Creative agency Leith, with offices in Manchester and Edinburgh, has bolstered its Health division with the appointment of Jon Chapman as executive creative director. Chapman will be responsible for leading the creative output of Leith’s health clients including Sanofi, Hoya Vision Care, EFPIA, IFPMA and Worldwide Cancer Research, and working with teams across the agency including Leith’s Young Lions winners, art director Joe Sayer and copywriter Marion Miranda. Chapman joins Leith ECDs Phil Evans and Troy Farnworth, at the agency and will report to Richard Marsham, group managing partner. Chapman, who will be based in Manchester, starts this month.
Chapman joins from BBDO Health in New York, where he was chief creative officer responsible for growing the agency’s health offering and part of the North American Creative Council for the network. Prior to joining BBDO, he spent over a decade at Havas Lynx, joining when it was a small design studio in Manchester and leaving 10 years later as CCO when it had grown into a global health agency employing 650 people.
Marsham, group managing partner at Leith, commented, “We are thrilled to have someone of Jon’s caliber and pedigree joining the agency. He has extensive experience of working on large global campaigns and smaller local initiatives, across multiple issues and geographies, and culturally he’s a great fit too. Jon joins the agency at a pivotal time as we look to raise our game again and build upon the success we have achieved over the last five years.”
Brian Coane, partner–Health, Leith, said, “Over the last few years we have produced creative work that has been recognized at the top global awards. Jon’s hiring is another sign of our commitment to producing groundbreaking creative work in a sector where communications that connect with people can really make a difference for patients and brands.”
Chapman commented, “I have always admired the spirit and ambition of the team at Leith which is reflected in the quality of work coming out of the agency. The opportunity to move back to Manchester and build upon Leith’s unfettered creativity and ambition was too good to miss.”
Chapman has picked up honors at all the major award shows over the course of his career including Cannes, Clios, D&AD, Creative Circle and LIA. He was part of the team at Havas Lynx when it was awarded Healthcare Agency of the Year at Cannes Lions in 2018. He has also sat on international award jury panels including Clios, LIA, D&AD and Creative Floor.
Leith has enjoyed a strong period of growth within the Health division, with revenue quadrupling over the last three years.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More