Global creative company Sid Lee has finalized the core of its leadership team in the U.S. with the addition of Melissa Palazzo-Hart as chief operations officer and Nirm Shanbhag as chief strategy officer.
Palazzo-Hart brings over 20 years of experience building, scaling, and optimizing businesses and brands. Most recently as managing director of Eclipse Advertising, she piloted the organization’s creative division. Prior to that, she served as president of entertainment and advertising agency Ant Farm. She also held leadership positions at Ketchum Public Relations, USA Network, Miramax Films and Sony Pictures.
Shanbhag’s role prior to joining Sid Lee was as principal at Notch Strategy, a boutique strategy shop he founded six-plus years ago. He earlier was managing director at Interbrand for which he built a West Coast presence by creating an experiential studio. He also worked with such ad agencies as MullenLowe and McCann Erickson.
Palazzo-Hart and Shanbhag round out a U.S. leadership ensemble at Sid Lee which includes: USA CEO Andy Bateman; Jeff Alpen, managing director, Seattle and New York; Nicolas Van Erum, managing director, L.A.; and Cam Levin, chief creative officer.
On the account front, Sid Lee has just become the global agency of record for performance workwear brand Dickies, following the new U.S. business win of simplehuman, a designer and manufacturer of tools for efficient living. Sid Lee’s creative partner roster also includes Warner Bros. Games, FC Cincinnati, Marvel, TNT’s Snowpiercer, lifestyle hospitality company SBE, and Cartessa Aesthetics, a disruptive aesthetic device company.
“Our expansion in the U.S. is born from our understanding of what clients need from their creative partnerships. Since joining our collective, Andy has attracted top-tier talents and together they’re reshaping Sid Lee in the U.S.A. to be a forward-thinking, digital-first creative company. The team has been able to quickly create critical momentum that’s resonating across our entire collective,” stated Bertrand Cesvet, CEO of Sid Lee Group.
Sid Lee has bases of operation in Montreal, Toronto, Paris, New York, Seattle and Los Angeles. clients. Sid Lee is a member of kyu, a collective of top drawer global creative companies including IDEO, SYPartners and Digital Kitchen established by Hakuhodo DY Holdings, the second largest agency network in Asia.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More