Digitas

Sources familiar with the matter confirm that Donna Biernadski, who joined Digitas at the beginning of the year as SVP/marketing for Team Sprint, is leaving the agency for the time being. We won’t specify things, but we’ll tell you Biernadski has spent 25 years in the industry, working as VP or SVP in some form at the likes of Wunderman, RAPP and Euro RSCG. The exec spent the majority of her career, though, at DDB, where she had a 15-year run and last served as VP/account director. From what we’ve been told by sources, Biernadski will “be transitioning likely within the next couple of weeks.” Due to the sensitivity of the matter, just play nice, people.

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Sources familiar with the matter confirm that Ashley Swartz is no longer with Digitas, which appointed her nearly two-and-a-half years ago as SVP of its New York office and tasked her with leading initiatives on the Samsung business. Most recently, Swartz took the lead on the Publicis Groupe agency’s iTV practice. Prior to Digitas, Swartz spent time as an MD at PHD and worked at the likes of Double Fusion and Sony Ericsson.

 

Just over month after Draftfcb brought on legal action against Digitas for alleged recruiting violations regarding two former employees, the parties have decided to lay down their arms. Here’s a quick statement from the agencies below:

“Both Draftfcb and Digitas have a tremendous amount of respect for each other, and our recent legal dispute was unfortunate. As a result of the agreements made between the parties, legal actions have been dropped. Digitas will continue to ensure that the non-solicitation obligations of its employees are strictly enforced. Both agencies are fully committed to reinforcing Chicago as a great marketing and advertising community, sometimes in competition, and sometimes in cooperation with one another.”

The agencies will not comment further on the matter, but we guess it’s nice that the Windy City operations decided to make nice.

Sources familiar with the matter confirm that Digitas has cut staff in Boston and Detroit due to “regular fluctuations in business.” From what we’ve been told, the number is 22 and the cuts run across departments. Here’s a quick statement from an agency spokesperson:

“This is a result of an exhaustive assessment heading into the second half of 2012, based on our current client needs, our client’s changing priorities and expectations in terms of capabilities and skill sets needed, and new business projections.”

Sources add that it affects less then five percent of the Digitas network.

Crain’s Chicago Business confirms tips that we received about 10 days ago (and which we wish we were able to verify at the agency’s SXSWi party) that a little recruiting violation has compelled Draftfcb to sue Digitas and two former employees, Brooke Skinner and Kevin Drew Davis. Here was the tip we got, verbatim, in the AM on Monday, March 5:

“DRAFTFCB Chicago may file a lawsuit against DIGITAS Chicago.

New head of account planning at Digitas, Brooke Skinner, came from Draft, and has interviewed and made offers to planners at Draft.

As if the non-compete wasn’t obvious, Digitas new HR recruiter, Maureen Murray, just came from Draft, where she used to recruit for account planning.”

While Murray wasn’t mentioned in the Chicago Business report, the trade does state that the Draft complaint indeed stems from the agency’s belief that Skinner and Drew Davis wrongly recruited former colleagues after joining Digitas. Let the Windy City riff-raff commence. We’re trying to get some sort of comment from DFCB if possible, but in the meantime, read the Crain pub’s full report here.

Update: Well, Draftfcb’s statement to us is the same one they gave Chicago Business. In case you didn’t have the patience to scroll down to the bottom of that piece, here you go: “It is against company policy to discuss specifics around any pending litigation. We will say that if former employees violate non-solicitation agreements that they had willfully signed we will take the necessary steps to enforce those agreements.”

Yes, this has become a somewhat familiar headline over the years, but sources familiar have confirmed that Digitas has cut staff in the New York, Atlanta and Stamford offices this week. From what we’ve been told, the number is “a little under 50,” but the layoffs were made across departments. One reason, according to our sources, is that there was a “slight erosion in fees” coming into 2012. Sounds like a familiar refrain judging from what we’ve heard from a few agencies this year.

Well, it probably won’t make up for yet another Patriots Super Bowl fumble, but perhaps regular Padma Lakshmi sightings could bring some folks in Boston a little cheer. Digitas is trying to lure Lakshmi, head judge Tom Colicchio and the rest of the gang from Bravo’s Top Chef to film their tenth season in Beantown via a social media campaign called “You Gotta Try Boston.”

As you’d expect, the Digitas effort includes a Facebook site (nearly 600 likes and counting) where visitors are (obviously) raving and posting photos/links about Boston’s restaurants, dishes and the like. Of course, Twitter also comes into play and Digitas is asking folks to tweet about what makes Boston the best with the hashtags #topchef and #yougottatryboston. If you’re so inclined to join in on the conversation, go here.

Speaking to the site called, yes, Wicked Local, Digitas ECD Rob Rizzo says that the campaign idea was hatched a couple of weeks ago and regardless of the outcome, he hopes that some of the smaller, low-profile restaurants around town gain notice. We’re big fans of Top Chef, but to be honest, we’re not willing to go all in on a Boston season next year.

After a five-and-a-half year run at Draftfcb, Simon Calvert has jumped over to Digitas to take on the role of head of worldwide strategic planning. Calvert, who will continue to be based in London, most recently served as global chief planning officer at Draft, which promoted him to said post from executive strategy director back in 2009.

During his 20-plus-year career, Calvert spent time on the account side at the likes of McCann Erickson and Euro RSGC’s London officers before moving on to the head of strategy post at Proximity, where he spent two years prior to joining Draftfcb.

Nearly one month after taking on the role of Sprint Nextel’s new lead agency, Digitas has hired Donna Biernadski to run the division that’s been dubbed “Team Sprint.” Biernadski, whose official title is SVP of marketing at the Publicis Groupe agency’s new unit, had a couple of two-year stints as SVP at the likes of Wunderman (SVP, chief of integration) and Euro RSCG (SVP, group account director) as well as a 15-year run on the account side at DDB prior to joining Digitas. The exec will be based in Chicago and report to Doug Ryan, managing director of Digitas’s Windy City office, which will manage the Sprint business effective Feb. 1.

We’re received confirmation that Digitas Health SVP, creative director Ashish Verma is leaving the agency. During his six-year run at Digitas Health, which recently realigned with the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group, Verma led creative on all the Pfizer business. The man himself could not reveal where he’s going to next due to confidentiality agreements and Digitas Health has yet to provide comment on the matter.