Nick Childs Joins Grey New York as Director of Content Development

NEW YORK, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Hardwick, President of Grey New York, today announced that Nick Childs, 38, an award-winning filmmaker, is joining the agency's flagship office as Executive Vice President, Director of Content Development, a new position. This marks the first in a series of senior team leaders Hardwick will appoint, to take the transformation of Grey New York to the next level, since his arrival in May.

In this new position, Nick Childs will oversee a new, integrated Content Development department that encompasses broadcast, print, promotional and digital production and placement of original brand content.

"Creating this new role, and recruiting Nick for it, is part of our vision for the future of Grey as an idea-driven, integrated and collaborative company," said Steve Hardwick. "He believes, as I do, that if you allow consumers to have a dialogue with brands and provide them with ideas, the brands will connect with people in more personal ways and thus drive their growth. Nick has excelled in all facets of film, TV and interactive media and I've witnessed first hand his ability to bring out the best in a team. He'll help us lead the way to fresher, more inventive solutions."

During his fifteen-year career, Nick Childs has become an award-winning director, producer and creative executive with extensive experience in independent, corporate, narrative and documentary films, video, photography and interactive media.

As President of Cascade Media since 2000, he has overseen the creation and production of brand, product, sales and communications projects for such blue- chip clients as American Express, Pfizer, Merck and Deloitte in every media format.

    Nick Childs' film career highlights include:

    -- "The Shovel": He served as director, producer and screenwriter of the
       independent movie, starring David Strathairn, that won the Tribeca Film
       Festival 2006 Award for Best Narrative Short, among many honors. The
       film played at 50 festivals and hit number one as most downloaded short
       film on iTunes.

    -- "High Score": He served as executive director of this feature length
       documentary on die-hard video gamer, Bill Carlton.  The film won awards
       at SXSW and the Brooklyn Underground Film Festival.

    -- Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence: He was the executive director of a
       series of documentaries marking the anniversary of the Brady Bill,
       featuring Jim and Sarah Brady.

He also served as a creative consultant to Christopher Reeve on ABC-TV's remake of Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and the HBO Film "In the Gloaming", directed by the star.

Nick graduated with a BA in English and Fiction Writing from Colby College and received a MFA from New York University.

About Grey

Grey New York is the flagship and largest office of Grey, a unit of Grey Group. Grey Group ranks among the largest global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) . Grey Group's total offer includes G2, activation marketing; Grey Healthcare Group, healthcare communications; MediaCom, media planning and buying and GCI Group, public relations. Grey New York's blue-chip client roster includes many of the world's best known companies: Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, BAT, Diageo, Darden Restaurants, Wyeth, Canon, 3M, Eli Lilly and Dairy Queen.