Twitch brings in Patel to direct on sales
Krishan Patel has joined Amazon-owned livestreaming service Twitch as EMEA Director of Sales. He will be responsible for the strategic direction of Twitchs commercial advertising team and lead the company’s rapidly growing advertising business, customer engagement and brand partnerships in the region.

With 18 years of global marketing, technology and business development experience in roles across the agency, publisher, telecommunications and ad tech space, Patel joins Twitch from Amazon where, as Director of Business Development for Asia Pacific, he led the company’s consumer business development and worldwide original equipment manufacturer partnership team.

“Twitch is more than a live streaming service – it is a genuine community and a dynamic place where creators can share the things they love with a community of millions,” commented Patel. “We have an incredible suite of solutions available to allow businesses to meaningfully interact with our unique and highly engaged audience in a creative and meaningful way. As we continue to grow across EMEA, I am looking forward to helping brands understand the art of the possible on Twitch and how we can help them deliver successful campaigns at scale.”

Solomon named CMO at Overstock
Overstock.com, an eCommerce home furnishings retailer, has welcomed Elizabeth Solomon as Chief Marketing Officer. She will oversee Overstock’s marketing efforts, including customer acquisition and retention, marketing communications, and marketing technologies.

Solomon most recently served as Head of Marketing for Amazon’s global private brands portfolio. Prior to Amazon, she held senior marketing leadership positions with consumer Fortune 100 companies, including Samsung Electronics, Walmart, and Nestlé.

“I am thrilled to join such an innovative and passionate executive team that has led the company through an amazing year of growth,” said Solomon. “I’m excited about the opportunities ahead and helping further amplify Overstock’s reputation as the premier online shopping destination for home furnishings.”

M&C Saatchi makes management changes
Tim Duffy has been promoted to the newly created role of Group Strategy Director, Worldwide, with Richard Thompson succeeding him as UK Group Chairman, at comms agency M&C Saatchi.

Duffy has been with M&C Saatchi since the beginning of the agency in 1995 and has worked with many clients in the UK and internationally.

Thompson joined the M&C Saatchi in 2013 when the agency acquired Merlin. He will continue to be Chairman of M&C Saatchi Talent, where he successfully acquired Red Hare & Grey Whippet to broaden the offering into the influencer space. Thompson is also Chairman of Surrey County Cricket Club (The Oval) and chairs Sport United Against Dementia.

“Tim is a brilliant thinker. Richard Thompson is a brilliant leader. We continue on our mission to deliver Meaningful Change for clients, our people, and the world,” commented Moray MacLennan, M&C Saatchi CEO.

Capano and Jogia promoted at Rakuten
Rakuten Advertising, Rakuten’s affiliate marketing service, has appointed Anthony Capano as North America Managing Director and Rakhee Jogia as International Managing Director. They will focus on growing the business through unparalleled client strategy and service, technology innovation, inventory expansion, and strengthening partnerships with brands and publishers around the world.

Capano served as Managing Director of Rakuten Advertising for almost a decade, beginning in Australia before relocating to London as International Managing Director. In his new position, Capano will create new opportunities for brands arising from deeper integration of Rakuten Americas properties, expanding the companys publisher network and identifying new areas for innovation.

“We have always believed that effective advertising requires more than technology. True success is found by layering technology with the partnerships, service, scale, insights and global reach of a world-class advertising ecosystem,” said Capano. “We are heavily invested in advancing technology and moving the advertising industry forward. I am honored to be part of a great leadership team and dedicated to advancing the revenue-generating value of performance marketing and the strategic influence of media.”

Jogia, who takes up Capano’s former role, will oversee the EMEA, LATAM and APAC markets for Rakuten Advertising, drawing from a decade of programmatic and affiliate experience with the business. Over the past three years, she focused on international partnerships, most recently as Vice President of Publisher Partnerships, International.

“Im excited for the opportunity to drive our clients business objectives and growth plans, especially as we continue to help them navigate a quickly evolving marketplace,” said Jogia. “We pride ourselves on delivering excellence around the globe, and will be looking inwards to strengthen and develop our people so they can excel in their roles and guide our brands and publishers through the coming period of economic recovery. To that end, we plan to introduce new initiatives that will help businesses at every step in their growth journeys take fuller advantage of the combined power of brand and performance marketing.”

DoubleVerify makes pair of EMEA senior hires
Nick Reid and Michael Fuhrmann have joined DoubleVerify (DV), a digital media measurement firm, as Regional Vice President for Northern Europe and Regional Vice President for DACH and Central Eastern Europe, respectively.

Reid will lead the executive of DV’s growth strategy in the UK, Benelux, Nordics, and MENA. He arrives from his role as Global Head of Agency Partnerships for Adobe Advertising Cloud.

“With digital content consumption on the rise and the importance of protecting and optimising ad investments in focus, DV’s role as a trusted provider of quality and performance data is key. I’m looking forward to cultivating relationships across the ecosystem as I head up DV’s team in Northern Europe at what is a pivotal moment for the industry,” commented Reid.

Fuhrmann joins DV in a newly evolved role as a result of the EMEA team growing. He was previously Head of Networks & Emerging, Global Partnerships DACH at Google.

“2020 has shown that it is more important than ever to invest in the right solutions to achieve a secure, high-quality and reliable advertising environment – given fraudsters are becoming bolder, regulations are becoming stricter and consumer privacy is paramount,” said Fuhrmann. “Ad tech is an important piece of the puzzle and I am looking forward to shaping the discourse on brand safety, ad fraud, cookieless targeting and further topics across all channels and environments in DACH and Central Eastern Europe.”

Executive duo appointed at Inmarsat
Mobile satellite telecoms company Inmarsat has hired Barry French as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, while elevating Jat Brainch to Chief Commercial & Product Officer.

French – formerly CMO at Nokia – will sharpen customer focus, drive customer engagement and revenue generation to the next level, ensure Inmarsat is an effective and engaged participant in key policy discussions, and further enhance employee engagement. He joined Nokia in 2006 as Head of Communications, prior to which he was Vice President of Corporate Communications at United Airlines and Director of Corporate Communications at Dell.

Brainch – previously Inmarsat’s Senior Vice President of Group Commercial Management – will be responsible for Inmarsat’s evolving commercial and product strategy and roadmap and to ensuring that the company continues to lead the industry in advanced, customer-centric products and services that are designed specifically for mobility and Government users. Prior to joining Inmarsat in 2019, she held senior roles in telecoms and technology brands including Logica Group (now part of CGI), Telefonica Europe, and T-Mobile (UK).

“To make Inmarsat a truly customer-centric organisation, a key driver is to have the company’s marketing expertise combined under one individual at the executive level.  I am therefore delighted that Barry French, a world-class marketing and communications professional, is able to join us in what promises to be an exciting and transformational journey,” said Inmarsat CEO Rajeev Suri.

“I am also delighted that Jat Brainch will be taking up the vital executive-level CCPO role, which is central to our ability to successfully place the customer at the heart of everything we do.   Since joining Inmarsat, Jat has made an invaluable contribution to the transformation of the business and brings with her a wealth of experience in delivering a customer-centric approach to commercial and product management.”  

GroupM elevates Ruegger to president
Andrew Ruegger has been promoted to Global President of GroupM Commerce. He will scale commerce-focused products and services for clients to realise the data driven opportunities in expanding retail marketplaces and direct-to-consumer efforts. Ruegger also leads the group’s collaboration in WPP workstreams across commerce.

Ruegger is a GroupM veteran of over six years – the last two leading the group’s US commerce offering – with experience across data science, product, technology, strategy, innovation, eCommerce, SEO, and paid search.

“Over the last year, brands and platforms have re-evaluated every aspect of the retail ecosystem, from brand awareness drivers to a seamless transaction experience, to ‘last mile’ distribution channels,” said Ruegger. “Our GroupM network of more than 1,400 experts have market-leading knowledge in all commerce platforms, partners, and media investment options, giving them a specific understanding of how to drive sales for clients. GroupM commands unmatched commerce expertise around the world, designing and managing thousands of interactions and transactions daily, and I’m excited to be a part of it in this new capacity.” 

Brightley joins Langland to direct on creative
Publicis Langland has welcomed Mike Brightley as its Creative Director.

Brightley boasts over 14 years of healthcare advertising experience, working at Ogilvy Healthworld, PAN and, most recently, as Associate Creative Director at TBWA\WorldHealth.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining Langland. I have been working towards this next step in my career for a while and was attracted by the agency’s ambitious vision, deep-rooted commitment to creative excellence and unique approach to healthcare communications,” said Brightley. “Their Think Further ethos encourages curiosity and inspires proactivity: vital traits for a thriving agency culture. I can’t wait to share ideas and experiences with the team, continue to push creative boundaries and deliver the best work of my career.”

OneFootball appoints OTT VP
Nikolaus von Doetinchem has been hired as Vice President of OTT Streaming & Media Rights at football media platform OneFootball. He will oversee the platforms live-streaming and on-demand content offering.

Von Doetinchem joins OneFootball on the back of more than 20 years working within the sports media rights industry and is currently serving as President of Media at SportFive, ahead of his arrival at OneFootball on 19 April.

“The football media landscape continues to rapidly evolve and OneFootball is perfectly positioned to work with rights owners, platforms and broadcasters to provide fans around the world with an unrivalled OTT streaming offering. I look forward to working alongside Lucas and the OneFootball team in the years ahead,” said Von Doetinchem.

Kinsella takes seat on Fenestra board
Programmatic platform Fenestra has added Colin Kinsella to its Board of Directors.

Kinsella led Havas in North America for the last more than four years. Prior to Havas, Colin he served as CEO of Mindshare North America. During his tenure, he managed client relationships across a diverse portfolio, including Volvo, American Express, Unilever, and Nordstrom, and orchestrated the global launch of The Loop.

“The global regulatory environment for digital advertising is changing rapidly, programmatic continues to grow exponentially and advertisers with their agencies are increasingly focused on understanding where their money is going, how it is getting there and how to maximise their business outcomes,” Kinsella said. “Ive spent my career dedicated to that endeavour. As an investor, Ive been blown away by what Fenestra has achieved so far and am excited to help them more actively step-up to the next level.”

Tinuiti adds trio to board
Kevin Mayer, Anneka Gupta, and George Gallate have all taken board spots at performance marketing firm Tinuiti.

Mayer —who over a 23-year career at Disney steered the launch of Disney Plus and led deals such as Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucas Film and 21st Century Fox in addition to serving as CEO of TikTok —will support Tinuiti’s growth plan from acquisitions to global expansion and deepening expertise in emerging social, streaming, and OTT/CTV.

Gupta, President and Head of Products and Platforms at LiveRamp, will apply her cross-divisional product development and data transformation experience to support the evolution of Mobius, Tinuiti’s proprietary suite of AI-powered marketing intelligence and media activation technology.

Gallate, a previous board member and investor in Tinuiti, will help guide the company’s international expansion as well as their continued leadership across Amazon and the broader retail media landscape. He spent 27 years at Havas, serving as Global Chairman and CEO of Havas Digital, and is currently Principal of MKTG2.U.

Pike reeled in by Covatic
Covatic, an in-app experience platform, has hired Daniel Pike as Chief Product Officer. He will be focused on refining the product and delivering value to clients whilst expanding Covatic’s offering as it moves into new markets.

As Head of Strategy at the BBC, Pike led the strategic case for a transformational shift in the BBC’s £1.4bn commercial activities, including the launch of subscription video on demand (SVOD) offers in the UK and USA, the closure of BBC Store, and the acquisition of UKTV.

“What really marks Covatic out – and what really attracted me to them – is that they reject the idea that fantastic in-app experiences can only be achieved via compromises to privacy,” commented Pike. “My focus, as ever, will be on customer and end user requirements – generating insights; creating definable, measurable and targetable user groups; driving retention and growing engagement. Covatic’s offering is unique in the market. I’m looking forward to working closely with clients to drive growth by creating engaging experiences for consumers.”

Jaywing adds pair to senior leadership
Kay Henderson and Chris Langan have joined integrated agency Jaywing as Operations Manager and Organic Media Director, respectively.

Henderson has experience with startups, web-builds, and mobile marketing and was most recently Operations Manager at Fonemedia, where she oversaw a bespoke customisation of the agency’s CRM system.

“I’m really excited to get stuck into this role in Jaywing’s Performance and Media Science team,” said Henderson. “What drew me to Jaywing is the agency’s ethos of collaboration and creativity, which really aligns with me personally. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of making a positive impact on people’s working environment, whilst also helping the business to run more smoothly and efficiently.”

Langan was Search Director at McCann Connected, where he spent four years growing the agency’s organic media offering. He will look to use his expertise to improve integration at Jaywing and drive growth across search strategies.

“Joining Jaywing felt like an easy decision. The talent and skill of the agency is extraordinary, and there’s a real passion to grow and continually meet the challenges our clients face in this unpredictable world,” said Langan.

“The agency has a product that truly differentiates itself from the marketplace and driving Organic Media as a part of the agency vision will be a great experience for me and the team.”

Paley takes up CGO role at Aisle Rocket
Marketing agency Aisle Rocket has hired Mike Paley as its Chief Growth Officer. He will drive business development for Aisle Rocket as the agency positions for robust growth in 2021.

Prior to joining Aisle Rocket, Paley served as Senior Vice President, General Manager at Vestcom. Previously, he held agency leadership roles as Senior Vice President, Shopper Marketing & Experiential at The Marketing Arm/Omnicom and Chief Marketing Officer at Square One.

“I was drawn to Aisle Rocket because it’s uniquely rooted in technology and data that informs dynamic creative, UX and performance media,” Paley said. “The future belongs to agencies that understand how to apply data across all disciplines. Data is no longer limited to just targeting and analytics. Creative and UX is now impacted greatly by data as well. Blending data across disciplines while relying on technology, programmatic buying, and AI is an exciting place to be. I welcome the opportunity to leverage my experience while working with great people to drive quantifiable business results for our clients.”

MediaCom promotes Lim to CPO
Jason Lim has been elevated to the newly created role of Chief Planning Officer at MediaCom US. He will oversee the full audience planning product at MediaCom, directing exceptional strategies into exceptional media plans and measurable growth for clients.

In his 10 years so far at MediaCom, Lim has overseen the performance-based practice and was charged with accelerating and optimising the impact of marketing programs.

“I am thrilled to be leading the charge at MediaCom in ensuring excellence in our media planning, media delivery, and media performance across all brands. Ensuring we continue to drive growth efficiently and effectively in new and dynamic ways,” Lim said.

Crawford added to ChannelAdvisor board
ChannelAdvisor, a cloud-based eCommerce solutions provider, has appointed Linda Crawford to its Board of Directors.

