Ned Russell Joins Our Team

Ned Russell recently joined our Executive Team as our new Director of Client Services, and we couldn't be happier.  He writes a post here about making the decision to come to "wellness". 

Welcome, Ned!

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

Take it away, Ned:

I spent over three years living in Japan, where a common response to 'How you doing?' is 'I'm genki'. 

There really isn't an English word that corresponds to 'genki' -- it means you're in good form, physically and mentally, but it also means on some larger scale that everything is in sync, that you're pressing ahead and ready for whatever comes next. 

So when I heard the words "Saatchi Wellness" for the first time, I was stopped in my tracks. 

In a world driven by customer engagement, this was big news. It seems like the thought leaders -- from Yankelovich to The Wall Street Journal -- currently publish 'Wellness' reports, and the reason they do go well beyond the obvious implications of an aging population. It's because today, 'Wellness' is the ultimate value proposition. Wellness is the the 'genki' that healthy, active brands want (and need) to have as part of their story.. 

Then I met Jim Joseph, Helayne Spivack and Johanna Skilling and I was really stopped in my tracks. 

Tremendously talented, full of vitality and passion (not to mention extremely sharp humor), these people were leading an operation unlike anything else I had ever seen in a 20+ year career of global marketing. 

They were doing what other agencies claimed but couldn't deliver: a modern, integrated practice (balanced between digital/CRM/traditional advertising); they started their shop with a strong point-of-view; they had great work; and they inspired scores of talented, motivated people under them to put in extremely long hours to make their clients successful through 'wellness'. 

All genki. 

I decided on the spot that I had to be a part of this because I believed myself in what Saatchi Wellness was trying to do: become a thought leader and content driver in an area that will be vital to just about any brand in this era of 'consumer engagement & participation' -- wellness will be an important component to how growing brands engage and sell to consumers. From health to sustainability, financial planning to fast food, wellness is already critical component to economic success. 

Saatchi Wellness is genki. It's different. And man is it exciting to be a part of it on the ground floor, as the importance of wellness and its role in marketing is just starting to gain traction. 

In my mind, Saatchi Wellness is the place to be.

- Ned Russell, Director of Client Services at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness