H/L Marks Year of Growth by Promoting Four to VP Roles

Independent ad agency H/L, coming off a year of growth, has promoted four leaders into newly created VP roles, strengthening its leadership team and expanding its capabilities. Kyra Caruso is now VP, Director of Strategy & Insights; Sophia Pellicoro is VP, Executive Producer; John Jamison is VP, Director Engineering & AI; and Bryan Rice is VP of Production.

As VP Executive Producer, Sophia Pellicoro will expand and elevate H/L’s production department, Wolfhouse. Pellicoro began her career in television and later pivoted to brand work and production, joining H/L in 2019 as a Senior Producer. She has worked with brands like T.J. Maxx, Playtex, Oakley, AAA, E*TRADE, and played a key role in the relaunching of the Marriott and Red Lobster brands, redefining their look, feel, and audience appeal. Her recent work with H/L includes their latest campaign with the 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and NorCal Toyota dealers, which includes many innovative AI integrations.

Pellicoro says of her new role, “I value input and thoughts from those I work alongside – it takes team effort to create something great. I’m a collaborator through and through. Working with Wolfhouse at H/L brings me incredible joy and pride, and I look forward to leading the team.”

Kyra Caruso, who is based in H/L’s Phoenix office, has a career in the advertising industry that spans 26 years. Joining H/L in 2020, Caruso has worked with brands like McDonald’s, Dollar Bank, Duquesne Light, the Phoenix Zoo, Massage Envy, and ASU. As a leader, Caruso will guide and coach the Insights 360 team, connecting consumer and client data and analyzing consumer trends and economic patterns. Caruso and her team also lead all quantitative research design for H/L’s client partners.

The new VP Director of Strategy & Insights remarks, “I couldn’t be happier working for H/L. Having so much expertise at one company makes it easy to get the information needed to do my job to the best of my ability. I’m excited to lead my team in continuing H/L’s legacy of merging data with creativity.” 

Bryan Rice, VP of Production, adds, “I was really impressed that everyone at H/L is in the work, from the shareholder level all the way down to interns—it struck a chord with me. My ambition with this new role is to help ensure things run smoothly. I realize this sounds generic and simplistic, but we work at such a breakneck pace that if things aren’t set up for success, it makes everyone else’s jobs that much harder.”

Based in Chicago, Rice has been working in advertising for 22 years, with an emphasis on agency operations. Highly adaptive in providing a framework to drive efficiencies and boost productivity, Rice’s experience ranges from retail to consumer packaged products. He’s worked on many brand campaigns for companies like McDonald’s, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Toyota, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, and the New Orleans Pelicans, among many others.

As H/L’s VP, Director Engineering & AI, John Jamison champions the idea that brand and performance can, and should, coexist. He believes deep insight is the bridge between the two: turning research into relevance and relevance into results. Based in Oakland, Jamison was responsible for leading the “Summer of Illumination” physical AI photobooth at the 2024 AMIN Conference, pioneering the use of character-referenced image generation months before it became a mainstream capability. He also helped H/L secure a Top Effie Award in 2024 for Data-Driven Marketing for its Toyota Sales Matchback strategy. Additional brands Jamison has worked with include Upwork, AAA, Clorox, Grocery Outlet, and McDonald’s. 

“I think no matter what your level of seniority, it's important to get your hands dirty in the day-to-day work that actually drives the business cycle,” remarks Jamison. “With how fast things evolve, you need to be immersed to spot the real opportunities. H/L values unconventional thinking, which has been great for me as a computer scientist. We get to flex technology in ways that elevate everything from creative and media to analytics and strategy.”

H/L’s Chairman and CEO, Trey Curtola, says of these promotions, “At H/L, we Make Momentum™, and these promotions are a perfect reflection of that spirit. Kyra, Sophia, John, and Bryan each bring incredible expertise and leadership, and as we continue to grow and evolve, elevating leaders who embody our culture and push our work forward is essential. I couldn’t be prouder to see them step into these roles and shape the next chapter of H/L.”