A former Executive Vice President and CEO of Sales Cloud Products at Salesforce, former CEO of Helpshift, and former Chief Revenue Officer and Customer Officer of Optimizely, Crawford brings over two decades leadership experience to ChannelAdvisor.

“As a recognized and respected business leader in the software industry, Linda will provide valuable strategic insight to our Board,” said Timothy Buckley, Chairman of ChannelAdvisor. “Lindas guidance will be instrumental as we continue our work to scale our global leadership position in e-commerce. We are so pleased Linda has joined our Board of Directors, and believe she will be a tremendous asset to ChannelAdvisor.”

Contend names president after gaining independence
David Blaser has been appointed President at creative studio Contend following its ‘amicable split’ with Mosaic.

With more than 20 years of experience in the marketing world, with a client-side  leadership role at Activision Publishing and in senior roles at leading ad agencies, including TBWA\Chiat\Day, AKQA, and 180 LA and Amsterdam, Blaser has a track record for delivering culturally impactful campaigns for brands including Nike, Playstation, Call of Duty, and Adidas.

“Having worked on both the agency and client sides of the business, Contend was an opportunity to do something different. Both Steven and I think this is the agency model of the future, with modular services that can break apart to fit a client’s needs, the creative freedom to stretch the boundaries and the flexibility to create custom solutions. We’re excited to see where it goes,” said Blaser.

Trio join Stationhead board
Stationhead, a social audio platform, has appointed Andrew McInnes, Bill Wesemann, and Avi Ellman to its Board of Directors.

McInees, Co-founder and CEO of TMWRK Management, will will bolster Stationhead’s ability to bring top talent to the platform, which has already hosted the likes of Trey Songz and Polo G.

Wesemann has experience serving in chief executive, sales leadership, and advisory roles at successful technology companies, including as an executive for Steve Jobs at NeXT computers. He is an early investor/advisor to Sonos, and a member of the board for LivePerson and Mylio.

Ellman, a Managing Partner at Delta Global, will bring his experience in live events to the board, having built and sold the largest liv event merchandiser in Latin America.

“Having Andrew McInnes, Bill Wesemann and Avi Ellman join our board adds another layer of invaluable expertise to the Stationhead team,” said Ryan Star, CEO of Stationhead. “As we move into the next phase of growth, these leaders will support Stationhead’s ambitious strategic plan to redefine radio and the future of social audio.”

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DAZN names Mayer chair of board
Kevin Mayer has been appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors at sports streaming platform DAZN Group. He will provide strategic direction to DAZN’s leadership team as the company continues along its aggressive growth trajectory. Previous Chairman, John Skipper, will remain on the Board and serve as a Strategic Adviser.

Mayer was previously Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and International at The Walt Disney Company. There, he launched and ran the company’s streaming businesses including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, and Hotstar, as well as overseeing Disney’s global advertising sales, content sales, channels sales, and international operations. Prior to that role, Mayer served as Disney’s Chief Strategy Officer, leading the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 21^st Century Fox, and BamTech.

“As Chairman, I’m looking forward to partnering with the management team and my fellow directors to help DAZN build on its impressive track record of success in developing a truly global sports platform,” said Mayer. “Since I began working with Access Industries last year, I’ve been impressed with DAZN’s ambitions and ability to quickly grow from a new entrant to an important player in key markets throughout the world. I look forward to guiding DAZN’s strategic development into its next chapter.”

Business Director duo join DDB
DDB Worldwide, an Omnicom-owned advertising network, has hired Varsha Kaura as Global Business Director for DDB North America and Vanessa Reyes as Group Business Director for DDB New York.

Kaura will have overall responsibility of leading the cross-market teams servicing Mars Incorporated. Operating within DDB Chicago and reporting to Justin Thomas-Copeland, CEO of DDB North America, she will be responsible for strengthening Mars Incorporated global relationships across multiple geographies and individual agency offices, including adam&eveDDB, DDB Chicago, DDB Guangzhou, DDB Mudra, DDB Mexico, and DDB New York.

Kaura was previously a member of the core leadership at Motista, where she led strategy and client relations across a variety of industries.

“Varsha brings a unique mix of extensive creative agency experience combined with C-Suite management consultancy leadership in data and analytics driven strategy. We are excited for the new value creation we will bring to Mars Incorporated through data-driven creativity to further catapult their brand,” said Thomas-Copeland. “Varsha will bring her unique set of skills adding a new dimension of creative problem-solving to our clients, using data and insight to fuel our creativity for Mars Incorporated.”

Reyes will lead a broad group of client businesses, bringing a new perspective to strengthen the agency’s client relationships. She has over 15 years of experience in integrated marketing and has partnered with brands such as MetLife, Instagram, Lego, ESPN, and Verizon. Previous to this role, Reyes held the position of Group Managing Director at R/GA.

“The addition of the Vanessa to the DDB New York leadership team is the perfect manifestation of creativity and connection – both needed to drive business growth today,” said Thomas-Copeland. “Vanessa is a truly integrated thinker and business leader. She brings progressive digital-first experience, and we will marry this to the progressive business questions and expectations our clients are engaging us in. Vanessa represents the new direction and skill base of DDB NAM.”

News UK hires Cosa as Data GM
Pedro Cosa has been named as Data General Manager at News UK, the publisher behind The Sun and The Times. Reporting to Chief Operating Officer David Dinsmore, he will be responsible for driving a joined-up data vision and strategy across the whole business. He will lead the company’s Data Hub, optimising the value of data and insight, and working with senior leaders from all divisions and brands to ensure that strategic decision-making is fuelled by data.

Most recently, at Warner Media, Cosa led the transformation of a cross-platform data and intelligence function to support the company’s expansion across its portfolio of network and streaming brands in EMEA including Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Adult Swim, Boing, Cartoonito, HBO, and TCM.

“I’m hugely excited to be joining such a talented team at News,” said Cosa. “They have a roster of brands which sit at the heart of the national conversation, engaging millions every day. Gaining an ever-better understanding of who those millions are, how they connect with the brands and how they connect with the world will open up more opportunities for News UK, and for its commercial partners.”

Pair of senior execs join MediaCom’s US team
WPP media agency network MediaCom has recruited Liza Davidian as Executive Vice President of Investment & Activation and Yorlene Goff as Executive Director of People. Both will join the executive committee and report to Sasha Savic, US CEO of MediaCom.

Davidian will lead the agencys future-forward investment vision, including client investment strategies that are holistic in approach and united end-end with planning and analytics and adaptable to the evolving consumer landscape. Across her over 20 years in the media industry, she has worked with clients including General Mills, Clorox, SCJ, CBS, CW, Showtime, Wells Fargo, Experian, Levi Strauss & Co., Ancestry.com, and McDonalds.

Goff will lead the agency’s ‘people first’ culture, nurturing a workforce and environment where everyone feels empowered to fulfill their potential and making continued progress in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. She joins MediaCom from Publicis Spine, where she served as Chief Talent Officer responsible for driving strategic global talent structure optimisation within the platform, technology, and data & analytics teams across brand agencies and local markets.

“Transformation and the opportunities for growth never stop – for our clients and ourselves,” said Savic. “Liza and Yorlene bring with them excellence in their craft and are both critical in our mission of working with the most ambitious clients, having the most advanced products, and cultivating the most talented workforce. Their respective contributions are vital in our Seeing the Bigger Picture vision and for MediaCom to have continued successes and growth in 2021 and beyond.”

VidMob turns to De Castro on growth
Matty de Castro has joined VidMob, a creative analytics platform, as Vice President of Growth and Operations. He will expand VidMob’s business intelligence practice and build a global sales organisation to support small and medium-sized businesses.

Prior to VidMob, De Castro spent 12 years at Facebook, most recently as Head of North American Scaled Accounts. During his tenure, he led their earliest and current monetisation programs, laying the groundwork for business growth, and helping to evolve Facebook into a dominant marketing services platform. Earlier in his career, De Castro held leadership positions at Arkadium, Pulse 360, Ticketmaster, and Citysearch, working with clients including Walmart, General Mills, Nestle, Leo Burnett, Sony, National Geographic, and 20^th Century Fox.

“For years, I’ve watched firsthand as marketers of all sizes have struggled to evolve their creative operations to keep pace with the needs of today’s opportunities,” said De Castro. “I’ve also witnessed just how impactful VidMob’s platform can be in improving advertiser efficiency and results. As creative intelligence gives rise to a new category of first-party data, VidMob’s ability to bring data and creativity together in one place is one of the most exciting developments I’ve seen in a long time, and I’m so excited to join the team and get to work.”

Garrubbo elevated to chair of board at IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has elected Gina Garrubbo as Chair of its Board of Directors.

Garrubbo, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Public Media, has served as the IAB Board’s Vice Chair since August 2020 and Co-Chair of the IAB Audio Committee since 2017. Krishan Bhatia, President & Chief Business Officer of Global Advertising Partnerships at NBCUniversal, has been elected to serve as Vice Chair.

“Having worked across different disciplines within media and marketing, I have been able to experience first-hand the vital role that IAB plays in driving the industry forward,” said Garrubbo. “There has never been a more important time to be part of IAB as the industry is going through a tremendous reset and reinvention. I look forward to working alongside IAB CEO David Cohen, the Board of Directors, and IAB members to help guide this industry forward and to continue to ensure that we create vibrant marketplaces that foster innovation and collaboration.”

LiveXLive recruits Vick to lead programming
Andy Vick has been named Head of Programming at livestream and on-demand audio platform LiveXLive, as well as Executive Vice President of the company’s newly formed content division, StudioOne. He will create and expand digitally native content to drive subscribers, sponsors, and new revenue streams across the LiveXLive flywheel.

Vick was most recently President of Virtual Reality and Immersive Entertainment at STX Entertainment. In 2015, he co-founded and was Chief Content Officer for Surreal, where over 100 VR experiences were produced under his leadership. Surreal was acquired by STX in 2016.

“LiveXLive has purposely engineered themselves for a future where talent and partners can walk right through the front door and plug directly into their comprehensive and fully integrated flywheel. From interactive live streaming to on-demand video, podcasts, digital radio, OTT apps, in-person events, and custom physical goods…they are a one-stop-shop,” Vick commented. “Everyone knows this is where the music and entertainment business is headed, and lucky for me, LiveXLive is already there.  Im humbled at the opportunity and looking forward to working with the LiveXLive team to keep pushing boundaries.”

Gorman takes seat on Samba board
Samba TV, a television data and omniscreen measurement platform, has added Jeremi Gorman to its Board of Directors.

Gorman has served as Chief Business Officer at Snap Inc. since 2018, where she is responsible for revenue and customer operations across the company. Before joining Snap, she spent several years at Amazon, most recently as Global Head of Field Sales for Amazon Advertising. Gorman also held senior advertising and sales positions at Yahoo! And Variety Magazine.

“Ever since discovering Samba TV during my time at Amazon, I have been impressed by the critical role the company plays in reinventing the television model for today’s viewer that consumes video across all screens,” said Gorman. “I am eager to work with the team and contribute my perspective to further advance its market position.”

TabMo welcomes Phillips as Non-exec Director
Ben Phillips has been appointed as mobile advertising firm TabMo’s first Non-executive Director.

Phillips has spent 17 years working in the mobile advertising space. His career-path includes five years at MediaCom as Global Head of Mobile. This was followed by the role of Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Blis, where he worked with agencies and brands direct to overcome challenges and drive return on their advertising investment. 

“With direct experience of using TabMo’s platform while at MediaCom, I have seen first-hand the reliability of its platform and the results it delivers; this is combined with a culture that actively encourages inspiration and innovation,” said Phillips. “I jumped at the opportunity to work with such a robust business during its dramatic growth and development.”

Brown takes up advisory role at TVSquared
TVSquared, a cross-platform TV ad measurement company, has announced Andy Brown as Executive Adviser. He will provide strategic counsel to TVSquared’s Board and executive team.

Brown was most recently Global Chief Executive Officer for Kantar Media. Between 2013 and 2020, he helped Kantar significantly develop its media business and played a key role in the acquisition of TNS PLC and, subsequently, the sale of its majority stake to Bain Capital. He also led the expansion of services into more than 50 markets worldwide.

“As TV viewership continues to fragment, it has never been more critical for advertisers to measure the impact of TV and reach the right audiences at scale,” said Brown. “TVSquared is the real deal – its proven, always-on platform is used by thousands of buy- and sell-side clients to measure TV how people consume it, across platforms and screens. To be armed with precise insights into optimal reach and frequency, the publishers and inventory driving performance and the audiences watching and engaging with ads is game changing for any brand.”

Malwarebytes announces Strassman as CPO
Mark Strassman has been appointed Chief Product Officer at cybersecurity platform Malwarebytes. He will lead the product teams to put a renewed emphasis on the customer, evaluate new market opportunities, and deliver solutions to unmet and unarticulated needs. His focus will centre on creating superior customer experiences across both the consumer and corporate product lines to continue to accelerate customer acquisition and retention growth.

Strassman joins Malwarebytes from LogMeIn, where he was General Manger of their Unified Communication and Collaboration product portfolio. While there, he drove growth in the core UCC business, moving from dozens of products to a single, integrated UCC platform, driving up usage, customer satisfaction, and retention rates. He also led product, design, and integrated portfolio strategy at BlueJeans, and has held leadership roles at Blackboard, Autodesk, Adobe Systems, and Macromedia.

“Malwarebytes presents a unique opportunity to help align the needs of multiple customers and be a contributor to an incredible stage of the companys growth,” said Strassman. “Im excited to join such a seasoned and accomplished executive team and help deliver a differentiated value proposition which puts our customers at the center of everything we do.”

Three elevated at MiQ
MiQ, a programmatic media partner, has announced three promotions across its senior executive management team to bolster its European expansion. Giles Ivey has been promoted to EMEA CEO, Van Sideras has been named EMEA COO, and Freddie Turner moves to the role of UK MD.

Ivey, who was previously UK CEO, joined MiQ almost three years ago having previously been a Non-executive Board Member and then Global CRO at Avid Media. Prior to this, he was UK Managing Director at Collective.

“Weve globalised in all the English-as-a-first language markets, and over the last 15 months weve entered into China and India – the second biggest and one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, respectively,” said Ivey. “Our expansion into EMEA represents the next piece in MiQ’s global story. We’ve already got a business unit in Germany and now we want to turbocharge this growth, bringing our clients and agency partners with us on this journey to new markets.”

Over the last nine years, Sideras has risen through the ranks of the trading team to be MD of the UK business. His new challenge as EMEA COO will be to bring the UK and DE teams closer together, as well as serviing and growing the EMEA business effectively from new markets over the coming years.

