VMLY&R has announced the appointment of two executive roles for The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) business: Stephanie DeCelles is promoted to global client lead, and Chase Cornett is named global chief strategy officer. In their new roles, DeCelles and Cornett will join OpenX from WPP, the bespoke agency created to service the Coca-Cola company after being named its global marketing network partner in November 2021. DeCelles and Cornett will be part of the integrated OpenX leadership team, which spans creative, media, social, data, tech, PR, and commerce services. They will partner closely with Rafael Pitanguy, creative lead for TCCC at VMLY&R.
“Stephanie and Chase are a powerhouse duo known for bringing strategic focus, collaborative spirit, and proven passion for breakthrough and innovative work for clients. Their depth of understanding when it comes to client needs is clear when you look at their record of delivering growth for global brands. They are an unbeatable choice to lead across our partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and wider WPP OpenX team,” said global CEO Jon Cook.
DeCelles has been promoted to global client lead for VMLY&R on the Coca-Cola Company business. She previously served as executive director of VMLY&R Kansas City, one of the flagship global offices in the network. In this role she was responsible for growth, culture and key client relationships across the office. She will continue to be based in Kansas City and report to Eric Campbell, global president, VMLY&R.
Since joining VMLY&R in 2012, DeCelles has had her work recognized by Cannes, the One Show, Effie and the Clio Awards. With nearly 20 years’ experience, she has led both national and global brands including Intel, Gatorade, Red Bull, Danone, Walmart and Bumble. Under her leadership, VMLY&R continues to expand through new divisions and capabilities, with high-profile brands for which the agency has won several industry awards.
Cornett has been named global chief strategy officer at VMLY&R for the Coca-Cola Company. The appointment is the first major move from Andrea (Ring) Grodberg who joined VMLY&R last month as global chief strategy officer. Cornett will continue to be based in Kansas City. His previous brand experience includes Gatorade, Tropicana, Red Bull, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Disney Stores, and Toyota with work globally recognized at Cannes, the One Show, Effie, and Clio.
Prior to taking the helm of the global Coca-Cola business, Cornett successfully led the pitch and then global strategy for Team Intel–rebranding this iconic tech giant for only the second time in history. He also served as head of strategy for VMLY&R’s Kansas City office where he was responsible for driving our strategic point of view and growing and building a world-class team of brand, experience, and creative strategists. Cornett joined VMLY&R in 2017 from FCB Chicago, where he served as sr. VP and strategic planning director.
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More