22squared, a national independent agency, has named Brandon Murphy to serve as its president while elevating Richard Ward to the new role of chairman and CEO. Murphy is currently chief client officer and Ward is president and CEO. Over the past decade, 22squared has tripled in size and expanded clients, employees, service offerings and revenue. 22squared currently has full-service, dual-headquarter offices in Atlanta and Tampa.
Ward joined the agency in 2006 as president and CEO, and has been a key visionary and growth-driver since that time. He stated, “Our agency is recognized for our unique culture and thoughtful, methodic, strategic transitions. Unlike most agencies, we take a very long view of our business which facilitates the lost art of growing and grooming leaders from within an organization. For the past 12 years Brandon has held leadership positions in every department in the agency, and earned both the loyalty and passionate commitment of our staff. This is the perfect next move for Brandon, at precisely the right time for 22squared.”
Murphy has a unique agency career pedigree, rising though the strategy department ranks at Campbell-Ewald/Detroit, and subsequently joining 22squared (branded as WestWayne), in 2005 as SVP, strategy director. Murphy was involved in the repositioning and renaming of the agency as 22squared in 2007. He has worked in all corners of the agency, leading the strategy, analytics, account management, content marketing and media departments.
Murphy has been instrumental in 22squared’s growth. On the brand side, he helped position client Buffalo Wild Wings as the ultimate social experience for sports fans with the resulting campaign, ‘Overtime,’ which propelled the brand from a regional wing-joint to the nation’s fastest growing casual dining restaurant. Murphy also oversaw planning efforts on the Effie award-winning campaigns for American Standard and Costa Rica Tourism, and the evergreen campaigns 22squared produces year after year for legacy client, Publix Super Markets.
Judge says Elon Musk’s claims of harm from OpenAI are a “stretch” but welcomes possible trial
Elon Musk's lawyers faced off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's request for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit company.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a "stretch" for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesn't intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its transition from a nonprofit research laboratory to a for-profit corporation.
But the judge also raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with business partner Microsoft and said she wouldn't stop the case from moving to trial as soon as next year so a jury can decide.
"It is plausible that what Mr. Musk is saying is true. We'll find out. He'll sit on the stand," she said.
Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company last year, first in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good. Musk had invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Musk escalated the legal dispute late last year, adding new claims and defendants and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. Musk also added his own AI company, xAI, as a plaintiff.
Also targeted by Musk's lawsuit is OpenAI's close business partner Microsoft and tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, a former OpenAI board member who also sits on Microsoft's board.
Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for approving the kind of preliminary injunction that Musk wants but hasn't yet ruled on the request.
She has... Read More