“With the need to reach audiences online, lockdown has accelerated the pace of programmatic adoption,” said Sideras. “In a world of uncertainty, brands and agencies are even more conscious of investments, and what they want right now is clearly measurable and trackable ROI. By harnessing data in programmatic advertising, marketers can not only optimise campaigns to deliver the best results, but use this insight to tackle wider business challenges.”

Turner will lead MiQ’s UK business into a period of continued growth and opportunity. She joined MiQ from Agenda 21 over two years ago and has been pivotal in the evolution of MiQ’s product story, worked closely as a lead with MiQ’s data scientists, engineers, and analysits in Bengalura, and advanced its omnichannel and cookieless offering. With her move to UK MD, Turner will also take a leading role in MiQ’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and corporate social responsibility in the UK.

“As we all move towards a post-cookie world, advertisers need to look at new ways to plan and deliver campaigns without relying on cookie-level data,” commented Turner. “In my new role, I’m excited to spearhead this major shift, defining and launching a full suite of omnichannel programmatic and futureproofed solutions to deliver tangible results for key holding companies, independent agencies and brands alike. MiQ’s expertise is using data to drive insight and as we expand into new markets, our clients will gain access to even more insight that can drive more measurable business outcomes for their whole corporation – it’s an extremely interesting time for the industry.”

Impact makes host of hires and promotions
Partnership automation company Impact has made a number of new hires amid the continued expansion of its EMEA team.

Alex Springer has been promoted to Regional VP, EMEA Sales & Solutions Architects; James Bennie to Senior Director, Customer Success; Sam Crocker to Director, Mid-Market & SMB Sales; and Matthew Sheppard and Smita Pillai to Customer Success Director roles; while Bharat Siyani has been promoted to Director, Global HR; Alex Gordon to Associate, Channel Partnerships Development; and Ana Santos, Associate, Solutions Architect.

Clara Mantegazza and Dayo Ojo are hired in Business Development roles, whilst Patrick Chancelier joins as Account Executive, Strategic Enterprise.

“Our diverse and world-class team will be working with customers and partners across a range of markets at a time when brands are beginning to grasp the power of partnerships,” said Florian Gramshammer, MD EMEA at Impact. “By scaling and growing our team in this way we can better meet market demand for our Partnership Cloud technology and continue to innovate and optimise our offering.”

Nixon and Levy join Adnami
Ad platform Adnami has hired Kathryn Nixon as Publisher Partnerships Manager and Sam Levy as Commercial Activation Manager.

Nixon is tasked with looking after publisher relationships in the UK, growing the business by dipping into her extensive network. She will lead service activation, delivery and training with top tier publishers in the UK. Her most recent role was at PapayaMobile, where she worked across a number of projects including the launch of a new eCommerce platform as Business Consultant. Prior to this, Nixon held the position of Head of B2B at Encore Digital Media and managed multi-million-pound accounts at Reach PLC, having started her career in Account Management at City AM.

“I can’t wait to support publishers, agencies and brands in creating and delivering a better, more efficient advertising ecosystem,” said Nixon.

Levy will work with Adnami’s partners during the onboarding process; ensure campaigns exceed expectations; and focus on nurturing new accounts and growing existing relationships. She was most recently at Flashtalking, and has worked with a range of clients including P&G, Paddy Power, Visa, and Kia.

“Adnami is pioneering uniquely high impact campaigns, and I can’t wait to help more clients enjoy astonishing ad experiences and accelerated return on investment,” commented Levy.

Kyra looks to head up US sales
Kelsey Arnold has been appointed Head of US Sales at Gen Z-focused media company Kyra Media. She is responsible for creating activations, campaigns and initiatives for brands looking for creative ways to engage with Gen Z.

Most recently, Arnold served as director of brand partnerships at Apartment Therapy Media, working with leading food brands, CPG products, and major national retailers across platforms, including the Kitchn. Arnold previously led brand partnerships for various emerging players in the media landscape in both the B2B and B2C space, including Social Media Today. Her early career began at IBM on the sales and marketing team, supporting client relationship initiatives like the Women in Leadership program and CIO summits.

Four join Dept
Dept, a digital agency, has welcomed four female digital experts across marketing, project management, design, and user experience.

Lavinia Alexoiu has been named as a Senior UX Designer, joining after three years at Mancester’s Accenture Interactive, where she worked as Senior Product Designer and a UX Designer.

Ali Marler arrives as a Designer, arriving from The Drawing Room in Manchester with four years of experience working in creative agencies.

Senior Marketing Manager Alexandra Moorhouse worked for Manchester Central, I-COM and, most recently, MIDAS (Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency). She has eight years of experience in marketing and communications and will be responsible for delivering Dept’s sector-focused strategies and campaigns with core competencies in content creation and event management.

Dept has also welcomed Jo Warrilow into the role of Service Delivery Executive within its DOS (Digital Operations Services) team where she coordinates projects, manages resources and ensures the smooth running of day-to-day operations. Warrilows seven-year professional track record involves business support and project coordination for Mercer, WYG Group, and Breast Cancer Care.

“We’re delighted to welcome this talented group of women to Dept, especially on International Women’s Day. Women are having a massive, positive impact on the future of our industry and we’re seeing that right now, here at Dept,” said Melissa Hermitt, Operations Director at Dept UK.

Lycamobile names Turner as EVP
Phil Turner has joined mobile virtual network operator Lycamobile as Executive Vice President of Professional Channel Sales. He will play a crucial role in supporting Lycamobile’s expansion plans, taking on responsibility for the overall productivity and effectiveness of Lycamobile’s channel sales. He will work closely with key internal and external stakeholders to enhance existing revenue streams and develop new ones in national markets.

Turner joins Lycamobile with over 30 years’ experience and has implemented vital strategies at companies including Payzone, the Post Office, and Travelex. As Head of Retail Proposition at Payzone (part of Post Office), he was responsible for the delivery of a new commission and pricing structure, delivery of a business banking partnership with Cashplus, setting up a Retailer Forum, as well as introducing a new customer experience process to more than 12,500 retail locations and reducing transaction times by 30 per cent.

“We’re pleased to announce Phil’s appointment as our Executive Vice President of Professional Channel Sales,” said Navanit Narayan, Lycamobile’s Group Chief Operating Officer. “He brings with him not only experience, but an unparalleled knowledge, flair, and expertise for supporting and handling stakeholder relations.”

Humphries-French takes charge of marketing at Never.no
Never.no, an audience engagement platform, has named Alex Humphries-French as its Head of Marketing & Communications. He will support Never.no’s strategy in growing brand reach and strengthen industry partnerships with collaborative events throughout the year.

Humphries-French joins from Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, where he was a Senior Account Manager. He has previously worked for Rotolight as their PR & Marketing Lead, managed campaigns for Avid, and built personal brand for actors in film & TV.

“I’m excited to join Never.no during a time of innovation across the industry. We’re seeing huge changes in the way the audience is consuming content, as broadcast, digital, social and brand content providers look to create new ways to connect with a growing audience,” said Humphries-French. “I’m delighted to be leading the marketing and comms for a company that has a huge opportunity for growth, particularly with our audience engagement platform, Bee-On and the team’s first-rate industry expertise – I can’t wait to get stuck in and collaborate with established partners and clients, such as Vizrt, ITV, and Sky.”

Heap makes executive reshuffle
Effective 2 April, Ken Fine assumes the position of Chief Executive Officer at digital product analytics company Heap, as CEO and Co-founder Matin Movassate transitions into a full-time role as Chairman of the Board. Heap has expanded its product and engineering leadership bench as well, adding Rachel Obstler as VP of Product and David Fullerton as VP of Engineering.

“Heap is coming off a record year of growth executing against its product vision and has never been in a better position to accelerate into our next stage. A recognized leader who’s made a career out of driving company growth and pushing the envelope toward what’s next, Ken is the ideal person to take this company forward into its next decade. I couldn’t have found a more trusted advisor to lead Heap,” said Movassate.

“In a world where digital experiences are your product, digital product analytics are a critical tool for gathering data, surfacing powerful insights, and taking meaningful action on them,” added Fine. “I’m thrilled to continue to build on the amazing work Matin has already put in to advance this mission of putting product data in the hands of teams everywhere, and am elated that we’ll have Rachel and David helping grow our game-changing product.”

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This presented the popular quick-service sandwich chain with a pair of challenges: it had to find a way to target relevant audiences within a two-mile radius of its stores where delivery or click and collect were most likely to be used, and it had to identify fast food lovers in that radius to make sure it targeted those most likely to use food delivery apps.

Subway turned to MiQ, which in turn worked with MediaCom and Skyrise Intelligence, to create a display campaign promoting Subway’s presence on three of the UK’s leading food delivery applications.

Skyrise data enabled the anonymised location of active food delivery app users and this was used to profile and identify a ‘fast food lover’ audience based on active use of the third-party apps and Subway’s remote order apps over the previous three months.

The campaign was found, via a consumer survey, to have resulted in a 52 per cent uplift in awareness when compared to respondents who were not exposed as part of the data audience cluster.

“The results we’ve seen from working with MiQ and Skyrise have exceeded our expectations,” said Angelina Gosal, Head of Marketing UK & Ireland at Subway. “Accurately reaching half a million customers with specific messaging, and knowing that it resonated shows the value of this kind of dataset and importance of having the right programmatic partners to support us. MiQ helped us to navigate key challenges by providing fresh and effective insights based on the vast mobile data made available and contributed to a significant level of sales across our three major delivery partners.”

MiQ’s work with Skyrise on the campaign is part of a UK partnership between the pair which provides brand and agency marketers with access to anonymised data signals derived from 20m handsets.

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Joswiak elevated at Apple as Schiller steps aside
Apple has promoted Greg Joswiak to its executive team as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing after Phil Schiller moved away from the role to become an Apple Fellow.

Schiller, who joined Apple in 1987, will continue to lead the App Store and Apple Events. Meanwhile, Joswiak, who has spent more than 20 years in leadership roles across Apple product marketing himself, will be responsible for Apple’s product management and product marketing, developer relations, market research, business management, as well as education, enterprise, and international marketing.

“Phil has helped make Apple the company it is today and his contributions are broad, vast, and run deep. In this new role he will continue to provide the incredible thought partnership, and guidance that have defined his decades at Apple,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Joz’s many years of leadership in the Product Marketing organisation make him perfectly suited to this new role and will ensure a seamless transition at a moment when the team is engaged in such important and exciting work. I’m thrilled that the whole executive team will benefit from his collaboration, ideas, and energy.”

Waze turns to Roberts to manage UK business
Ruairidh Roberts has been named as the UK Country Manager at Google-owned navigation app Waze. Based in London, his main focus will be working closely with Waze’s advertisers across the fuel, retail, fast food and automotive industries to help them create meaningful local ad experiences through destination-based marketing.

Roberts brings a wealth of experience to the Waze team coming from his role as Industry Head for Travel at Google, which he began in 2013. In his previous role, he led the technology company’s relationships with leaders in the hospitality and tour operating sectors in the UK and across EMEA. Prior to this, he worked at The New York Times Company for over 10 years.

“I’m excited to be joining Waze at such a crucial moment in the company’s history,” said Roberts. “We are seeing travel habits shift significantly due to the impact of Covid-19, so ensuring that the app is there to support users and brands as they navigate the new normal is my priority. Waze’s mission is to get people and technology to meet to solve transportation challenges and in today’s climate, this has never been more important.”

Nicholas and Kline arrive at MediaMath
Ad tech company MediaMath has appointed Eleni Nicholas as its first Chief Client Officer and added Allie Kline to its Board.

Reporting to MediaMath President Konrad Gerszke, Nicholas will be responsible for leading all client-facing teams globally, working hand in hand with MediaMath’s clients to help them improve the return on their digital marketing investment. She joins from Nielsen, where she spent 28 years in a variety of commercial, client-facing, Managing Director, and organisational transformation roles. Most recently, she was global leader of the business unit responsible for Nielsen’s relationships with its 35 largest global CPG clients.

“I built a belief in measurement as the solution at Nielsen and saw that the connection of business goals and metrics to media buying and execution directly was the future,” said Nicholas. “That measurement will quickly become real-time decisioning for marketers with a globally addressable and accountable connection to consumers via high-quality media across all screens and speakers globally. I wanted to be in a midsized global company that had big ambitions and enough smart, talented, and good people to make them come true.”

Kline joins MediaMaths Board of Directors, bringing a wealth of industry expertise and board member experience with 33Across, Huntington National Bank and Pier 1. She was previously Chief Marketing Officer for Verizon Communications subsidiary Oath (now Verizon Media) and was Chief Marketing Officer at AOL.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the most disruptive brands and companies in digital,” Kline said. “MediaMath is living up to its legacy and building an accountable and addressable digital supply chain and ecosystem that rights the wrongs of the industrys evolution. I look forward to joining the Board and the impressive talent the company has recently attracted on this journey.”

DoubleVerify makes three senior hires across EMEA
Hugh Munro, Carole Dubourg, and David Wayne have all joined DoubleVerify (DV), a digital media measurement firm.

In the newly created role of Regional Vice President for Northern Europe, Munro will lead the execution of the company’s growth strategy in the UK, Benelux and the Nordics, with a focus on building and scaling dynamic relationships with the largest agencies and brands in the region. Having been the first hire in Europe for TubeMogul (following its acquisition by Adobe), Munro brings more than a decade of software sales experience to the role.

“The narrative around media quality is slowly starting to change, and DVs industry-leading product suite gives marketers and their agencies the controls to both protect and optimise their investments,” Munro explained. “Im proud to be joining a company with such a clear mission at a time where quality – and its impact on media efficiency and effectiveness – has never been more under the spotlight.”

Based in Paris, Dubourg has been named Regional Vice President for Southern Europe. She is tasked with working with local teams to accelerate DV’s growth across the region. Most recently, she was France Country Manager at Telaria, and has also held leadership roles at Yahoo and Sizmek.

“Now more than ever, brands need independent, transparent, and trustworthy partners to measure and maximise the value and safety of their ad investments. DV’s innovative proposition is at the forefront of this field. I look forward to working with brands and agencies across Southern Europe to harness this technology to drive up value and standards across the ad ecosystem,” said Dubourg. 

Finally, Wayne is now DV’s Director, Senior HR Business Partner for EMEA and APAC. Previously Vice President of People operations at LoopMe, he will be responsible for talent management and acquisition, employee relations, and performance management.

“Having the right talent in place is fundamental to achieving DV’s vision of building a better advertising industry,” Wayne said. “I’m delighted to join the company to drive its HR agenda, grow the EMEA and APAC contingent and build on the work of this highly capable and strategic team.”

