Execs and Accounts for February 26

Marketing firm Leapfrog Online has hired two new managers. Patti Ni, who will serve as marketing manager, has recently held marketing positions at Giantstep and the Chicago office of Young and Rubicam. Ni will advance media operations for Leapfrog’s network of media partners in a role that will include media planning, creative management, and campaign analysis.

Additionally, Leapfrog Online has named Nissa Rasmussen as account manager, a new position. Rasmussen, whose prior experience includes marketing roles with Playboy.com and FTD.com, will manage campaign performance. Leapfrog Online was founded in 1995.

Web business consultant Viant has tapped Jerry Brandt to lead growth in its West Coast media and entertainment practice. In the role, Brandt will focus on developing relationships with publishing, music, entertainment, broadcast and sports companies.

Brandt joins Viant from KPMG, where he served as national executive director of that company’s digital media incubator. There he developed strategies for the initiation, development, and refinement of digital business ventures. Brandt has previously held positions as a marketing executive and consultant, producer, and operations exec.

PR and marketing firm Neale-May & Partners has appointed former CNN journalist and news executive Charles Caudill as managing director of GlobalFluency, a network of 38 independent marketing and public relations firms spearheaded by Neale-May. The choice to hire Caudill was largely based on the role he played in developing CNN from a cable network start-up to an international player in TV journalism and online news.

“He knows what its takes to sustain a global network,” said Donovan Neale-May, president of Neale-May & Partners and founder of the GlobalFluency.

High-tech public relations firm Antenna Group has picked up four new clients. Antenna will provide media and analyst communications for nanotech firm Covalent Materials, direct marketing facilitator GreenMail, ERP developer MarbleLogic and Stratum8, a Web security developer. With the client wins, Antenna Group now represents 14 companies.

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