Independent global media and marketing consultancy Ebiquity has named Nick Waters as its group CEO. He will join the company on July 1 and be appointed as an executive director of the board. Alan Newman, currently interim CEO, will resume his role as chief financial and operating officer also effective on July 1. Waters brings more than 20 years’ experience in senior executive roles at leading international media, digital and advertising businesses. He joins Ebiquity from Dentsu Aegis Network (formerly Aegis Group plc), a multinational media and digital marketing group, where he worked for 10 years. He was most recently its executive chairman, U.K. and Ireland, having previously been CEO of Asia Pacific for nine years. Prior to Dentsu Aegis Network, Waters held a number of senior roles at global media agency Mindshare for more than 10 years, which he joined from international advertising and marketing agency, Ogilvy & Mather. At Mindshare he progressed to become CEO of EMEA having been CEO of Asia Pacific and previously CEO of Southeast Asia.
Advertising industry PR agency Mister Sweat has changed its name to Sweat + Co, and launched a consulting practice aimed at helping agencies weather the current coronavirus crisis and prepare themselves for the world beyond it. Sweat + Co also announced a daily webinar series, “Agencies Under Quarantine,” which assembles industry thought leaders to provide practical tips for agencies during and after the pandemic. Management consulting may seem an odd fit for a PR agency, but consulting has been a part of the Sweat + Co process since its beginning, with journalist, novelist and agency PR vet Jeff Sweat, former communications head at 72andSunny and Deutsch LA. The core Sweat + Co team includes communications experts from all levels of the industry, former management consultants, new business directors, executive coaches, and an organizational psychologist. The consulting practice brings in an additional team of industry experts, aka the Vital Squad, who will each join projects based on client needs. Among those on the Vital Squad are: Nancy Alley, former chief talent officer at Deutsch LA (who offers expertise in HR and recruiting); Jason Elm, former ECD at Barkley and Heat (creative department coaching and consulting industry creative practices); Susan Franceschini, director of advertising organization ThinkLA (people and coaching); Betsy Hindman, former B2B national account manager at Disney and B2B marketing strategist (LinkedIn marketing); Justin Hooper, principal at Undynable, former GCD at 72andSunny and CCO at StubHub (creative department coaching); and Steven Ornstein, CFO at WongDooody, Havas Battery LLC, and former CFO at 72andSunny (strategic finance)….
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More