Smoler appointed ECD at Droga5
Advertising agency Droga5 London has promoted Shelley Smoler to Executive Creative Director. Previously Group Creative Director, she will report to Chief Creative Officer David Kolbusz and be responsible for leading the creative department, overseeing pitches, developing mentorship and diversity programmes, and working across clients.

Smoler joined Droga5 in 2017 and was promoted to Group Creative Director the following year. Prior to Droga5, she was Creative Director at Bartle Bogle Hegarty London, where she worked with brands including Audi, Google, Heineken, and KFC.

“I am lucky enough to be working alongside the nicest, most talented and creatively ambitious group of people on the planet,” said Smoler. “I’m looking forward to continuing to help grow and shape the creative department and be inspired by them in equal measure.”

MediaCom names Krichefski Global COO
Josh Krichefski has added the position of Worldwide Chief Operating Officer to his existing role as EMEA Chief Executive Officer at MediaCom.

Krichefski has been at MediaCom since 2011 and became EMEA CEO in September 2019, having previously been CEO of MediaCom UK. Prior to that, he was Global Director of Client Development at Havas, where he led best practice initiatives for clients including Danone and Mars Foods.

“I’ve always been inspired by the people at MediaCom and our ability to deliver work that transforms our clients’ businesses,” Krichefski said. “My focus will be on continuing to drive our culture and capacity to do so.”

Sapollnik lifted to EVP of strategy at Omnicom
The Omnicom Group has promoted Adrian Sapollnik to the role of Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development. He will be responsible for developing, coordinating and executing Omnicom-wide strategy initiatives while working closely with senior leadership of the companys networks – BBDO, DDB, TBWA, Omnicom Media Group and DAS – and their agencies. He will also continue to oversee the merger and acquisition team as well as real estate operations.

Sapollnik joined Omnicom in 2009 as Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development and was responsible for investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, and special projects. Prior to joining Omnicom, he spent 10 years in investment banking in New York. From 1998 through 2007, he worked at J.P. Morgan Securities in its technology, media and telecommunications practice and subsequently joined Credit Suisses telecommunications and media group.

“Over the last 10 years, Adrian has been a key player in all major decisions we have made at Omnicom, including the initiatives to align and drive growth and efficiencies throughout our business portfolio and, most recently, adjusting operations so that we can weather the pandemic and emerge successfully on the other side,” said John Wren, Chairman and CEO of Omnicom. “His knowledge of Omnicom, our sector, M&A and finance have made him a vital member of our executive team and we are pleased to be expanding his roles and responsibilities.”

Adverty makes three strategic hires
Tobias Knutsson, Christian Atack, and Nicola Halpin have joined in-game ad platform Adverty as Chief Commercial Officer, Senior Director of Business Development, and Senior Director of Sales respectively.

Knutsson will be responsible for driving revenue and overseeing sales in US, EMEA and APAC. He has held senior commercial roles within the Schibsted Group and, most recently, as Swedish CEO at Strossle.

“In-game brand advertising is currently experiencing a significant growth potential worldwide and it is an exciting time to be joining Adverty to lead the company’s commercial division globally”, said Knutsson.

Previously Head of Publisher Business Development EMEA at Mintegral, Atack will be responsible for the continued global growth of publishers using Adverty’s in-game ad platform for monetisation. He has held senior business development roles at a number of other ad tech companies including Taptica, Unity, and Digital Turbine.

“In-game advertising to date has been all about driving users to download and play new apps. Adverty, on the other hand, allows game publishers to keep their users while generating revenue through deeply integrated brand ads, and that I believe is the future of game monetisation.” explained Christian. “This is such an exciting time to be joining the company.”

Finally, Halpin will be focused on agency and brand sales for the EMEA market, reporting to Knutsson. Formerly Head of Agency Sales at Taptica, she has held a variety of senior roles at companies such as CBS Interactive, Carat, The Weather Channel, and IDG Communications.

“Leading media agencies are now starting to heavily look into and prioritise the gaming vertical as the media channel for the future,” added Halpin. “Adverty is an exceptional in-game advertising platform and I am delighted to be joining the team to bring this innovative company to a wider range of brands and agencies.”

Appleton joins TMA as first diversity lead
Omnicom Group-owned The Marketing Arm (TMA) has hired Veronica Appleton as its first Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Reporting to CEO Andrew Robinson, she will serve as the champion, expert, and project leader to drive DEI vision, strategy, and initiatives at TMA.

Veronica has led DEI programs and advised brands in a variety of settings — including agencies, academia, and nonprofit — throughout her professional life. She was most recently a DEI curriculum advisor for Northwestern University via partnership with GetSmarter, a lecturer at DePaul University, and a PhD candidate in organizational behavior and leadership at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

“From its current investment in organizations like The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Color of Change and The Loveland Foundation, to developing leaders within agency-led employee resource groups, I know TMA is ready to build practices, policies and programs that will keep the voices of those marginalized top of mind,” Appleton said. “For too long, BIPOC’s, people with disabilities, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+ have been overlooked, undervalued and misrepresented in our industry. I’m excited about the opportunity to partner with a mighty team to keep these voices magnified and to steer continuous action, as our work is not just for today or tomorrow, but long-lasting for generational change.” 

TextNow looks to Willner to head up growth
Ken Willner has been named as Chief Growth Officer at free calling and texting app TextNow. He will oversee TextNow’s growth and marketing efforts with a focus on accelerating customer acquisition and raising brand awareness, while continuing to drive monetisation of TextNow’s mobile app.

Willner, who has been actively involved in the development of mobile as a media platform since 2002, was most recently CEO of Zumobi. He previously served as Vice President of Advertising and Media at AT&T Wireless, where he developed innovative marketing programs to stimulate consumer adoption of several first-to-market mobile applications.

“I think TextNow is one the best kept secrets in the mobile industry, and I share the company’s passion for making free phone service available to everyone who needs it,” said Willner. “I’m really impressed by the quality of the product offering and the growth the company has achieved so far. As we continue to scale, I see a great opportunity, particularly in this current environment, to build market momentum for TextNow and help make sure that everyone can stay connected, no matter their budget.”

Welsh to lead creativity at Dept
Dept, a digital agency, has appointed Jake Welsh to the position of Executive Creative Director in the UK. He is responsible for driving he agency’s creative excellence.

Welsh founded e3creative and oversaw the Manchester experience design agency as managing di-rector for ten years prior to merging with Dept. He will now be the key spokesperson for Dept in the creative industry.

“Behind the curtain, Dept has been creating groundbreaking products. We’ve been very humble about our achievements and, as the agency collaborates with more leading brands, we’re starting to gain a reputation,” said Welsh.

“It’s time for Dept to share its perspective and become more widely known in the creative industry. I’ll be looking to strengthen our partnerships with award bodies such as Cannes Lions, as well as connecting with education, industry and the corporate community to inspire the future digital, technology and creative sector.”

MetaCX opts for Crossley as services VP
Brett Crossley has joined MetaCX, a customer lifecycle platform, as Vice President of Services and Success. Reporting to President Jake Sorofman, he will be responsible for pre-sales engineering, professional services, technical support, training, onboarding and customer success.

Crossley joins MetaCX from Richardson Sales Performance, where he was Vice President of Software Development. Prior to Richardson, he was a founder of multiple software companies, including Shiny Creek, FanConnect, 10 Foot Wave, and Tusonic.

“MetaCX is attacking the customer lifecycle from a powerful new perspective,” Crossley said. “Ive seen firsthand the problem of connecting the solutions a company provides to measurable customer outcomes, and Im excited to help drive that forward.”

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FreeWheel turns to Whitticom to lead on product
Jon Whitticom has been appointed chief product officer at Comcast’s FreeWheel. Reporting to general manager Dave Clark, he will oversee and define product vision, strategy, design and development and will lead FreeWheel’s global product team.

Whitticom joins FreeWheel from WPP’s GroupM, where he was most recently executive vice president of products for [m]Platform. In that role, he led product teams responsible for developing data management and marketing planning and trading platforms, in addition to creating partnerships with tech companies, to drive growth for GroupM and its clients.

Prior to GroupM, he was at another WPP firm in the shape of Xaxis. As vice president of global product development, he was responsible for driving Xaxis’s global data management strategy and leading the creation of its DMP and analytics platforms. Whitticom has also launched several startups including digital marketing and eCommerce platform Charity Folks.

“FreeWheel’s track record of removing friction from the video marketplace and empowering publishers to better monetise content while also helping advertisers to more effectively engage consumers puts it in a unique position to address the industry’s needs,” Whitticom said. “I’m excited to work with Dave and the FreeWheel team to address advertisers’ demand for access to premium video and more sophisticated, data-driven TV activation capabilities.”

Pogue and Lenois join VaynerMedia executive team
VaynerMedia has hired Wanda Pogue as chief strategy officer and Rob Lenois as chief creative officer. Both will report to chief executive officer and co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk.

Pogue will oversee strategy across the agency’s global offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Singapore. She was most recently chief strategy officer at Saatchi & Saatchi New York, where she was instrumental in leading work across the agency’s roster of clients, including Walmart, Procter & Gamble and USAA. Prior to that, she led the strategic vision for brands such as Olay, Tide/Ariel, Head & Shoulders and Trident as global strategy director.

“I am incredibly excited to be joining VaynerMedia,” commented Pogue. “I love their energy, their culture, but above all, I believe and share their ambition to redefine the industry and create a new model that’s not rooted in old paradigms, opinions and vagueness. It’s super exciting to be a part of that.”

Lenois will oversee the agency’s global creative product. He arrives from his role as deputy chief creative officer at Grey New York, which saw him create work for clients such as Volvo, Febreze, Hasbro, and Darden Restaurants. He has also worked at Saatchi & Saatchi New York and BBDO New York.

“My first encounter with VaynerMedia was through Gary’s social content. I connected with his idea of putting people first,” said Lenois. “But once I got to the agency and met with Gary and the team in person, I saw that ‘people-first’ isnt just some marketing jumbo but is very real in the culture. I was also struck by the energy and the tenacity of the agency. Everywhere I turned, people were making and doing: filming, editing, animating and podcasting. In an industry where some of the best ideas don’t make it past a PDF, I was hooked by the culture of ‘make and share’. VaynerMedia is changing the game. They won four Cannes Lions this year, which speaks to their creative prowess and their ability to deliver business results for their clients. I look forward to building on that momentum and creating more results-driven work.”

Sublime makes executive changes
Andrew Buckman has been promoted to chief executive officer, while Marc Rouanet has transitioned to chief revenue officer, at advertising marketplace Sublime.

Buckman joined Sublime as managing director EMEA in 2017 before being handed his previous role of chief operating officer earlier this year. He has been integral in developing strategic partnerships with brands and publishers, as well as driving company growth. AS CEO, he will manage day-to-day operations and focus on developing clear goals and strategies to further increase the company’s footprint.

“It has been a great year for Sublime and we’re excited to see what’s to come as we approach 2020,” said Buckman. “We pride ourselves in offering engaging ad units that don’t intrude on the user experience and I look forward to continuing to promote these solutions, and further build on Sublime’s success to become the leading digital branding platform.”

Rouanet co-founded Sublime in 2012 and, in his new role, will be responsible for driving new business sales and partner strategy. In addition, he will continue to sit on the board of directors where he will play a vital role in the future of the company.

“I am thrilled with the success Sublime has achieved,” said Rouanet. “High-impact, non-intrusive ad formats are the core of Sublime and I look forward to continuing to promote adoption. Andrew has been and will continue to be invaluable to Sublime – his hard work and determination has strengthened Sublime’s impact in the marketplace and will continue to drive the company forward.”

Clarken named Criteo chief
Advertising platform Criteo has appointed Megan Clarken as its chief executive officer, effective 25 November.

Replacing founding chairman and CEO JB Rudelle, who has decided to split his two roles, Clarken arrives on the back of 15 years in various positions at Nielsen. Most recently, she was chief commercial officer of Nielsen Global Media. Rudelle will remain as chairman.

“This is a very exciting time for me to join Criteo,” said Clarken. “Criteo has grown into a truly impressive company, with high-quality assets and talented teams, and Im very honored to lead the company into the next chapter of its development.”

Blippar gets a new boss
Faisal Galaria has been chosen as chief executive officer at Blippar, an augmented reality (AR) technology company. Working closely with founder Ambarish Mitra and chief technology officer Preet Prasannan, he will be responsible for driving Blippar’s commercial growth and development as the company continues to expand its proprietary AR creation and publishing platform post administration.

Galaria joins from his role as chief strategy & investments officer at GoCompare, where he helped lead its IPO on the London Stock Exchange and managed several acquisitions. Before that, he was a senior partner at Alvarez & Marsal and was once senior vice president at Spotify, where he launched the music streaming service in seven countries. Galaria has also held roles at Kayak, Skype, and Ofcom, while he is currently a non-executive director at Superdry.

“Blippar has an amazing provenance in the AR space and is in a strong position post administration with an exceptional team and strong relationships with clients,” said Galaria. “I am delighted to join Ambarish and the team at this important time. We will put our eight years’ experience of creativity, technology and partnerships to work in order to deliver results for our clients and position Blippar for growth.”

Beames chosen as UK GM at Adsquare
Adsquare, a mobile data exchange, has turned to Andy Beames as its UK general manager. Reporting to vice president of sales David Fieldhouse, he will take full ownership of the UK market, focusing on media agencies, trading desks and OOH companies to level up their programmatic buys by leveraging Adsquare’s data marketplace.

Prior to joining Adsquare, Andy was commercial director as well as global data solutions director at Blis, where he was responsible for helping advertisers, media owners and technology companies enhance their location-based advertising strategies.

“Adsquare is in an exciting phase of growth and Andy Beames is the right person to lead us forward in the UK,” said Fieldhouse. “He has exceptional experience in the digital media and location space and we are thrilled he’s joined us as UK general manager.”

MediaCom selects Trenouth as influencer marketing head
Emily Trenouth has been hired as head of influencer marketing strategy at MediaCom. She will lead the influencer marketing offering within MediaCom Beyond Advertising, working across both the UK and worldwide businesses and their clients, including Coca-Cola, Sony PlayStation, Sony Mobile, NBCUniversal, Bose, Direct Line Group, DFS, Tesco, LVMH, and more.

Trenouth takes up the role at MediaCom after two years at Tribe, where she joined as a part of the founding team in 2017 before spearheading the company’s US launch this year. Before Tribe, she worked at Takumi.

“I’m incredibly passionate about this space and so thrilled to be taking my experience from influencer marketing & on-demand content to the UK’s largest media agency at such an exciting time within the category,” said Trenouth. “Clients are rapidly allocating more budget towards influencer campaigns, yet ROI is still raising question marks. I can’t wait to be able to work alongside some of the UK’s leading talent to deliver strategic data-driven influencer campaigns with well-defined and measurable results.”

