Meet Publicis Creative’s Unsung Heroes
This industry is very good at congratulating itself. Be it through the countless awards shows, recognitions of lifetime achievements, or even the interviews and features that highlight talent in the trades, there isn’t a single moment where someone, somewhere, isn’t being celebrated for their work.
Very often, it’s a relatively small circle of names that continue to come up. But as we know, it takes a village - to not just create ground-breaking, newsworthy, and award-winning projects, but to fundamentally keep the companies running.
They might not receive the plaudits or collect the awards from the stage, but without a collection of vital, dedicated people, none of this is made possible. There are teams who run business affairs, handle accounts, lead the research, coordinate talent, foster a supportive culture and generally keep things running smoothly - and they deserve their praises sung.
LBB’s Ben Conway spoke with the teams at Publicis Creative to highlight some of the group’s unsung heroes. With contributions from BBH USA, Fallon, PXP, Le Truc, Saatchi & Saatchi and the community, six leaders shared their admiration and gratitude for six women who have helped make the network what it is today.
Darianne Monkan
Head of program management and operations at BBH USA
“Darianne quite literally keeps the lights on at BBH,” says Cameron Wells, program and creative operations director at BBH USA, “building processes and bringing clarity to everything happening behind the scenes that helps make our agency hum. If that weren’t enough, she still rolls up her sleeves and personally manages client projects or pitches with a smile and a joke – no job is too big or small for her!
Darianne drives our business forward daily, leading a team of nine program managers and nurturing them into a SWAT team that no one here can or will start a project without. She values others’ perspectives and leads with empathy. Darianne thinks ten steps ahead of everyone else and has proven her worth tenfold by tightening up our scope and fee development processes, fiercely managing allocations to ensure our team is appropriately staffed and paid, championing recruitment, and overseeing internal workstreams, all while remaining an uplifting, bubbly personality in our office culture.
Darianne is a shepherd to this herd of black sheep and is the person we all turn to in times of need – everyone knows she deserves every accolade possible and truly is an unsung hero at BBH."
Stacy Runkel
Executive assistant at Fallon
“32 years and counting. That’s how long Stacy Runkel has been part of Fallon,” shares Rocky Novak, CEO at Fallon. “And no one embodies the spirit of the agency more than her. For over three decades, Stacy has ensured Fallon stays true to its roots, stays on track, and has fun along the way. Stacy started in 1992, working directly with Fallon’s founder, Pat Fallon, and stayed by his side for 24 years.
She has a commitment to a level of excellence, professionalism, and joy that she holds the agency accountable to. And sometimes that means she’s the lead party planner for a 200-person non-profit event held at the agency, sometimes she’s proof-reading late at night for a new business pitch, sometimes she’s making sure someone gets home from a trip in time for their kid’s soccer game, and sometimes she’s the only one who remembers a very special clients drink that they like to have at the agency.
Fallon wouldn’t be the agency it is today without her. She does whatever it takes for the people and place she loves, and every single person at Fallon knows that she’s the true boss, and the full heart of the agency.”
Julie Petruzzo
SVP, director of business affairs at PXP and BBH
“Julie Petruzzo’s experience and strategic adaptability have kept us ahead of the curve,” says Tasha Royzina, EVP, managing director of business affairs at PXP. “By sharing her knowledge with the next generation, she has cultivated deep talent expertise - both union and non-union - enabling us to strategically partner on creative development and production to meet client and creative objectives and budgets.
As the backbone of our operations at PXP, Julie leads business affairs for many Publicis clients, including Smuckers and Heineken. Her deep-rooted connections with agents, publicists, film/TV studios, labels and publishers, combined with her extensive knowledge of policies, employment laws, copyright, trademark regulations, and FTC guidelines, allow her to source and negotiate favorable deals, ultimately enabling our creative teams to focus on what they do best.
Over the past year, Julie led a revamp of our department, bringing in new team members with diverse expertise and evolving how we manage the production process. This has resulted in a large business affairs team that now sits together with a wide range of skills, from production company expertise to celebrity, music and talent agency knowledge.
With 40 years in the industry, Julie has seen it all. She’s adapted to every change, from new production technologies to the rise of social media and AI, and has maintained long-standing partnerships and friendships with everyone from talent agents to record label execs. Julie might not seek the spotlight, but her work makes everything we do possible.”
Madeline Kendall
Executive assistant at Le Truc
“Madeline Kendall is a key driver of culture for Le Truc,” says Melissa O’Shea, VP, communications and culture at Le Truc. “She's not only an essential figure in executing administrative responsibilities for executives, including expenses, timesheets and travel, but she also always finds a way to go the extra mile for each and every employee.
She makes sure pitch teams are fed. She celebrates and makes employees' milestones special. She’s willing to work weekends to throw a Super Bowl party for clients. She spearheaded a kickball team for the intramural advertising league. And she’s also up for crazy asks, like hopping on a flight to France with an hour’s notice to support a senior executive or securing a guitar at the last minute for the agency's offsite in New Orleans.
She accepts every challenge with a smile and is regarded for her collaborative nature, can-do attitude, and kind demeanor.”
Linda Daubson
Director of business affairs at Saatchi & Saatchi
“Linda Daubson is a force to be reckoned with,” says Doğan Dattilo, head of production at Saatchi & Saatchi. “She is the definition of an unsung hero, working behind the scenes to ensure the agency and client’s contracts are buttoned up, talent is properly vetted and always available to problem solve.
At heart, Linda genuinely embraces creativity and strives to keep momentum and possibilities behind every idea. She has an indispensable level of expertise and knowledge, is the greatest mentor for her team, and a well-respected professional in the advertising industry. Linda and her team are truly second to none. Period.
I have known Linda since day one in my career and all I can say is: Thank goodness! I’ve been fortunate enough to grow and learn from the best. She’s a trusted leader who always shows up with a high level of commitment to go above and beyond the task at hand. We’re all so grateful to have Linda at Saatchi! She will truly leave a legacy of professionalism and trust at Saatchi, and the industry as a whole.
Natalie Greenman
VP, legal and business Affairs at the community
“Not all heroes wear capes… and that saying couldn’t be more true for Natalie Greeman,” says Marci Miller, president of the community. “Because behind the scenes of every single campaign is a business affairs hero, in our case, Natalie, connecting the dots, keeping the creativity alive, and fighting the good fight for our clients and agency.
For over eight years, Natalie has been one of the biggest advocates for our agency and creative teams, from supporting Super Bowl campaigns to the everyday ones, she keeps the agency, and the work, moving. Talent and production contracts, music negotiations, budget oversight, legal reviews and so much more fall on Natalie and her team, and she partners with creative, accounts, legal, PR and more to get us to the finish line.
She’s strategic, creative, kind, and an all-around great colleague and friend. We couldn’t be more grateful to have her in our community!
