 Christie Bishop |
Edelman has appointed Christie Bishop head of brand for Southern California. Bishop joins Edelman from Spark44, a joint venture marketing partner to Jaguar Land Rover, where she was executive strategy director and general manager of North America. She also hosts the Commercial Grade podcast, which offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on the production of creative campaigns. “Christie’s appointment at Edelman is a clear indication of the opportunity that exists for the firm in the integrated brand marketing space across Southern California,” said Will Collie, general manager of Edelman’s Southern California business. “Her extensive experience will bring a new perspective to our work and be integral to boosting our ability to deliver successful and impactful programming for all of our clients.”
 Leslie Ankney |
Ditto has brought on crypto journalist Leslie Ankney as an associate vice president, based in the agency’s San Francisco office. Ankney comes to Ditto from Forbes, where she was a contributor and analyst. Previously, she wrote for the crypto news site NullTX/The Merkle and founded UpScale International, a digital marketing firm for crypto projects. In her new position, Ankney will help crypto projects communicate more effectively and work to educate journalists so that they can better tell compelling stories that get the tech right. Ditto has worked with a wide range of projects that focus on such areas as blockchain solutions, crypto finance, and digital assets.
 Sean O'Leary |
Susan Davis International has named Sean O’Leary as a vice president. O’Leary joins SDI from the Merritt Group, where he served as director, leading a practice for technology companies focused on working with federal, state and local governments, as well as the Department of Defense. He has also worked as spokesperson and communications director for the Newspaper Association of America and global communications manager for Metalogix Software. “Sean’s addition will allow SDI to further expand our impressive client roster, especially with technology companies and associations,” said SDI chairman Susan Davis.
Whit Clay, who exited the Co-CEO slot at Sloane & Co. 18 months ago to head Longacre Square Partners’ New York office, has been promoted to serve as the first CEO of the financial communication shop.
Global Strategy Group names Claudio Taratuta as an EVP of the L@B, its in-house creative and media agency. Taratuta joins GSG from Praytell, where he was a founding team member... ROKK Solutions appoints Kris Havens as EVP of intel and insights. Havens was most recently a partner at Penta Group... Cliff House Maine brings on William Courtney Lowe as chief business development and brand strategist. Lowe joins Cliff House Maine from Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod, where he was VP of marketing & business development. 
Eitan Bencuya, who has more than 20 years of technology PR experience, has signed on with Brunswick Group as a partner in its San Francisco office.
DGA Group has lined up the former US ambassadors to Qatar and Saudi Arabia as senior advisors to help clients navigate that politically complex region.
Narrative Strategies names Adam Silverstein as managing director in New York. Silverstein was most recently head of media relations & thought leadership at Scient Public Relations... Mission North brings on Alex Hunter as EVP of health and innovation... Baird & Warner, a family-owned independent real estate services company that serves the Chicago area, appoints Jeanette Cutler as CMO.
