 Stuart Smith |
Stuart Smith, head of Ogilvy’s global PR group, is leaving the WPP unit to take the chief marketing & growth job at Vegolutionary Foods, the Los Angeles health food company founded by his wife and former Edelman western region CEO Gail Becker.
He joined Oglivy in 2011 following a seven-year run as Edelman UK chief and three years at Hill & Knowlton, where he rose to head the corporate EMEA group.
Smith played the leading role in the folding of the standalone Ogilvy PR into an offering of a single-branded company.
Ogilvy CEO John Siefert will assume Smith’s duties on an interim basis.
Los Angeles-based Vegolutionary is noted for its ready-to-cook Caulipower gluten-free pizza and SweetPotaToasts.
Becker exited Edelman to launch Vegolutionary in 2016.
Brittney Basden, who led public affairs and advocacy partnerships at the Washington Post has joined Bully Pulpit International as a managing director.
The DUX Group, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic communications firm that works with leaders in highly regulated industries, names Lauren Boland as VP... Workday, an enterprise AI platform for HR, finance and IT, names Sarah Kennedy Ellis CMO, effective Oct. 5. Kennedy Ellis joins the company from Google... Octave Specialty Group, a global specialty insurance firm, brings on Philip Stefano as managing director, head of investor relations. 
Michele Ziosi will rejoin Stellantis on Oct. 1 as chief PA officer responsible for Enlarged Europe and for the global coordination of the carmaker’s PA activities.
Inizio, which works with clients in the health and life sciences sectors, appoints Oisín Ó Gógáin as chief people officer... The Boston Beer Company names Allison Stransky CMO, effective Oct. 12. Stransky was previuosly VP and CMO at Samsung Electronics America... Newark Regional Business Partnership and its 501(c)(3) affiliate, the Renaissance Newark Foundation, bring on Kim Lewis-Collins as VP, marketing and business development, a newly created role. 
Carmichael Lynch president and manager Julie Batliner is joining Padilla as president, succeeding Matt Kuchariski. Kucharski will transition to a fractional role with the agency as an executive counselor through the end of the year.