Chandler and Ferreira become Adjust’s latest senior appointments
Mobile measurement and fraud prevention firm Adjust has acquired the services of Andy Chandler as UK & Ireland general manager and Isabel Ferreira as sales director.

Chandler will focus on scaling Adjust’s operations and growing the team in the UK and Ireland. Boasting over 17 years of ad tech experience, he joins the company from Tapjoy, where he led the development of its programmatic offering as EMEA vice president. He has previously worked at Amazon, Microsoft, and Telegraph Media Group.

“Adjust has helped shape the industry as we know it, bringing topics including privacy and transparency front of mind for mobile marketers,” said Chandler. “The company has developed into one of the European tech scene’s biggest success stories, and I’m looking forward to leading its growth across the UK and Ireland.”

Ferreira will be responsible for expanding the company’s client base in the UK and Ireland. She has almost 10 years’ experience in app marketing and arrives from Appsumer, where she was responsible for developing its footprint in EMEA. She has also worked at MobFox and Supersonic.

Christian Henschel, co-founder and CEO at Adjust, said: “Since launching Adjust in the UK in 2013, we’ve gone from strength to strength – and we now work with some of the region’s most exciting brands. Andy and Isabel’s combined experience in tech, app marketing and SaaS are hugely complimentary, and will be invaluable as we expand on our next period of growth in the UK and Ireland.”

Leo Burnett hands new role to Marcus
Matt Marcus has been appointed to the newly created role of chief experience officer at Leo Burnett North America. Reporting to Leo Burnett Worldwide chief creative officer Liz Taylor, he will be responsible for overseeing multi-channel customer experience strategies that deliver growth for Leo Burnett and its clients.

Marcus has founded two companies and held executive roles at both multinational corporations and startups. Most recently at R/G, he co-founded and ran the artificial intelligence practice and developed the methodology for training global teams. he also oversaw teams for experience design, visual design, brand design and systematic campaign creation.

“This is an amazing opportunity to help one of the most renowned agencies in the world tell its stories through new technologies, in non-linear ways,” said Marcus. “Im so excited that Ill get to partner with Leos talented leaders to bring forward creative solutions that grow brands and build business.”

Livek picked to lead Comscore
Comscore’s board of directors has chosen Bill Livek to be its chief executive officer and executive vice chairman. Having been at the company since 2016, he has also served as executive vice chairman & president as well as principle executive officer.

Before joining Comscore, Livek served as vice chairman & CEO at Rentrak. He has previously served as co-president of Experian Research Services, co-chair/co-owner of Simmons Market Research Bureau, co-founder of Transactional Data Solutions, vice president of sales/marketing for Arbitron and was a principal shareholder in Birch Research, which was later integrated into Scarborough Research, where he served as president and CEO.

“I would like to thank Dale [Fuller] for his guidance and leadership throughout this transition,” said Livek. “I am excited about the prospects that lie ahead for Comscore and the opportunities we continue to believe are ripe for disruption. I look forward to capitalizing on these opportunities and creating meaningful value for our stakeholders.”

Takumi adds new exec, bolster board
Carla Faria has been appointed chief revenue officer at influencer marketing service Takumi, with Mary Keane-Dawson, Sarah Speake, and Rob Forshaw becoming non-executive directors.

Faria will be responsible for driving Takumi’s revenue strategy globally, and will be tasked with establishing new revenue streams to maintain the company’s position as a leading Instagram influencer marketing service.

Keane-Dawson has held C-suite roles at WPP, Steak, Reform, and Collective. She co-founded MyHealthPal and How She Made It, and also sits on the board of London Tech Advocates and the advisory board for the Internet Commission, while being a global ambassador for the British Interactive Media Association.

Speake is a former global chief marketing officer and international sales director with 25 years of media and marketing experience from companies including Google, ITV, and Clear Channel.

Forshaw started his career working for Saatchi & Saatchi, M&C Saatchi, and Wieden+Kennedy, and, subsequently, co-founded Grand Union, which was acquired by FullSix in 2010. He is a board advisor to a number of businesses in the UK and USA.

“We have bolstered our board with some exceptionally talented and experienced professionals who will support the business through continued growth,” said Adam Williams, Takumi CEO. “We will remain committed to developing smart anti-fraud technology and championing collaborative relationships between brands and Instagram creators.”

Magee to direct on data at Syzygy
Syzygy, a digital agency, has opted for Anthony Magee as its director of data & experience technology. Reporting to Syzygy’s UK chief executive officer Ita Murphy, he will lead the agency’s data-led approach to client planning and service, developing its overarching Digital Architects proposition.

Magee was managing partner at digital IQ and has worked with organisations and brands including Mazda, Virgin Experience Days, Xero, Lego, BT, Argos, and Sainsbury’s.

“I couldn’t have found a better home than Syzygy to indulge my obsession with leveraging data science for better customer experiences. I’m looking forward to using intelligent data to speedily and efficiently resolve our clients’ key business issues and engage their audiences,” said Magee. “The data-led planning approach we’re applying across our work means that, whether bringing next generation products to market or improving personalisation, our clients will benefit from tangible ‘Return on Experience’ (ROE).”

Metadata.io names LAbbé as president
Olivier LAbbé has taken up the role of president at AI-powered marketing operations platform Metadata.io. He will lead go-to-market strategy, customer success and business development.

Boasting more than 15 years of experience in strategic sales growth, LAbbé was senior vice president of sales at G2 Crowd. He also served as director of sales at Fliptop, which was acquired by LinkedIn.

“At G2 crowd, I saw numerous customers operationalise their data with Metadata,” said LAbbé. “In fact, G2 Crowd’s marketing team itself uses Metadata with great success. As Metadata rose in the marketing execution software ranks, I took note of their rapid innovation and growth. I am thrilled to join the team and to lead the charge as we aggressively work to bring Metadata’s breakthrough marketing operations technology to market because I’ve seen first-hand how Metadata improves how marketers work and the value it delivers to customers.” 

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ESI turns to Tapper in North America
Blair Tapper has been hired as senior vice president of North America at ESI Media. She will be responsible for devising and driving commercial strategy in the North American market, building on ESI Media’s growth across The Independent and Evening Standard digital portfolio.

Reporting to chief digital revenue officer Andrew Morley, Tapper will be focused on further expansion of the existing programmatic business, as well as responsible for building revenues across branded content, creative solutions and events. She will build out the existing commercial team, currently based in New York, whilst evaluating potential future expansion into other US cities.

She brings 14 years of publishing industry experience to the role. Most recently, Tapper was vice president of brand partnerships on the East Coast at the Daily Mail, where she oversaw the East Coast direct sales team responsible for display, video, social, and programmatic revenue. She has also held roles at Meredith, XO Group, Condé Nast, and Bauer Media.

“I am hugely excited by the global ambitions of the Independent and Evening Standard teams,” said Tapper. “The time is now for such quality content and there is a major opportunity for these heritage brands in the US market and beyond.”

Karkos to lead marketing at SiriusXM
SiriusXM, the broadcasting company that owns Pandora, has appointed Denise Karkos as its chief marketing officer. Reporting to Jennifer Witz, president of sales, marketing and operations, she will be responsible for brand and digital marketing of both the SiriusXM and Pandora brands, helping support and drive the growth of SiriusXM subscribers and Pandora listeners.

Karkos joins SiriusXM from TD Ameritrade, where she was chief marketing officer overseeing brand, advertising, social media, content marketing, corporate communications, marketing analytics, tech and operations. Before her 13 years at TD Ameritrade and TD Bank, she held roles at Digitas and Hill Holiday.

“Im excited to join these two great brands and help contribute to their continued success,” said Karkos. “The audio entertainment category has so much momentum, and even more potential. Its a privilege to join the leaders in this space.”

MediaCom hands promotions to Gladdis and De Burca
MediaCom has made a couple of changes to its EMEA and UK teams, upping Steve Gladdis to EMEA chief strategy officer (CSO) from his role as UK CSO and replacing him with Geoff de Burca.

Gladdis, who has been at MediaCom since 1994, spent three years as UK CSO. In his new position, he will focus on further developing the media agency’s planning capability and culture across its EMEA offices.

“I’m very proud of the work that we do at MediaCom to drive growth for our clients, and it’s been a privilege to work with the brilliant people who make up the UK agency – they’ve been a second family to me for more than a quarter of a century,” said Gladdis. “I will miss being a part of the UK business, but I’ve always found it stimulating and rewarding to spend time with colleagues from other markets, and I’m looking forward to working on our planning capability and culture with our teams throughout the EMEA region.”

De Burca has been MediaCom UK’s head of strategy since 2015, responsible for running the agency’s team of strategists as well as leading the Social Change Hub. Additionally, Geoff was responsible as Strategy Lead for some of the agency’s largest clients, including Cancer Research UK and Tesco.

“Taking up the position of UK CSO is an exciting new chapter in my MediaCom life,” added De Burca. “I’m proud to be leading such a brilliant, talented and genuinely lovely group of people, who continue to produce outstanding strategy work for clients day in and day out.”

Gervino and Wilson elevated at Tidal
Music streaming service Tidal has appointed Tony Gervino as executive vice president, editor-in-chief and Elliot Wilson as chief content officer.

Formerly vice president of culture and content, Gervino will oversee all editorial direction at Tidal, including leading a team of editors and programmers in multi-genre global playlist curation, as well as the digital magazine, Read. In addition, he will continue conceptualising and driving editorial direction across the platform, and all global editions of Tidal.

Wilson, who is the former editor-in-chief of XXL, will oversee the creation of new and existing original content. He is the host of several Tidal original content series and curator of some of its most popular playlists.

“We applaud the innovation and success both Tony and Elliott have brought to Tidal,” said Richard Sanders, CEO of Tidal. “Their vision and expertise has elevated the founding principles of the platform and truly enhanced the experience for every member and artist Tidal collaborates with.”

Kapten names Oebel as new boss
Sébastien Oebel has become CEO of European ride-hailing firm Kapten, replacing the app’s co-founder and former CEO Yan Hascoet.

Oebel started his career as a financial analyst at Meridiam. In 2007, he joined McKinsey & Company, where he remained for five years, rising to the position of engagement manager. He then joined Home24 as chief international officer, later becoming chief commercial officer, before working at Amazon as EU general manager from 2015 onwards.

“It is an honour to serve as Kapten’s CEO and build on Yan’s legacy to pursue the internationalisation and development of an innovative and successful venture,” said Oebel. “I am delighted to join a company that emphasises responsible and sustainable practices which is a key differentiating factor in the ride-hailing market.”

Varty to head up marketing at Hostelworld
Hostel-focused online booking platform Hostelworld has added Yale Varty to its executive leadership team, naming him as chief marketing officer. Reporting to CEO Gary Morrison, he will be focusing on achieving the company’s key growth objectives and supporting a fresh strategy to drive the brand forward in 2020 and beyond.

Varty joins from ASOS, where he led the marketing and organisation responsible for driving the brand, and customer acquisition. He began his career consulting with Accenture in Seattle before arriving at Expedia, where he held various positions within the marketing team.

“Hostelworld is a brand that shapes people’s lives and attitudes through travel, and the journey the company is embarking on is very exciting. When Gary reached out to me, I was inspired by his vision and what I could be part of, and I’m excited to play my part in driving our ambitious plans forward,” commented Varty.

“Hostels have truly evolved since I last shared a dorm room! The industry is transforming at a rapid pace thanks to the way technology and connectivity facilitates travel today, compared to when Hostelworld sold its first hostel bed online 20 years ago.

“I look forward to working with my team to help travellers experience the world and meet new people in a fun, memorable, and safe way.”

Duolingo adds Munson to its board
Gillian Munson has joined the board of directors at language-learning app Duolingo as an independent board member.

Munson brings more than 25 years of corporate experience in technology and finance. She was most recently the chief financial officer of XO Group (parent company of The Knot), which she and her team sold in late 2018. Prior to that, Munson worked as managing director of Allen & Company, vice president of business development at Symbol Technologies and executive director of equity research at Morgan Stanley. She is currently a partner at Union Square Ventures and serves as an independent director and audit chair at Phreesia.

“I view Duolingo as one of the most transformative companies in education, and am impressed with how far they have come in making high-quality education accessible worldwide,” Munson said. “I am delighted to join the board of Duolingo as its first independent member, and look forward to working with Luis and the amazing Duolingo team in pursuit of the companys goals.”

Hires and promotions made on both sides of Atlantic by Bidstack
Bidstack, an in-game advertising platform, has launched in the US, appointing Adam Fisher as US head of sales and selecting its vice president of publisher relations, John Koronaios, to head up supply.

Based in New York, Fisher will be responsible for growth of the US demand side. He has more than 15 years of experience, having held programmatic sales roles at Unity Technologies, Unlockd, YuMe (RhythmOne), and AddThis (Oracle). He joined Bidstack earlier this year to lead the growth of sales efforts in the US as the company’s first US-based demand side employee.

Koronaios will increase Bidstack’s inventory out of San Francisco. He boasts over two decades’ experience in business development, sales, and working in the wider media and entertainment industry. Since launching Sony PlayStation in Europe more than 20 years ago, he has worked at companies including Atari, Ubisoft, and Sony.

“With the US being the biggest gaming market in the world, with revenues reaching almost $37bn, and home to some of the biggest names in games publishing, launching here has been on our roadmap since day one,” said James Draper, CEO of Bidstack. “Adam and John bring a wealth of experience and proven track records in their respective fields. We’re thrilled to have such talent leading our supply and demand growth stateside.”

On the other side of the pond, Nina Mackie has been given the role of senior director of global agency partnerships and Charlotte Cook is now account director of games. Both join Bidstack’s London headquarters.

Mackie arrives on the back of a 22-year career in advertising, originally starting out in print, before moving into digital. Her knowledge spans from editorials in the Trinity Mirror to digital ad platforms across mobile, wi-fi, digital out-of-home, and programmatic.

Cook has spent time on both the publishing and distribution sides of gaming, having a hand in launching AAA titles including Grand Theft Auto, BioShock, and Borderlands, as well as PC favourites Total War and Football Manager. She was also part of the team that created the campaign for Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics.

“Charlotte and Nina have proven track records in their previous roles and are recognised experts in their fields of work,” said Draper. “The invaluable knowledge and understanding they share in both the gaming and advertising industries respectively shows the level of talent we attract.” 

Tata Comms chooses Lakshminarayanan as CEO
Amur S Lakshminarayanan has been appointed managing director and group chief executive officer – designate of Tata Communications. He will advise the interim management committee of Tata Communications before being named permanent MD & CEO, upon receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.

