Razorfish Names First U.S. President, Plans New Services
David Friedman's promotion reflects move to global agency model.
Razorfish has named David Friedman president of the Americas, a new position that the agency says reflects its transition to a more globally run organization. His promotion follows the appointment of regional presidents in the Asia Pacific and European regions. The Microsoft-owned agency also named Colin Kinsella its first chief innovation officer.
Razorfish previously had three regional presidents in the U.S. They were Bob Lord in the Eastern region; Friedman in the Central region; and Kinsella in the West. Lord was promoted to global CEO of Razorfish in April, replacing Clark Kokich, who became chairman. With the elevation of Friedman and Kinsella, the company will no longer employ separate presidents within the U.S. region.
In addition, the new structure is designed to position the agency for an aggressive push in Latin America, according to Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Lanctot.
“It allows us to focus attention there,” he told ClickZ. “That’s a top priority in terms of geographic expansion.”
Separately, Razorfish is preparing to roll out or expand products and services in several areas, including customer relationship management, vertical market expertise, and social marketing. Some capabilities may be achieved through acquisitions, but the bulk will be driven by internal investments.
Razorfish has also outlined an initiative to enhance its employees’ virtual work capabilities and collaboration between offices. “The overarching goal is to allow our offices globally to work more collaboratively,” said Lanctot.
