Moves this week at Ogilvy, Taxi, Kirshenbaum, Attik, Draw, New Moon, blue, VTR, HHCL/United, HSI and Rhinopost
WPP has appointed Tro Piliguian, previously North American chairman of Ogilvy & Mather, as chief operating officer. Piliguian was at Ogilvy for 17 years, joining when Ogilvy took over part of Academy, the Montreal agency he set up, in 1988. He moved to New York to head up the office there in 1994, becoming chief executive for Ogilvy North America in 1998, until he stepped down from the role last summer.
Taxi has hired Wayne Best as executive creative director of its New York office. An industry veteran, Best worked as a creative director at Fallon New York and Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, and produced for Wieden + Kennedy and Cliff Freeman & Partners. Through his career he has worked on a host of big names including Virgin Mobile, ESPN, Starbucks and Fox Sports.
Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners has taken on Barry Lowenthal as managing partner/president of the Media Kitchen, a KBP company. Lowenthal returns to KBP, where he worked in the media department between 1992 and 2000, to run the 40-strong operation.
In a big recruitment drive, US agency Attik has taken on new staff in a number of its offices. Tim Scott, who has worked as creative director and art director for Tracy Locke and Y&R Buzz as well as freelancing for RJ Reynolds and Nestle, becomes creative director of Attik's New York studio. The studio has also taken on Mark Anderson as account director. Anderson was at TBWAChiatDay in San Francisco, and was an account director on Pfizer and Lipitor at Merkley + Partners. At Attik San Francisco new business manager Rachel Newell will add account director duties, where and she will be joined by newly hired account director William Wayland. Wayland worked at Publicis Hal Riney and FCB in San Francisco. Finally, Attik's Los Angeles studio is adding account management veteran Charlie Adams as its account director for Scion. As well as being management supervisor for Nissan at TBWAChiatDay's Los Angeles office, Adams has worked at Deutsch and Grey, both in Los Angeles.
Draw Pictures has added Uli Meyer Studios to its roster, representing them in the UK for commercials. The studios are renowned for their features animation for Warner Bros, but are currently working with Saatchi & Saatchi on a number of commercials, while continuing to direct live action and animation feature-length projects.
New Moon has signed drama and commercials director Mark Brozel. Brozel most recently directed the contemporary version of Macbeth that aired on BBC One in November and will be broadcast on BBC America early this year.
blue, part of the VTR Group, has strengthened its production team with new producer Angela Parkinson. Parkinson joins blue from Publicis, where she spent four-and-a-half years, most recently as an agency producer on key accounts including Cadbury, Renault and Garnier. Additionally, VTR, part of the VTR Group, has appointed Steve Morahan as its head of production. Morahan brings around ten years' experience to the VTR team, and was responsible most recently for launching Captive People, a consultancy specialising in out-of-home TV. Prior to that he set up production company Renegade One, before which he spent a number of years with VTR in a variety of operational and management roles.
HHCL/United junior creative team Billy Faithful and Ross Neil have left the agency to join WCRS.
Barrie Isaacson will be joining Pamala Buzick for sales at HSI/NY in January 2006. Isaacson will still represent The Whitehouse and Tonefarmer.
Rhinopost in New York has added editor Preston Stewart to its staff. He has over 20 years of experience working for companies such as VideoWorks, R Greenberg Associates and CBS Television.