Atlanta-headquartered agency Ammunition has hired Alex Russell as chief creative officer, while Ankur Goel joins as chief operating officer. Russell’s extensive experience includes notable campaigns for Volkswagen, leading the global rebranding of Intel, and co-leading campaigns for AT&T. Russell joins Ammunition after serving as the former executive creative director at KO:OP, Coca-Cola’s in-house agency, chief creative officer at Genexa, and SVP creative director for BBDO Worldwide. Before joining Ammunition, Goel served as chief commercial officer for Lawn and Garden LLC over the Gilmour, Nelson, and Jobes brands. Prior to that, he spent seven years in key positions at Samsung Electronics Americas, where most recently he served as VP/GM of sales and marketing in Samsung’s Digital Appliance business. Before Samsung, Goel spent 12 years in management consulting with stops at Gartner, PwC, and Capgemini, where he led global teams building brands like Mattel, Avis, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, HP, Honda, and Goodyear. Both Russell and Goel officially start on January 2, 2024…
Havas has acquired Klareco Communications–Singapore homegrown agency and a leading corporate, financial and strategic communications consultancy in Southeast Asia–to strengthen its global strategic communications advisory arm, H/Advisors, in Asia-Pacific. The addition of Klareco Communications represents an important next step in H/Advisors’ strategic growth plan. Upon closing of the deal, Klareco Communications will be renamed H/Advisors Klareco. The agency is a trusted advisor to world-leading multinationals and Asia-headquartered companies, known for its award-winning work across the full spectrum of communications from protecting and elevating corporate reputations, advising on some of Singapore’s largest financial transactions and tackling the most complex business challenges such as cyber-attacks. H/Advisors Klareco and its senior management team will take on a significant role within the strategic advisory network. The local leadership includes CEO and co-founder Ang Shih-Huei, and managing director and co-founder Mark Worthington who will join the Asia board to help direct and lead the expansion of H/Advisors in Asia-Pacific….
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