Huge Bolsters Leadership at Global HQ

Huge today announced it has elevated Arif Mansuri to managing director of business strategy, hired Christie Allport as vice president of global communications and hired Jennifer Rafford as group vice president of talent. These industry-leading appointments signal the agency’s commitment to furthering its ability to deliver transformative experiences at scale. All three executives will be based in the agency’s Brooklyn headquarters. 

“On the heels of a strong 2018 for Huge and rolling into this new and exciting year, I am thrilled to announce the elevation and continued success of Arif and welcome Christie and Jennifer,” said Michael Koziol, global chief executive officer of Huge. “These moves are just the beginning as we continue to advance the new era of Huge and drive transformative experiences for our clients and the industry.”

Arif Mansuri has been with Huge for five years and holds over two decades of experience in financial services, business strategy, and growth development. Today, the agency announced his elevation to the position of global managing director of strategy. In his new role, Mansuri is responsible for the business, brand, product, and content strategy practices across the network.

During his tenure at Huge, Mansuri has worked with clients on transformative initiatives with a diverse set of client such as McDonalds, Walmart, and Morgan Stanley. 

Prior to Huge, Mansuri worked at JPMorgan in financial technology and growth strategy for startups, where he was responsible for leading strategy, innovation & digital teams, conducting acquisitions & integrations of companies, and building new products.  

Christie Allport joins Huge as vice president of global communications. In her new role, Allport will lead the agency’s global communications, where she will be advancing global connectivity and communications across all 12 offices, while externally and internally elevating awareness of the agency’s vision, transformative work, and extraordinary talent. Allport will report directly to Koziol. 

Previously, Allport held the title of director of communications at DDB, where for over six years she led the agency's strategic internal and external PR programmes, working alongside clients such as McDonald’s, State Farm, Mars, FCA, and others. During her time with the agency, she was responsible for the communications program that launched, 'We Are Unlimited', partnered with the agency’s teams to bring home multiple awards for Skittles (Super Bowl, 'Exclusive the Rainbow'), McDonald’s (International Women’s Day, 'Flip') including 16 Lions (3 Gold) at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2018, as well as launched of the agency’s diversity and inclusion platforms, 'Talent Has No Gender' and 'Pride in Talent'.  

Prior to DDB, she worked with agencies such as MEC, Publicis USA and McKinney, to achieve global recognition through strategic communications. Allport worked in partnership to bring home top awards at the leading industry shows such as Cannes, Andys, CLIOs, One Show, D&AD, and more. 

Jennifer Rafford joins Huge as group vice president of talent for Brooklyn, following the appointment of boomerang, Marlena Edwards who re-joined the agency as managing director of talent globally in the fall of 2018. These strong additions to the talent team mark the agency’s increased focus around furthering talent and diversity initiatives across offices globally.

Previously, Rafford was the US head of talent at ?What If! Innovation, where she worked to elevate the talent infrastructure and establish new processes for future growth. Prior to that, Rafford spent over six years at Prudential Financial, where she supported strategic talent management across diverse industries and geographies. From in-house brands, to creative agencies, to the international finance industry, Rafford brings a breadth of unparalleled experience to the talent team in Brooklyn.

These new talent additions builds on the agency’s continued momentum from 2018, in which they experienced growth across all 12 offices globally.