T1 promotes four to leadership roles

The T1 Agency has looked internally to find the new executives that will join president Mark Harrison on its leadership team.

Imran Choudhry (pictured, above), who has been with the agency for 19 years and was named VP in 2011, has been promoted to managing partner; group account director Liz Rose has been named VP of client engagement; group account director Catherine Mass has been promoted to VP of agency operations and production; and Amanda Rinaldo has been named senior director of marketing and PR.

The promotions aim to help the experience-focused agency drive new growth, as well as handle the growth it is currently experiencing as it on-boards new clients Maple Leaf Foods and NABS. Other T1 clients include OLG, Dairy Farmers of Canada and Esso.

Humanity brings on new client lead

Toronto’s Humanity has hired Sheng Sinn as its first VP of client relationships. As the title suggests, Sinn will be leading the agency’s account teams and new business initiatives, but he will also head up operations, reporting to president and CCO Carolyn Shaw. Since Shaw founded Humanity last year, it has worked on projects for Dairy Farmers of Canada, KLM and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Sinn was most recently VP of client engagement at DDB Canada, but has also had senior business-focused roles at Wunderman Thompson, Leo Burnett and BBDO.

WPP and Microsoft are bringing creative production to the cloud

WPP has partnered with Microsoft to create Cloud Studio, a new platform to move the network’s production work off of individual computers and into a cloud-based hub to enable collaboration between (and outside of) offices.

Rather than simply moving files and assets to the cloud, the platform is meant to be a bespoke platform that will house all of the network’s creative production, the companies claim. Cloud Studio will include content creation, production and editing platforms, as well as workflow features like AI-enabled indexing and version control for ongoing and cross-border work, available from any internet-connected device. Working from the cloud also eliminates the need for additional hardware or equipment, meaning production work can happen from home, which fits with plans to move to a “hybrid” environment.

Rollout will happen over the next three years to 5,000 employees across WPP, though targeted at production network Hogarth. WPP plans to roll out the platform further from there, with the potential of being used by 25,000 employees globally. WPP also says the project fits with its sustainability goals, as it eliminates the need for individual team members to have their own high-power, energy-consuming work station.