Execs & Accounts for March 21, 2007

Agency.com Group Creative Director Tom Ajello is moving on after nearly three years with the firm. He joined the agency’s itraffic subsidiary in 2004 and became briefly notorious last year for spearheading Agency.com’s YouTube pitch for Subway. The company is interviewing candidates to replace him as head of creative for its New York office. His is the latest in a string of executive departures.

“This has been a tough decision for Tom, but he is ready to move on to a bigger role that was not available to him at Agency.com,” the company said in a statement. The statement added Ajello is a new father and will spend time with his new baby before pursuing future opportunities.

DDB Worldwide’s Tribal DDB has won all of Lipton Tea’s digital marketing duties. The assignment is part of a global agency-of-record deal between DDB Worldwide and Lipton parent Unilever, which generates revenues above $3 billion annually on sales of Lipton. DDB has worked with Lipton over the past three years.

MediaPoint Network hired Rick Sax, as VP of affiliate relations and development. He was previously VP and sales manager of Katz Direct’s paid programming division.

eStara hired Shari Solis as VP of sales, local media. Solis was most recently with Cox AutoTrader and Who’s Calling Inc., where she was VP of sales.

Mobile social networking firm Juice Wireless tapped Enpocket to power mobile marketing programs for its advertisers and media partners. The company’s JuiceCaster product lets consumers view and share content, both professional and user-generated, on their phones. It has worked with marketers and content owners such as Epicurious, Teen Vogue and Conde Nast.

Real estate site Zillow.com hired Greg Schwartz VP of sales. He previously led ad sales at CNNMoney.com. Zillow now has regional sales operations in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle.

CNET Networks tapped Web site profitability management provider Rapt to deliver pricing controls and infrastructure to its advertising business. Other Rapt customers include Tacoda and Dow Jones.

Interactive agency Questus recently hired nine people in a variety of roles. New staffers include Andrea Pimentel, an art director in the San Francisco office; Lorraine Bordegaray, an account director also in San Francisco; and Ben Sider, a project manager in New York. Senior developers and a media planner were also on the list.