Lakshminarayanan brings with him over 35 years of experience in leadership roles across industries and regions around the world. Most recently at TCS, he successfully managed and developed scalable businesses. His roles in the company included president and CEO of TCS Japan, global head of telecom, media & information services, Hi-tech and utilities, and Head of TCS UK & Europe.

“I am truly excited to join another Tata company,” said Lakshminarayanan. “Tata Communications’ leadership in India, strong international presence with its talent base, technology capabilities and global network reach puts it in a strong position to help customers with their digital transformation. I look forward to working with our customers and partners to harness the next phase of growth.”

Black takes charge of creative at GMR
GMR Marketing, an experiential marketing agency, has announced Ken Black as its chief creative officer. He is charged with global creative direction for the agency and its roster of clients, and will lead its 80-plus person global creative team.

Black is the former vice president of digital design transformation and global Olympic creative director at Nike. He started divisions such as Nike Team Sports and Nike Advanced Concepts, transitioned Air Jordan into Brand Jordan, and led global creative for the Sydney and Rio Olympic Games.

He left Nike to build the Sparq Training. The startup was later acquired by Nike and ESPN, leading to his return to Nike to lead business and creative as a member of its executive creative leadership team.

“My goal has always been to use creativity, storytelling and design to make a difference and leave an impact on culture and society,” said Black. “GMR’s purpose to bring brands and humans together to create powerful memories is something I’m truly passionate about. It gives us a mandate to create in a way that changes the way people see and experience the world.

“I am excited for this new opportunity and challenge. My experience has taught me first-hand that making consumer-led decisions about design, innovation and technology is what makes brands and products stand out.

“I’m excited to work with our teams to conceptualize the future and create memories that are truly unforgettable.”

Visualsoft picks Roberts to manage digital ops
Lindsey Roberts has been promoted to the newly-created role of digital operations manager at Visualsoft, an eCommerce agency. Working closely with head of digital Gavin Lowther, she is tasked with identifying and implementing processes to improve department efficiencies and performance.

Roberts previously spend three years developing and shaping the email marketing team at Visualsoft. Before that, she lead a team of marketing consultants at an email service provider, working with brands including WWF, All Saints, Adidas, and Domino’s Pizza Group.

“Ive thoroughly enjoyed leading Visualsoft’s email marketing department over the last three years and I am really excited to get stuck into this new challenge,” Roberts said. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work across all online marketing channels, supporting both our clients and Visualsoft, too.”

Eddy to front channel partnerships at R2i
Digital marketing agency R2i has hired Mark Eddy as vice president of channel partnerships and strategic alliances. He will be responsible for developing, building and maintaining strong business relationships with channel partners across leadership, sales, marketing and technical delivery teams.

Before R2i, Eddy was partner sales manager at Adobe, leading the introduction of Adobe’s digital experience platform to brands around the world.

“After serving as R2is Marketo partner manager, I saw how amazing the agencys team and culture were, not to mention the results R2i produced for its clients,” Eddy said. “I knew it was a company I wanted to be a part of and am thrilled theyve brought me on board.”

Antstream adds Keenen and Beitchman to leadership
Former CNN duo Brandon Keenen and Greg Beitchman have joined retro-game streaming company Antstream Arcade as chief marketing officer and chief development officer respectively.

Keenen, who boasts 15 years of experience in marketing, was most recently senior digital commercial director at CNN. Meanwhile, Beitchman – who led CNN’s distribution revenues, business development, and the launch of its local platforms – will be responsible for building relationships with current and future IP partners, developing partnerships with telcos and OTT/IPTV provides, and building out Antstream’s content proposition.

“I am fired up to join the Antstream Arcade team and look forward to continue rolling our retro games platform out to the UK, Europe and North America,” said Keenen. “I truly believe this platform has incredible potential to continue the revival of retro and put smiles on the faces of gamers everywhere.”

Beitchman added: “I’ve always been a gamer – retro games were literally my first contact with digital content, so I am excited to be part of Antstream Arcade.

“As in the video business, streaming offers game IP owners the potential to reach new consumers, develop new revenue streams and gather data insights at a whole new level. I am convinced Antstream Arcade will offer IP owners the perfect solution to reinvigorate their IP with fans and navigate a dramatically changing environment.”

Thorsdottir to lead European business development at Tagger
Tagger Media, an influencer marketing solution platform, has opted for Ana Thorsdottir as its head of business development & partnerships, EMEA.

Reporting to managing director EMEA Hannah Monds, She will be responsible for driving existing and new partnerships with European brands and agencies, while assisting overall sales development in the area.

Thorsdottir was previously head of influencer marketing strategy at MediaCom, working with business science to determine the best ways to measure ROI for clients, as well as creating strategies for brands including Sky, Mars, The Coca Cola Company, Shell, and Bose.

Clarity selects Howell to direct creative
Katrina Howell has been named as creative director at integrated marketing agency Clarity. Reporting to creative partner and founder Jeremy Harvey, she will help to head up the creative team and work to support the evolution of Clarity’s brand and offering.

Howell joins from Bee Creative, where she was creative director for digital. In her 20 years of experience, she has held roles at Concept!AG, part of Ogilvy Interactive Network and Rmg:connect, part of JWT London, working with clients including BBC product portfolio, UKTV, Fox Networks, Nissan, HSBC, Shell, and Vodafone.

“I’m keen to explore branded user experiences that transcend the boundaries of physical, digital and service design,” said Howell. “I am also excited to work alongside Jeremy and the team to help create extraordinary client solutions which exceed expectations and raise the bar higher and hopefully bring something new to Clarity.”

Craggs gets M&A director gig at Onecom
Onecom, an independent business telecommunications provider, has hired Christian Craggs as it first director of mergers & acquisitions and strategy. Reporting directly to CEO Ben Dowd, he will join the executive management team and take the lead of shaping overall business strategy at the company, while leading all M&A transactions from sourcing through to post deal integration.

Craggs joins from Oakley Advisory, where he was managing director for four years, which included responsibility for the origination and execution of M&A, equity and debt fundraisings and IPOs. Prior to that, he held several senior roles at O2, including being responsible for B2B strategy and corporate development, and the sales operations of O2’s B2B business.

“We’re delighted to welcome Christian to Onecom, he’s highly respected in his field and brings with him a strong track record from Oakley Advisory where he was able to make a significant impact in relatively short order,” said Dowd.

“I’m confident that the proven expertise he brings to his new role will make him instrumental to Onecom at a hugely exciting point in our company’s history.”

Experience12 adds Carters as account manager
Holly Carters has joined pop culture marketing agency Experience12 as account manager, bolstering its client services team. Alongside her client servicing responsibilities, she will be supporting the agency’s recently promoted business director, George Bateman, with business development in new sectors and organic growth.

Carters arrives at Experience12 from MediaCom, where she was a senior event producer working on clients including Subway, Galaxy, Coca-Cola, Toyota, and Peugeot.

“Coming from such a large agency background, I am really excited to work within a different, more dynamic agency environment,” commented Carters. “Experience 12’s work and clients are seriously impressive and full of creativity. I am looking forward to be part of such a rapidly growing team.”

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The survey of 1,200 eight to 19-year-olds in the UK found that 48 per cent of young people feel they are spending too much time on social media, while 52 per cent feel the need to constantly check for updates. This growing awareness is further highlighted by 18 per cent having deleted social media apps from their devices, 17 per cent having self-limited their screen time, and 13 per cent having cut down their use of social media apps and sites.

The research also found that 32 per cent of young people worry about the number of likes they receive on their social media post – something Facebook is trying to address by trialling the removal of likes on both its main platform and on Instagram. Meanwhile, 40 per cent of young people compare themselves to others on social media and 36 per cent are worried about receiving hurtful online comments.

Though aware of the negatives associated with social media and making an effort to protect themselves, 59 per cent use social media to cope with FOMO (fear of missing out), and 47 per cent are on social media to feel included.

“The relationship that young people have with social media is complex. They love the fact that it can help connect them with their friends and family, but the pressure they feel to portray a certain lifestyle or online persona is enormous; it means they are more anxious about their online activity and more likely to look for ways to limit their social media use,” said Pauline Robson, managing partner at MediaCom UK.

“According to the NHS, mental health issues are rising among children and teens, and the evidence increasingly suggests that social media plays a role in this. Many teens may well be using social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube in positive ways, but we can’t ignore the damage that can be done online.

“Creating a healthy, vibrant social media environment for teens is crucial, and this responsibility lies at the feet of not only the social media companies themselves but any company who is engaging with young people through social channels. Failure to do this will only see more children switch off from social media and inevitably remove the platforms that they feel are not adding to their online experience.”

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GroupM picks Remling to take charge of people
Jennifer Remling has been named global chief people officer at WPP’s media investment group, GroupM. She replaces long-time talent chief Tim Cecere as he moves into the role of global head of people transformation at WPP.

Remling brings experience from roles at R/GA, AKQA, 360i and, most recently, Essence. She joined Essence as chief talent officer after its 2015 acquisition by GroupM and WPP. Here, she led people solutions through critical phases of international expansion, growing the workforce by 40 per cent as the company opened 18 offices worldwide.

“People are what make GroupM great – their creativity, drive for innovation, entrepreneurialism and passion for helping our clients grow. Jennifer really understands this and has spent the better part of the last four years working tirelessly alongside myself and our leadership team to build Essence into an agency where people truly are our biggest differentiator,” said Christian Juhl, GroupM’s incoming CEO. “I look forward to what she’ll achieve together with the incredible talent leaders across GroupM.”

Cecere has been with WPP in one way or another since 1989 when he joined Ogilvy as human resources manager. In his new role, he will focus on the architecture of an enterprise-wide people function that will enhance the capabilities of an integrated team for the benefit of WPP’s more than 130,000 people worldwide. As part of this, he will help re-think the ways in which to leverage enterprise technologies to support the career advancement and working lives of WPP’s people.

Lee-Skelton chosen to lead Pinterest’s Australia Business
Pinterest has appointed Carin Lee-Skelton as its Australia and New Zealand country manager following the opening of an office in Sydney.

Lee-Skelton, who has managed sales organisations at Pinterest for the past four years in the UK, will be focused on growing Pinterest’s work with brands in Australia and New Zealand to help businesses to succeed on the platform and ensure users are able to discover the most relevant content.

“I’m excited to work closely with businesses of all sizes in Australia and New Zealand to help them reach their audiences on Pinterest,” said Lee-Skelton. “People go on Pinterest to try new things like outfit ideas, recipes, beauty looks, dream trips and even home remodels. As people come to Pinterest full of intent, businesses have a unique opportunity to inspire them to bring their ideas to life.”

Pinterest’s office in Australia is its third office in the Asia-Pacific region, joining its offices in Singapore and Japan. The company launched advertising in Australia and New Zealand in 2017.

MediaCom names Potashnick as COO
Adam Potashnick has been promoted to the role of US chief operating officer at GroupM subsidiary MediaCom. He will lead the strategic execution of driving excellence and efficiency across all operations of the business.

Prior to this appointment, Potashnick was chief growth officer at MediaCom from 2015. In that role, he led multiple successful new business pitches, including Uber, Bose, Ally bank, Adidas, Reebok, Hilton, Amtrak, Signet Jewelers, Indeed, PhRMA, Richemont, MetLife, Walgreens, Sony PlayStation, eBay, and more.

As COO, he will retain his leadership responsibility for business development while taking on additional responsibilities for the business and financial operations of new clients to the agency, product development and the speciality services divisions which includes content, social, sports and sponsorships.

“My motivation has always been to create real, long term business growth for MediaCom and for our clients and now I can ensure we’re bringing them all the very best of MediaCom, GroupM and WPP every single day. I can’t wait to get started,” said Potashnick.

Gildea joins GumGum to head up finance
Artificial intelligence firm GumGum has hired Patrick Gildea as chief financial officer as part of the company’s wider organisational and leadership changes.

Gildea joins with experience leading finance and strategy departments at businesses including Incentium, M-GO/Technicolor, Gracenote and, most recently, Joybird, which he led to a successful exit as acting CFO.

“A few months ago, we resolved to refocus our corporate strategy on the lines of business on which we were built––serving the advertising ecosystem,” said GumGum CEO Phil Schraeder. “Today’s announcements – Patrick Gildea’s addition to our executive team in particular – mark our commitment to that strategy. Patrick is a widely respected, high calibre executive, who knows what it takes to get the build on the success of global, tech-enabled businesses like GumGum. We’re all extremely pleased to have him on board.”

Elsewhere, Ben Plomion has been named chief growth officer, a newly created executive role responsible for creating value for clients, ensuring product-market fit, developing go-to-market strategy, and elevating customer experience. He will now lead the planning and sales team alongside the marketing team that he leads as chief marketing officer.

Adam Schenkel has been promoted to senior vice president of commercial development, another new role. Schenkel, who previously served as vice president of programmatic, will be responsible for maintaining and growing global advertising partnerships and integrations.

Travis O’Neil has been promoted to senior vice president of operations, where he will continue to lead GumGum’s account management, AdOps, design, and business intelligence team as he did during tenure as vice president of operations.

Finally, Ken Weiner, GumGum’s chief technology officer, will now oversee publisher development in addition to his engineering and product team leadership functions.

Essence gets new global CEO, experience lead
Kyoko Matsushita has been promoted to global chief executive officer at GroupM subsidiary Essence. Meanwhile, Claire Grinton has been moved up the ladder into the role of senior vice president, head of experience, EMEA.

Matsushita will replace current global CEO Christian Juhl, who will become global CEO of GroupM on 1 October. She will work closely with the agency’s global management team to continue driving its client-centric innovation in data, analytics, and technology, business growth, and employee culture.

Most recently, Matsushita served as Essence’s global chief client officer and CEO in APAC, having joined the agency in 2014. In her more than two decades’ experience, she has also worked at companies including Electronic Arts (EA) and Sony.

“I am deeply honoured to have the opportunity to lead this truly exceptional agency at a time when data and technology give us so much potential to unlock value for our clients,” said Matsushita. “Essence was founded to lead the industry in creating trustworthy, relevant, and valuable advertising. I couldn’t be more excited to see what we can accomplish when we combine this mission with our clients’ ambition and the power of data science and big ideas.”

Reporting to executive vice president, global director of experience design Garrick Schmitt, Grinton will be responsible for unifying Essence’s media, creative, content, and partnerships teams in EMEA with strategy to help clients scale creative innovation programmes.

She first joined Essence in 2014, working out of the company’s headquarters in San Francisco before moving to London in 2016. Since joining the agency, she has been a key member of Essence’s experience team, most recently as vice president, global head of experience strategy, and has worked with clients including Google, Universal Pictures, and HP. Before Essence, Grinton worked at agencies including Mekanism, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and FCB.

