might come later. Or that idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.
Q: You've already finished filming season three of "Squid Game." Have you thought about what your next project will be?
HWANG: I'm afraid to talk... Read More