Napoleon Group Names Moira McCarthy Director of Business Development & Marketing

Moira McCarthy is bringing to The Napoleon Group her canny ability to connect brands, agencies and creatives with the right mix of resources to help them realise their visions. Spiro Kafarakis, COO of the New York and L.A.-based creative production studio, announced today that McCarthy has been named to the newly-created position of Director of Business Development & Marketing.

This continues the studio’s commitment to supporting female leadership: Napoleon recently announced the launch of a joint venture with the woman-owned art production powerhouse Famous Frames, founded by Janine Miller, and promoted longtime senior staffers Annabel Salmon to V.P., Executive Director of Operations and Angela Gianforcaro to Head of Production.

McCarthy joins The Napoleon Group from the New York office of Audio Network, Inc., where she was Manager, Music Licensing. Audio Network is the international production music service that works with brands, agencies, broadcasters and producers around the world. During her tenure she was responsible for building and developing client relationships; driving revenue through marketing, partnerships and events; negotiating licensing contracts; music supervision; and supporting the Music and A&R teams in their efforts to source and showcase new talent.

At Audio Network she played a key role in placing the music for a Volvo social media campaign, “The Greatest Interception,” that won the 2015 Cannes Direct Lions Grand Prix for Volvo and Grey Worldwide. Her roster of agency clients included Droga 5, BBDO, Havas, Leo Burnett, McCann, KBS+P, Y&R, McCann and many others. Before joining Audio Network she was Director of Strategic Accounts at TransPerfect, the global communications company that specialises in the transcreation of multi-national ad campaigns for major marketers. In this role she oversaw the New York office’s agency accounts and consulted clients on global sales and marketing strategy.  

McCarthy says what attracted her to The Napoleon Group was its ability to provide a broad scope of solutions. “I truly believe in the value of an integrated company that can easily adapt to meet the needs of its clients, and that’s what we’re building at Napoleon,” says McCarthy. “All the elements are here: not just a world-class production facility, but great leaders in each discipline of our business, from pre-visualisation to production, post, motion capture, design, audio and now experiential. It’s an amazing opportunity I simply couldn’t pass up.”  

An Illinois native who grew up in Indiana, McCarthy graduated from the University of San Diego with a BA in French, while pursuing minor studies in English and Business. She put them all to use during her time at TransPerfect, but eventually her work with ad campaigns and agencies proved more alluring than her interest in languages, and she made the move closer to the creative.

“We’re delighted to have Moira join us at The Napoleon Group,” adds The Napoleon Group Founder and Chief Creative Officer Marty Napoleon. “She’ll be leading the charge as we create a brand presence designed to drive our sales and marketing efforts across categories and lines of business. We’re expanding into new areas like experiential design, live action production, audio post and music production, and growing our footprint on the West Coast. In the process, we’ve not only re-engineered our offering for existing clients but are generating a recognisable profile with new ones. And raising profiles and capturing share of mind is something Moira is particularly adept at doing.”  

Known in the industry for her social media bona fides and ability to throw wickedly sought-after gatherings, McCarthy is already on the case, having just orchestrated a festive event in Chicago (in partnership with her former haunt, Audio Network) to celebrate the launch of Napoleon’s new Audio Production and Post Division. It was timed to coincide with the AICP Show’s visit there last month and drew a roster of Chicago-area creatives. As the New Year arrives she’ll be deep into planning Napoleon’s presence at the 2017 Cannes Lions Festival, where her fluency in French will be an asset in negotiating for the hottest locations and suppliers.