“Whether it’s brand strategy, creative, or media, my experience has taught me the best solutions come when teams can draw from creative ideas across practices,” Grinton said. “Bringing these practices together will unify great creative thinking with great strategic thinking and transform the way we work, helping us unlock better creative solutions for our clients, faster than ever before.”

McLaughlin becomes chair of board at Qualcomm
Qualcomm has appointed Mark McLaughlin, former chairman and chief executive officer of Palo Alto Networks, as its chairman of the board, replacing Jeff Henderson, who has served in the position since March 2018.

Henderson, former chief financial officer of Cardinal Health, will remain on the board and continue to chair its audit committee.

“Jeff assumed leadership of the board during a period of unparalleled challenges, becoming our first independent chairman and guiding the board through the companys efforts to resolve significant business issues,” said McLaughlin. “The board is deeply appreciative of all that Jeff has done during this period of transition.”

Acoustic looks to Shea to manage transformation
Tim Shea has been hired as the first-ever chief transformation management officer at Acoustic, an independent marketing cloud. He is tasked with enhancing operational performance across Acoustic’s workstreams and transforming the way the company conducts business.

Shea is bringing more than 20 years of experience in the technology and service sectors into the role. He was most recently chief of staff & global head of corporate development and cost management at Getronics BV and senior vice president & chief administrative officer at CompuCom Systems.

“There are an overwhelming number of complex marketing tools available today, and Acoustic is filling a void in the industry by offering a simple, streamlined solution that focuses entirely on solving the challenges marketers face using open platform thinking,” said Shea. “I’m looking forward to overseeing Acoustic’s transformation as a standalone company with the market position, customer scale and proven technology to help marketers do their best work.”

LaPeters picked as VP of MSP at Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes, an advanced endpoint protection and remediation solution, has named Mike LaPeters as its vice president of worldwide MSP and channel operations. He will be focused on accelerating the company’s growth across the world, implementing new strategic initiatives to support the its continued expansion.

LaPeters joins Malwarebytes from AlienVault, where he served as vice president of global channels. In his 20 years of experience building and leading channel organisations in security, infrastructure, and storage software products, he represented the sales and channel efforts from inception through acquisition at four separate startups, acquired by the likes of Microsoft, Hitachi, SolarWinds, and Nimboxx.

“My passion is helping growth-stage companies achieve their full potential by tapping into key opportunities in MSP and channel sales,” said LaPeters. “I’m excited to work with Malwarebytes in part due to the company’s dedication to bring world class technology to the MSP and channel community, but also to extend its protection to new markets and customers in need of cutting-edge endpoint security solutions.”

Bloomreach hands strategy chief gig to Walker
Brian Walker has taken on the role of chief strategy officer at headless digital experience cloud provider Bloomreach. He will lead the company’s marketing team and play a role in driving its go to market and product strategies.

In his over 20 years in the digital commerce space, Walker has served in a range of roles including chief strategy officer at SAP Hybris, where he led marketing, product strategy, and channel both before and after SAP’s acquisition of Hybris software. Prior to that Brian was vice president and principal analyst focused on commerce technology at Forrester Research, managing director for global commerce strategy at Accenture Interactive and, most recently, chief strategy officer at Amplience.

“Bloomreach is a company Ive been watching for a while and Im thrilled to join their executive team at this point in their strategic evolution,” Walker said. “Bloomreach now offers the markets leading, API-first headless customer engagement and content solution. It has sophisticated AI built into its search, merchandising, and relevance services, and its APIs are the most robust and mature in the market. Also, the front-end frameworks and platforms they support and partner with are the most diverse. Todays customers, no matter if they are consumers or B2B users, expect simple, fast, contextual, and relevant experiences wherever they engage and Bloomreach is the supplier of choice for any business that aims to be at the forefront of delivering those.”

Vidal arrives as VibePay’s head of marketing
VibePay, a mobile peer-to-peer payments app, has added Nicola Vidal to its ranks as its chief marketing officer. She will be launching VibePay alongside young entrepreneur Luke Massie in September.

Vidal joins with over 19 years of experience from growing challenger brands including GiffGaff, ClearScore, and Wonga.

“This is a very exciting time to join VibePay and an amazing opportunity to work with an innovative challenger brand who puts their consumers at the forefront of their product,” said Vidal. “I can’t wait to launch later this year.”

VibePay, which was granted authorisation from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last month, was founded in early 2018 when changes to the Open Banking legislation enabled regulated businesses to access UK banks’ payments infrastructure. The app enables users to send and receive money by linking their bank account securely via open banking technology.

Prebid chooses Dove to take seat on its board
J. Allen Dove has been selected to join the board of Prebid.org, an independent organisation designed to ensure and promote fair, transparent, and efficient header bidding across the industry, joining existing members from OpenX, PubMatic, Rubicon Project, and Xandr.

Dove, chief technology officer at video advertising platform SpotX, joins the Prebid board as SpotX announces the availability of its latest Prebid adapter video header bidding solution.

“We are thrilled to welcome SpotX to the Prebid.org board as the first pure-play video platform and look forward to working together to make header bidding a first-class option for video publishers,” said Tom Kershaw, chairman of Prebid.org and chief technology officer at Rubicon Project. “As an independent organisation, Prebid.Org believes that working together with programmatic leaders like SpotX is the key to ensuring that fair, transparent, and efficient tools are adopted across the industry.”

De los Reyes to lead design at Varo
Mobile banking firm Varo Money has hired August de los Reyes as its chief design officer. He will lead the product design, brand design, and research teams.

Previously, De los Reyes led design for Microsoft Xbox, where he helped the company radically shift its design view to one that put inclusion and empathy at the centre of a product experience. Most recently, De los Reyes was a director at Google for the Search, Assistant, and News ecosystem and, before that, he led product design and research at Pinterest. He also spent more than a decade at Microsoft and helped design the internationalisation of Kodak’s web presence.

“Varos mission resonates with me because it fosters financial inclusion,” De los Reyes said. “It is the perfect problem space to apply inclusive design principles beyond physical or cognitive differences. Socio-economic exclusion affects millions of Americans. Varos potential impact could improve financial well-being at a national scale.”

Alteryx adds Heidersbach as marketing head
Amy Heidersbach has joined data science and analytics business Alteryx as chief marketing officer. She will be responsible for evolving the global go-to-market strategy and delivering data-driven programs that help businesses of all sizes leverage analytics to accelerate their own digital transformation and performance.

In her over 20 years of experience, Heidersbach has launched and grown marketplace businesses at Capital One and PayPal, and built purpose-driven brands at CareerBuilder, Magento, PayPal, and Visa.

“Alteryx is a dynamic brand and clear leader in the analytics space, evidenced by the companys continuous innovation, fast growth and customer passion,” said Heidersbach. “Enabling millions of citizen data scientists around the globe to learn faster, make better business decisions and have a positive impact on their customers is an important and audacious vision. Im thrilled to join the talented, passionate team that created the company we know today, and am ready to help Alteryx fully realise our vision by transforming how we use analytics to deliver more targeted, effective marketing programs and unleashing the thrill of solving for businesses and communities around the globe.”

Pair join Appen’s leadership team
Appen, which provides training data to improve machine learning, has hired Jon Kondo as senior vice president of sales and marketing and Roc Tian as senior vice president of China.

Kondo will be responsible for leading Appen’s global sales and marketing teams and ensuring strong alignment to deliver continued customer value and revenue performance.

Before Appen, he was co-founder and CEO of OpsPanda, which was acquired by Xactly. He also previously served as chief revenue officer at Replicon, chief executive officer of Host Analytics, group vice president at Oracle, and senior vice president & general manager of the Americas at Hyperion.

“AI and machine learning are transforming the way organisations deliver value to their constituents, and Appen’s quality offerings combining market-leading technology and crowd are unmatched in the industry,” said Kondo. “It’s such an exciting time to join Appen – the organisation has proven its leadership position in a hyper-dynamic market while maintaining the core values that make it a great company. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help lead the company to the next level of success.”

Tian is responsible for Appen’s business strategy, sales, marketing, delivery, operations and government relationships in the China region to ensure continued growth and high client satisfaction.

Most recently, he was senior partner of IBM, where he led the client services, public sector, and enterprise application service lines across the mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan markets. Before IBM, Roc was a business quality director for HP’s global delivery centre in China. He was also founder and chief technology officer of a startup prior to joining HP.

“Artificial intelligence is booming in China and is one of the most critical country-level strategic plans (called Next Generation AI development plan) announced by the State council. There is no doubt that China will be more open and proactive in accelerating digital transformation for the enterprise across all industries,” said Tian. “It’s extremely exciting to join Appen to support these initiatives for clients across China.”

GeekHive welcomes De Libero as a director
Gene De Libero has arrived at martech consultancy GeekHive as director of digital strategy and marketing technology. He will oversee the digital strategy and marketing technology branch of the company to bolster its selection of service capabilities that promote lifetime customer value.

De Libero hosts the ‘How Digital Marketing Works’ podcast and teaches digital marketing courses at the NYU School of Professional Studies, division of programs in business, and USFs Muma College of Business. He joins GeekHive after several years at Sitecore, where he served as digital marketing evangelist and as a director in the global strategy and industries group.

“Businesses need to ride the crest of change to stay relevant in todays marketplace, yet typically do not have the people to do so. Thats where GeekHive can help,” De Libero said. “Our team brings the experience, expertise, and skills to our clients that help them build solid digital strategies and unlock the power of their marketing technologies.”

Burger digs in to digital at MBT
MBT Marketing, a full-service marketing and advertising agency, has named Tim Burger as its director of digital.

In his more than 20 years of experience creating and leading digital marketing and social media campaigns, he was worked with account teams at both Amazon and Alibaba’s Tmall. He has developed and executed omnichannel marketing strategies for companies including Alaska Airlines, Hyatt Hotels and United Airlines, where he served as a global digital marketing and performance media leader. He was also previously digital marketing and eCommerce director at Delsey Luggage Paris, overseeing US eCommerce and digital marketing.

“I’m excited to join the MBT team. MBT excels at rapidly testing, analysing and producing effective creative across digital media platforms,” said Burger. “I look forward to bringing my experience in marketing technology, new media platforms and AI to further accelerate our client success in the future.”

R2i opts for Waite as media services VP
Andréa Waite has been appointed as vice president of media services at digital marketing agency R2i. She will lead the R2i team and services across a roster of existing and net new clients.

Waite has held managerial and/or leadership positions in her over 15-year career at places including Mindshare, Carat, and Starcom MediaVest. Most recently, she was with Verizon Media, where she was responsible for the strategic and commercial partnerships, including all C-suite/executive relationships.

“After a thorough search, we are thrilled to have found just the right leader in Andréa Waite,” said Jennifer Quinlan, R2i CEO. “Andréas extensive experience and accomplishments are a major asset as R2i continues to execute high-performing campaigns for our clients. And shes a great cultural fit – highly adaptable, curious by nature and a creative problem-solver with a global mindset.”

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eBay adds Thompson and promotes Rawashdeh
Pete Thompson has joined eBay as senior vice president and chief product officer, while Mazen Rawashdeh has been appointed as senior vice president and chief technology officer. Both will report to president and CEO Devin Wenig.

Johnson joins eBay from Amazon, where he served as vice president of Alexa Voice Service. Prior to that, he was chief operating officer of TiVo, where he drove the merger and integration of Rovi and TiVo. His over 20-year career has also seen him hold executive roles at Microsoft, T-Mobile, Ericsson, and Sonos.

Rawashdeh spent eight years at eBay between 2003 and 2011 before leaving to serve as vice president of infrastructure operation engineering at Twitter, where he helped scale the business through its IPO. He spent four years as an angel investor and tech advisor and then returned to eBay in 2016 to lead platform engineering, which he will continue to lead in his new role.

The company has also hired Scott Gaffney as vice president of search engineering from his role as vice president of engineering, web search & intelligent agents at Yahoo. In addition, Steve Metz has re-joined eBay as vice president of product analytics from Amazon.

Juhl named GroupM CEO
GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, has announced that Christian Juhl will replace Kelly Clark as global chief executive officer. Starting on 1 October, Juhl will be responsible for the vision, strategy, and operation of WPP’ media-focused companies.

Juhl is currently global chief executive officer at Essence, where he led the company’s acquisition by WPP in 2015. Before that, he held roles at Publicis, Razorfish, and USWeb/CKS.

“I’m truly honoured and grateful for this opportunity to help deliver on Mark [Read]’s vision for WPP as a creative transformation company,” said Juhl. “Media frames the future for creativity, and GroupMs incredible agency brands, talent, client partnerships, and scale give us the unique opportunity to help reshape the industry and the way people think about advertising.”

Twitter brings in Kim to lead business marketing
Gap Kim has been hired as head of global business marketing at Twitter. Reporting to vice president of marketing Brad Ramsey, he will lead the team which is responsible for marketing and messaging that helps brands understand the social media firm’s advertising solutions.

Kim has previously worked on digital adoption and growth across mobile, video, search, messaging, and social at companies including WhatsApp, Facebook, and Google.

“There’s no platform more embedded in every day culture and what’s happening than Twitter, and in this day and age, that is a critical opportunity for marketers to make meaningful connections with influential audiences to grow their business and brand,” said Kim.

“I’m thrilled to join the Twitter team and find new ways to bring Twitter’s value to life for all businesses, big and small, across the world.”

Trio handed new roles at MediaCom
MediaCom has promoted Nick Lawson, Josh Krichefski, and Kate Rowlinson in changes to their Worldwide, EMEA, and UK leadership teams.

Lawson, currently EMEA chief executive officer (CEO) and global client practice lead, succeeds Toby Jenner as worldwide chief operating officer. The 28-year MediaCom stalwart will be responsible for driving the network’s business development, marketing and product offers, while retaining his position as global client practice lead.

Krichefski, who has been at MediaCom since 2011, replaces Lawson as EMEA CEO after serving three years as UK CEO. He takes responsibility for 4,400 people across 37 offices. Rowlinson, the current managing director of worldwide hubs, will take over as UK CEO.

All three will begin their new roles in September.

“Nick, Josh and Kate’s track records in delivering truly innovative work are unparalleled and I am in no doubt they are the best people to lead the MediaCom network into its next exciting chapter,” said Stephen Allan, worldwide chairman and CEO. “They will bring forward thinking and rich expertise to our clients, helping them achieve their growth agendas, and perfectly exemplify our People First, Better Results belief. Their continued personal growth has and will continue to deliver the best possible results for the brands we work with.”

