Piper Productions has named Thomas Robbins as its president, a new position at the bicoastal shop. He comes over from Foote, Cone & Belding on the West Coast where he served as senior VP, director of communications. Robbins will work out of Piper’s Santa Monica office, while managing director Sarah Jenks, who founded the company in 1996, remains based in New York…. Director Kevin Bourland and bicoastal Great Guns have amicably parted ways…..Heidi Gottlieb has been named executive producer at New York-based production company Zero 2 Sixty. She spent the past seven years as president/partner at now defunct rep firm Single Bid….Kevin Batten, formerly a staff producer at Deutsch LA, has taken the executive producer reins at Brand New School, a design/graphics/live-action shop that’s just gone bicoastal with the opening of a New York office. Batten replaces Matthew Marquis, who had been executive producer since the end of February (SHOOT, 2/23, p. 1). Marquis, who continues to maintain spot shop Milk Bar, has taken a temporary leave of absence from that company due to family reasons. In the interim, former freelancer Erin Tauscher is handling executive producer responsibilities at Milk Bar, which has relocated to Marina del Rey, Calif., and which continues to represent directors Jarl Olsen, Lara Shapiro and Brumby Boylston. Seth Epstein, who had been repped by Milk Bar, has left to pursue opportunities outside of directing….Northern Lights Post, New York, has added editor Patrick Burns, Jr. and producer Arthur Tremeau to its staff….
R/GA Goes Independent In Management and Private Equity Partnership
Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) has sold R/GA, the creative innovation company, to Truelink Capital, a private equity firm with a track record of investing in tech-enabled services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The move thus marks R/GA’s return to independence as a privately owned company after 23 years as part of IPG. R/GA’s global management team and Truelink Capital have formed an indie partnership. R/GA’s global CEO Robin Forbes and chair & global chief creative officer Tiffany Rolfe are two of the global leaders, together with others, who are investing in the company as part of the deal. R/GA’s next chapter will be fueled out of the gate by a $50M Innovation Fund, enabling the company to invest in new skillsets and talent, and acquire new capabilities, emerging tools and platforms. Additionally, R/GA has established a Strategic Advisory Council of senior marketing and technology executives to support emerging AI client transformation opportunities across multiple sectors.
As an independent company, R/GA is activating an AI-enabled model to better serve clients, unburdened by the restrictions and overheads of traditional corporate structures. New remuneration models based on outcomes, agile new team structures, and scaling up its flexible talent model “R/GA Associates,” are among the initial changes being implemented.
“Today is a landmark moment for R/GA, as we enter an exciting new chapter as a private company supported by our new partners at Truelink Capital. This announcement also signals a stark contrast to a wider trend towards consolidation in the agency business. Most agencies will struggle to make the pivot in this new age, especially at a time when they’re operating within complex agency... Read More