Kristen Martini Joins Chimney North America as Chief Client Officer

The Chimney Group welcomes Kristen Martini as its chief client officer for North America. In this role, Kristen leads direct-to-client relationships providing end-to-end strategy, production, distribution and analytical services for client communication needs.

"Clients are more hands-on than ever before, and they should be," says Kristen. "Communications need to be efficient, timely and targeted. The fewer layers between the need and the delivery the better. Chimney is the right company at the right time to partner with clients on this business need."

Kristen joins from the WPP network where she spent five years supporting client production business for Hogarth and most recently as Global CEO for Townhouse. "I've seen the desire and demand from Clients to leverage production more strategically. It's not just about great-looking, cost-efficient work, that's expected as standard. With more channels than ever before, tailored, data-driven content that is on brand and has measurable performance is a must."

Kristen has experience on both agency and vendor side. Starting out in a small and scrappy advertising agency exposed her to integrated production before the term was commonplace.  "There were no departments, just projects that needed to be executed and a few people that were able to see them through, end to end. It's good to see that model making a comeback.” Kristen went on to work at top NY post-production companies and pioneered the Agency in-house studio model.“I'm thrilled to be joining Chimney. The boutique atmosphere with a global backbone means we can move fast. We're not a network, we're networked, bringing global expertise to clients locally."

Kristen joins Chimney at a time of significant expansion for the company. Headquartered in Sweden and with offices in 11 cities and 8 countries worldwide, the Chimney Group’s foray into the North American market includes the opening of studios in New York and Los Angeles and the hire of over 35 people, including Kristen and chief operating officer Jason Mayo.

The expansion into North America reflects the evolution of The Chimney Group overall. “Our roster of clients is increasingly global, and the work we’re doing for them is more full-service,” says Marcelo Gandola, CEO for North America. “Clients don’t just need people to make content, they need partners that understand their brand strategies and can create communication and content strategies to go along with them. Having full-service production and post-production capabilities as one of the pillars under the same banner just makes us more competitive and efficient in delivering on that service."

Gandola brings more than the Swedish operational and creative model to the States. “I’m also here to develop our human capital. The best talent across disciplines with a shared vision supported by innovative technology. Our independence means we can adapt quickly, work nimbly. Our global backbone means we can scale. It’s what differentiates us from everyone else.”