Ann-Christine Diaz is joining McCann Worldgroup as SVP, global director, creative excellence. Diaz brings over 20 years of experience as a journalist covering advertising and marketing creativity, having served most recently as creativity editor at Ad Age.
In her new role, Diaz will oversee McCann Worldroup’s creative excellence team in support of McCann Worldgroup’s entire global creative community across all of the network's regions and agencies. The team is responsible for providing the network with the resources, programs and tools it needs to continuously produce industry-leading creative work that generates the most impact for client brands. Diaz will leverage her deep experience and insight evaluating creative work and examining important issues that impact the industry to ensure creative excellence continues to be integral to all facets of McCann Worldgroup, from the work, to talent, DEI and more.
John Mescall, McCann Worldgroup’s Global Creative Council president, said, “To anyone who loves advertising creativity, Ann-Christine hardly needs an introduction. Her passion for, and knowledge of, the work is incredible. But that’s just a part of what makes her special. She’s just as passionate about the people who make the work. And about how great work gets made, and what kind of conditions need to exist in order for us to be at our creative best.”
“Until now, I’ve been a bit of an outsider looking in, so I’m humbled and incredibly excited to be invited in at McCann Worldgroup," said Diaz. “It’s home to people I deeply respect and ideas that have re-imagined what advertising can be—singular moves like Mastercard’s ‘True Name,’ State Street Global Advisors’ ‘Fearless Girl’—and my personal favorite, Aldi’s 'Kevin the Carrot,' to name just a few."
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More