Christopher Kief has been appointed to the new position of chief technology officer at Saatchi & Saatchi New York. He comes with deep experience as a director of creative technology, innovation and interactivity at agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi LA and Crispin Porter + Bogusky. He was most recently executive technology director at TBWA Worldwide and chief technology officer of Pilot.is, a design and technology unit within TBWA.
Kief is charged with accelerating Saatchi’s application of technology to its creative product. He will partner with Saatchi & Saatchi’s recently appointed chief creative officer Jay Benjamin and chief production officer Tanya LeSieur.
“We’re creating a maker culture at Saatchi New York”, says Benjamin. “Fast prototyping, immersive storytelling and constant experimentation. Chris brings us the technical and strategic leadership we need, as much a doer as he is a thinker.”
Prior to TBWA, Kief served as director of creative technology and innovation at Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles where he was responsible for the creative execution of all Toyota North America’s digital marketing activities. His return to Saatchi reunites him with LeSieur. He began his career at Crispin Porter + Bogusky as an associate technology director, working on notable projects such as the Domino’s Pizza Builder and Pizza Tracker.
Kief has additionally worked on brands such as Walmart and Nokia across top agencies including BBH, JWT, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Y&R and FCB. Over the course of his career he has received numerous awards including recognition from the Cannes Lions, One Show, SXSW and the Webbys.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More