After 20 years at Saatchi & Saatchi, Pablo Del Campo, has stepped down from his post as worldwide creative director of the network. He will be replaced by Kate Stanners, currently chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, London. Stanners will serve as global CCO while retaining her London role.
Del Campo said: “It has been an enormous privilege for me to have developed so many ‘ideas bigger than ads’ in a space as inspiring as Saatchi & Saatchi, hand in hand with the most prestigious industry leaders and creative teams. Today, the network holds the highest standards in terms of talent in order to continue the ‘hothouse for world-changing ideas.’ The decision to leave this 20-year-old adventure has not been easy but the outcome surpassed by far my expectations.” He added, “I hope I’ve honored the brand.”
Robert Senior, the worldwide chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi, said, “Pablo has been a source of inspiration, counsel, and delight, not just for me, but for thousands of brilliant creative people within our network. I’m sorry to see him go, but wish him all the best with this new chapter.”
On Stanners’ appointment, Senior added: “Kate is a unique talent and a bundle of energy. Over the last couple of years, she has led the transformation of the creative work on some of our biggest global clients, such as Procter & Gamble. Her ability to apply innovative, market-leading creativity to the largest brands in the world will make her the perfect choice of creative leader for our network.”
Stanners said, “I’ve lived, breathed and loved Saatchi & Saatchi for the last 11 years, so the opportunity to take leadership of the creative performance of this great network and drive it to even more success is an exciting, and very personal honor.”
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More