McGarrah Jessee (McJ) has hired Tim Roan as chief creative officer. He joins the indie agency’s executive leadership team, which includes CEO Britton Upham, chief engagement officer Melissa Fodo and chief strategy officer Jen Hruska.
Most recently, Roan served as executive creative director at travel lifestyle brand Away. Previously, he was executive creative director at Lyft, one of McJ’s clients.
Upham said, “We’re excited to attract a talent like Tim to join McJ and to bring him back to the agency world. After working together on the Lyft business and seeing how much our teams were inspired by and respected Tim, it made our decision much easier.”
Before his tour on the client side, Roan held various creative leadership roles at advertising agencies including Wieden+Kennedy Portland, BBDO New York, Mullen and FCB New York.
“The momentum and energy at McJ is palpable,” said Roan. “We get to work with some super interesting, super loved brands and smart, collaborative clients every day. Yes, and, the agency is steeped in craft – which is a rarity in our industry and something I got to see firsthand as a client. That’s why I feel lucky to be here. My job is simple: We have to break through if we want to build our clients’ businesses. To get there, my goal is to empower our teams to make fun work (and have fun doing it) that provides value and makes our clients famous. I believe in ‘right place, right people, right time.’ I’m excited to make great work together.”
Throughout his career, Roan has worked with a diverse range of brands including TurboTax, GE, Samsung, FedEx, and Life Savers, to name a few. Along the way, his work has been recognized by the ADC Awards, ADDY Awards, Archive, Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, D&AD Awards, Epica Awards, Mercury Awards, London International Awards, New York Festivals, Webby Awards, and the One Show, among others.
McJ’s client roster includes Lyft, Whataburger, Citi Bike, Orvis, Costa Sunglasses and Frost Bank.
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