People In the Spotlight: Jeb Brown, Shashi Bellamkonda and Greg Johnston

Jeb Brown joined SmithGifford as senior partner. For 27 years, Brown was CEO of Earle Palmer Brown, an international integrated marketing communications agency based in D.C. that grew to become the largest privately-held communications firm with 1,000 employees in 13 offices in U.S. markets and in London. Brown will work at SmithGifford part time and also continue as Adjunct Professor of Marketing at University of Maryland’s  Robert H. Smith School of Business.  Beyond the addition of Brown, SmithGifford CEO Matt Smith told Capitol Communicator that the Falls Church-based agency is focusing on strategic creative content and developing “a creative department of creative directors”.   Smith added that the agency has been “hugely successful” recently in gaining new business in Philadelphia, New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic.

Shashi Bellamkonda joined Surefire Social as chief marketing officer. The addition of Bellamkonda, stated a release, adds marketing muscle to the experienced senior management team as it prepares to launch a major new SaaS technology, Surepulse, later this year. Bellamkonda was until recently the VP/digital marketing at Bozzuto and spent over a decade with Network Solutions working on small business online marketing tools. Bellamkonda is an adjunct faculty at Georgetown University and has several awards and honors including being named one of Washingtonian’s Top 100 Tech Titans from 2009 through 2011, Washington Business Journal Minority Business Leader Award and being included as one of the 100 Small Business Influencer Champions in 2011 and 2012, by Small Business Trends.

Greg Johnston joined Siteworx, LLC,  as executive creative director. In his new role, said a release, “Johnston will work with clients to help them redefine brand perceptions and extend their reach across new customer segments, cultures and geographies through creative storytelling, concepts and campaigns that increase engagement and improve user experiences.” Johnston brings over 30 years of experience leading creative efforts for global brands across a range of industries. His prior roles included Executive Creative Director for Ogilvy, Washington as well as creating award-winning work for Arnold Worldwide, DDB, J. Walter Thompson Worldwide and McCann-Erickson among others.