AKQA has hired Sung Chang as the creative lead on Verizon Wireless, for which AKQA has been named a strategic digital partner. Chang will be based in AKQA’s New York office and report to chief creative officer Rei Inamoto.
Chang has been in the advertising, digital & design space for more than 15 years leading creative teams, building new service offerings, and helping brands embrace and integrate digital to enable them to better communicate and connect to their customers. Most recently, Chang was executive creative director/sr. partner at Ogilvy & Mather worldwide, leading creative for Motorola, Nestlé and Castrol EDGE. During his eight-year tenure at Ogilvy, he managed a multi-disciplinary team and helped to expand the company’s digital offerings while working with clients that include American Express, Cisco and SAP.
Prior to Ogilvy, Chang helped build digital agency Red Sky Interactive, working with clients such as Sony, Nike, Kraft, Time Warner and PaineWebber. He also helped pioneer interactive TV at NBC Television, building out its Enhanced Broadcast Group.
Chang’s work has earned numerous industry awards for creativity and strategic effectiveness, including Cannes Lions, Effies and Clios. Aside from his agency roles, Chang works with students to develop the next generation of industry talent. He has taught architecture and studio classes at Columbia University and the Miami Ad School.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More