NOISEMAKERS:
MOVIN' & SHAKIN'
In our latest roundup, we present eight more rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
This week's entrants will also find their faces in our latest print mag. And if they don't care about that (because, why should they?), we're told the pages make for excellent freezer paper when handling leftover Memorial Day meats.
Dominique Taverna
Director, Digital Marketing, Island
Taverna grew up a massive Demi Lovato fan, so it’s no surprise she’s over the moon about working on Lovato’s latest album, Dancing With The Devil… The Art of Starting Over, the singer's highest-charting debut since 2015. Aside from managing digital marketing for acts like Poutyface, James TW and Olivia O’Brien, Taverna handles influencer strategy—she’s helped grown keshi’s TikTok audience by more than 200% this year. We’ve never danced competitively as Dominique has, but we did spend some quality time learning the “Josslyn” on TikTok.
Shahendra Ohneswere
SVP Content Development/Co-Head Digital Marketing, Columbia
Having contributed to Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” campaign, Ohneswere can claim a role in a bona fide pop-cultural phenomenon—the single’s remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus is the most-certified work in history, with 14 platinum records to its credit. Ohneswere is presently excited about collaborating on campaigns for Grimes, Elaine, Baby Keem, Trill Vont and Fivio Foreign. A plant whisperer, he boasts years of flower experience, specializing in orchids. Whereas Ohneswere has a green thumb, our flower experience has imparted green lungs.
Daniella Cabargas
Director of A&R, APG
Cabargas will forever be inspired by the sight of singer/songwriter Kehlani directing producers Loshendrix and Go Grizzly to achieve the exact sound she’d envisioned for “Everybody’s Business” during the It Was Good Until It Wasn’t sessions. Cabargas is still working closely with Los, who’s contributed to standout tracks by GIVEON and Brent Faiyaz and lent that ethereal riff to SZA’s smash “Good Days.” She’s also collaborating with songwriter Ivory Scott (Trippie Redd, Queen Naija) and R&B artist Zeina.
Sam Riddle
Artist Manager, Roc Nation
From sneaking into Lollapalooza to seeing client Meek Mill perform on the main stage, Riddle’s come a long way from his humble Chicago beginnings. He’s currently developing the look of live for no less than Megan Thee Stallion. The Grammy winner performed on SNL and other broadcasts during the pandemic, but Riddle’s work in progress will be her mise-en-scène as IRL concerts make a historic return. When he’s not tending to talent, Riddle’s writing a novel, making his presence here the closest we’ve come to literacy.
Megan Wood-Petersen
VP, Creative Synch, Prescription Songs
Known for her close creative connection to Prescription Songs’ hitmaking talent, Wood-Peterson is currently focused on a synch-driven writing camp, an endeavor that’s seen her working with other, likeminded indie publishers. Among her many memorable moments on the job: accompanying LunchMoney Lewis to pitch music supervisors at Apple. The supes duly selected “All Night,” recorded by Big Boi, for an Animoji campaign spot, which provided Lewis with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ad-lib voiceovers as a pile of poo. Now, that’s what we call taking care of business.
Sam Sklover
Director, Marketing & Brand Partnerships, Primary Wave
Sklover is one of the few living souls who can say he’s listened to Alice Cooper read scary stories to children on Halloween (as part of an Airbnb experience). The marketing maven/brand-partnership player recently lassoed the Goodyear Blimp to promote Devo’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination and, somewhat more seriously, helped expand Primary Wave’s creative relationship with the American Red Cross. A big soil-analysis guy (you read that right), Sklover was once headed for a job in forestry but dug himself into music instead.
Joey Papoutsis
Co-Founder/Artist Manager, Keel
As festivals return, Papoutsis fondly recalls his client Louis the Child’s 2019 Lollapalooza performance before 50,000 fans, a huge moment for their hometown Chicago team. In the crypto space, Papoutsis is all about NFTs via Illumino, the agency he cofounded; its first offering, a collaboration between Keel client Two Feet and visual artist FEWOCiOUS, generated more than $1m, breaking Nifty Gateway’s 2021 record. Papoutsis is a sailboat racer who spent six seasons as an instructor—and is thus uniquely equipped to quickly steer clear of us.
Nicole Govel
Product Manager, Trendsetter Marketing
Govel enjoyed a peak life experience when she personally witnessed Alicia Keys play two pianos simultaneously at the 2019 Grammys. The marketing whiz oversees music videos for a roster of more than 30 artists, from Selena Gomez x DJ Snake to AJR and Myles Kennedy, which finds her making connections (and friends) across the entertainment industry. A trained jazz singer, Govel once performed at a Frank Sinatra symposium for an audience of Sinatra super-fans. How did she do it? Her way, of course.