Rakuten promotes Capano to MD
Anthony Capano has been appointed to the newly created position of international managing director at Rakuten Marketing. He will now cover all territories outside of the US and Japan, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

As former managing director of APAC, Capano launched Rakuten Marketing to the Australian market and across the greater region. In early 2018, he was promoted to managing director of EMEA and has since spearheaded operations and overseen expansion in France and Germany.

“The momentum we’ve built internationally over the past few years has put the business in a fantastic position to begin tailoring and deploying our technology in new and exciting markets,” said Capano. “By providing the network and support brands need, we’re going to be able to offer clients countless opportunities to grow internationally.”

Weiss to lead creative at DDB, hires Nolan
Marketing communications network DDB Worldwide has promoted Ari Weiss to the role of chief creative officer, expanding his remit to include creative responsibilities. His first hire in the new role has seen Britt Nolan named as his successor in the role of chief creative officer for DDB North America.

Weiss joined DDB in 2016 and has since helped the company’s North America division to 38 Lions at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

Nolan arrives at DDB from Leo Burnett, where he spent 10 years, most recently as co-president and chief creative officer of the Chicago office. Here, he oversaw work that won more than 50 Lions and many more across international shows, including the Effies, the One Show, and the Clios.

“Jealousy is a powerful motivator in the creative community, and Britt Nolan has been making me jealous for many, many years,” said Weiss. “Im confident not only in his ability to keep raising the bar higher in North America, but also in his ability to partner with me and our leaders across the region to continue finding the best ways to provide our clients best-in-class creative output.”

Firefly expands measurement and analytics team
Taylan Yildiz and Michael Steinberg have joined Firefly, a rideshare advertising startup, as chief analytics officer and vice president of media and analytics respectively.

Yildiz, a 10-year Google veteran, will spearhead measurement and attribution product development. While at Google, he built novel measurement methodologies and led efforts to build custom and scalable research solutions on media planning, measurement, and customer insights with top global advertisers.

Steinberg has 24 years of sales, marketing, and business development experience in the New York City market. He previously headed sales at Mira and Clear Channel Spectacolor, the Times Square division of Clear Channel Outdoor.

“Measurement stands as the most desired attribute of out-of-home (OOH) advertisements, but measuring the effectiveness of a campaign has remained a challenge across the industry,” said Firefly CEO and co-founder Kaan Gunay. “At Firefly, we’re doubling down on our commitment to defy the drawbacks of traditional OOH channels, and I can’t think of two better people to lead our efforts.”

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Verizon turns to Majumdar to lead UK strategy
Monica Majumdar has been appointed UK head of strategy at Verizon Media. Reporting to UK managing director Anna Watkins, she will lead and build holistic strategic solutions for advertisers across its content brands and advertising platforms.

Majumdar joins from Spark Foundry, where she was head of strategy and planning for the agency’s key clients. Prior to that, she was strategy director at Spark Foundry and media group manager at PHD UK.

“This is an exciting time for the Verizon Media business here in the UK as a new brand,” said Majumdar. “With the strength of the Verizon global brand behind it, I’m very much looking forward to showing our clients the power and possibilities of how working together and building strategic partnerships can deliver clear ROI against their business objectives.”

Mackenzie becomes MediaCom UK exec
MediaCom UK has promoted James Mackenzie to chief investment officer. In his new position, Mackenzie will focus on building MediaCom’s relationships and partnerships with media owners.

Mackenzie joined MediaCom two years ago as head of investment, leading the investment team in the successful implementation of the agency’s new structure as well as being integral to a series of new business wins. He arrived at the company after three years at PHD, and has also held roles at Vizeum UK and Zenith.

“Jimmy joined us at a pivotal moment for our business – with the client/agency relationship changing, the media industry completely transforming and MediaCom itself needing to adapt and move with this. He made an immediate impact and has played a key role in our success over the last two years,” said Josh Krichefski, MediaCom UK CEO. “Jimmy is hugely knowledgeable about all aspects of trading and this, coupled with his calm and professional demeanour, has made him a huge asset for us, our clients and media partner. It’s a promotion that will ensure he can play a key role for us now and in the future and I’m genuinely delighted to be announcing it.”

Vodafone brings in Kumar as Business boss
Vinod Kumar has been hired as chief executive officer of Vodafone Business by the Vodafone Group. Reporting to Vodafone Group chief executive Nick Read, he will begin the role from 2 September 2019, at which point he will replace interim chief executive officer Vivek Badrinath.

Kumar has been managing director and chief executive officer at Tata Communications since 2011, having initially joined the company as chief operating officer in 2004. His career in telecommunications has included roles at Asia Netcom, WorldCom, Global One, and Sprint International.

“I am very excited to join the vibrant team at Vodafone Business,” said Kumar. “The global reach, the pervasive network and the brand loyalty that Vodafone has created makes it an ideal partner for any organisations digital transformation, regardless of size or industry.”

Harden joins Rubicon board
Advertising exchange Rubicon Project has appointed Sarah Harden to its board of directors, bringing more than two decades of experience in digital media, entertainment, and direct-to-consumer video to the board.

Harden is currently chief executive officer of Reese Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine. This followed five years of executive level positions at Otter Media/The Chernin Group, including president and executive vice president.

She previously served as a board member of ESPN-Star Sports, Star China Media and The Moby Group and as a board director overseeing successful acquisitions and exits of private portfolio companies including Crunchyroll, Fullscreen, Roosterteeth, McBeard, Stagebloc, and DLVR.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to serve on the Rubicon Project board during such an exciting time for the company,” said Harden. “I’m looking forward to continuing to enhance Rubicon Project’s position in this dynamic market and strengthen our partnerships as we continue to add value to the ecosystem.”

Adjust hands board position to Clarizio
Lynda Clarizio has joined Adjust, a mobile measurement firm, as a non-executive board member. She will assist Adjust’s leadership in the strategic direction of the company.

Clarizio brings nearly 20 years of executive experience growing and scaling businesses within data and technology particularly. Most recently, she was president of Nielsen US Media, where she was responsible for leading the performance of Nielsen’s business providing media and advertiser clients with measurement and marketing effectiveness solutions across television, digital, audio and other media. Prior to that role, she was executive vice president for corporate development and operations at AppNexus. She also served as chief executive officer and president of Invision, and previously held a variety of executive positions at AOL.

Aside from Adjust, Clarizio serves as a member of the boards of directors of CDW, Resonate, OpenSlate and Human Rights First.

“Adjust is the leading global platform empowering brands with mobile attribution and other measurement along with best-in-class fraud prevention. I am impressed with the strong leadership of Christian Henschel and Paul Muller, and their commitment to bringing greater trust and transparency to the rapidly growing business of mobile marketing,” Clarizio said. “I am honoured and excited to work with Adjust as the company expands its platform and suite of measurement solutions.”

APAC directors named by Kochava
Mobile attribution platform Kochava has appointed Makoto Katayanagi as regional sales director for its Japan business and DongHee Cho as regional sales director for its Korea business.

Katayanagi’s hiring marks the opening of the company’s Tokyo office. He has a background in law and more than 15 years of experience in sales and development with advertising companies. He was previously sales manager at Group IMD and, before that, spent 12 years at ADK as a senior account executive.

“Im excited to be joining this great international team of professionals. The opportunities in Japan are wide open, and I look forward to expanding Kochavas services to new customers in this region,” Katayanagi said.

Cho was added to Kochava’s existing team in Seoul earlier this summer, bringing strong operational and development skills with him, and most recently served as executive director at GfK. Prior to that, he was a division head at Nielsen.

Thrillist recruits Kirsch to lead on content
Meghan Kirsch has been hired as chief content officer at Group Nine Media’s Thrillist. Reporting to Thrillist’s president, Ocean MacAdams, she will oversee all Thrillist content and brand identity, providing both vision and leadership for the written, video, production and design teams.

Kirsch has nearly 20 years of experience in the TV and digital media industries. She joins from Vice Media, where she was senior vice president of creative & marketing, leading a near 50-person team in the strategy, development and execution of all brand expressions and marketing campaigns for Vice, Viceland, Vice Digital, Vice News and Vice Studios. Prior to Vice, she served as vice president of brand creative & marketing at A&E Networks for 11 years, where she led the creative development for all off-air marketing communications for A&E, History Channel and H2, and created the brand identity for launch of lifestyle network FYI. Kirsch previously held consumer marketing roles at AMC Networks.

“I couldn’t be happier to join Ocean and this incredibly talented team,” said Kirsch. “There’s so much information, stimulation and noise out there. Thrillist’s eye towards curation and track record for creating the kind of impactful content that cuts through and creates a loyal fanbase makes it an exciting place to be. I can’t wait to dive in and help continue growing this great brand.”

Several global exec hires made at Flashtalking
Flashtalking, an independent ad server, has made a series of hires around the world as part of its ongoing global expansion. Juan Garriga has joined as senior sales engineer in Spain, while Eric-Alexis Fortier arrives as country manager in France and Tracy Yap becomes APAC account director in Singapore.

Garriga, who was formerly positioned with Eyeblaster/MediaMind and then as country manager for Sizmek, will contribute extensive primary ad serving and technical capabilities, to more deeply activate Flashtalking’s regional capabilities in that market.

Fortier brings significant experience in Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO), holding previous executive posts at ADventori and AdParlor (Adknowledge). In addition, he provides expertise across the telecoms, automotive, travel, eCommerce and retail verticals.

Yap, who was most recently with TripAdvisor and Adara, brings almost a decade of publisher and DSP experience to Flashtalking.

The company has also promoted Dom Satur to vice president of business development in Europe, having previously been vice president of solutions engineering for seven years. Chris Nachimas has joined in the US as vice president of solutions engineering and Fred DeCaro III has arrived from Sizmek in the new position of director of training & operational readiness.

Via names Rivkin on its board
Charles H. Rivkin has been appointed to the board of directors at rideshare app Via. He is currently chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and has more than 30 years of experience as a media executive and US diplomat.

Before joining the MPAA, Rivkin served for almost a decade at the highest levels of the US government’s diplomatic corps, including as the US ambassador to France and Monaco and later the US assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs at the Department of State.

“I am honoured to join Via as its first independent director,” said Rivkin. “Daniel [Ramot] and Oren [Shoval] have built an extraordinary company and I look forward to supporting their vision to bring a truly dynamic mass transit system to the world.”

Pair join OneM2M marcom committee
Nadja Rachow has taken up the position of chair of OneM2M’s marcom committee. She has been joined by Peter Kim, who steps into the position of regional vice chair of Asia for the same committee.

Rachow, who is communication director at ETSI, brings 20 years’ experience across the automotive, energy, transport, and logistics industries. She will lead OneM2M’s marketing and communication efforts as it continues to drive standardisation in the internet of things (IoT) ecosystem. This will include working closely with oneM2M’s technical plenary to help develop a strategy for its Release 4 specifications, which aims to enhance interworking of IoT applications within various industry sectors beyond telecoms.

“I am thrilled to be taking on the position of marcom chair at an incredibly exciting time within OneM2M, as work on Release 4 begins to ramp up,” said Rachow. “As more IoT applications and devices emerge on the market, it is critical that the industry understands the importance of standards in enabling a harmonious, thriving global-scale IoT ecosystem – and I look forward to driving this initiative forward.”

Kim, who has been heavily involved with OneM2M since its formation in 2012, is currently chief researcher at TTA. As the person in charge of operating and organising oneM2M in Korea, he has been actively promoting oneM2M and helping to recruit Korean companies to join and participate in the partnership project.

“As the IoT continues to gain pace in Asia and beyond, the need for an interoperable IoT framework is increasing with this,” said Kim. “In South Korea, we have already seen several multi-vendor oneM2M rollouts across various smart cities, providing cities with the freedom to choose solutions which fit their own requirements and won’t leave them locked in with insufficient, out-dated equipment further down the line. I look forward to continuing to drive awareness of the benefits of OneM2M as I embark on my new role as regional vice-chair.”

CarLabs.ai brings in Prince and Dalton
The company that creates digital assistants for auto brands, CarLabs.ai, has hired Geoffrey Prince as vice president of product and Robert Dalton as senior director of project management. Both previously worked at J.D. Power, serving various roles in the product and technology development sides of the business.

Prince will lead CarLabs’ product set as it expands its SaaS services throughout the auto industry both within the US market and internationally. He also previously served as the head of roduct at Affinitiv, where he assisted the executive team and private equity partners in delivering a technology-centric vision of the company and a roadmap for the needed digital transformation of the product offering.

Dalton has been tasked with transforming high-potential projects into financial and operational successes through the implementation of appropriate methodologies, procedures, and guidance techniques. In addition to his time at J.D. Power, he has also worked at Disney.

“We have reached an exciting time in our companys growth where we need proven experts to manage the rapidly developing opportunities presented to CarLabs,” said Martin Schmitt, CarLabs.ai CEO and co-founder. 

Parkes becomes Rufus Leonard boss
Rufus Leonard, an independent brand-led digital experience agency, has named Laurence Parkes as its chief executive officer. He steps into the role following his time as chief strategy officer, succeeding co-founder Neil Svensen, who will continue in his role as co-founder and will take on the new role of chair following 30 years as chief executive.

Parkes has held the chief strategy officer role since 2016, in which time he reframed the agency services under brand experience and launched products including the Brand Experience Index. He has been responsible for creating digital brand experiences for clients including PizzaExpress, Lloyds Banking Group, the AA, and Stagecoach.

Prior to joining Rufus, Parkes led strategy teams at network agencies including AMV, DDB and BBH. Laurence was most recently responsible for building and developing a 10-strong team of multi-disciplined strategists at AKQA’s Amsterdam office.

“It is rare to find an agency that has the strategic ability, experience design and technical expertise, in-house, to both define and implement our clients’ vision,” said Parkes. “Ever since our founders… started Rufus Leonard 30 years ago, we have been helping businesses create extraordinary experiences for their colleagues and their customers across all touchpoints. From BT’s first website in 1992 to BBC’s future of voice strategy in 2019. This is where Rufus Leonard is unique.”

The executive reshuffle has been completed with the promotion of Ale Cabra from managing partner to client services director and board member. She will be responsible for growing Rufus’ client business and fostering exceptional client service, across organic business development and overarching client growth strategies. Cabra joined Rufus in 2016 following roles at Razorfish, Collective London, and Publicis.

Bluetooth SIG adds Haipeng to board
Haipeng Jin has joined the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) board of directors as an associate member director. He will serve a two-year term on the board, which is responsible for the governance of the organisation and plays a vital role in driving the expansion of Bluetooth technology.

Haipeng is the co-founder and engineering vice president of Telink Semiconductor, currently leading the daily operations of Telink’s research and development (R&D) and product team. brings years of experience in developing and commercialising innovative low power wireless IoT technologies.

His appointment means the Bluetooth SIG board now consists of individuals from Apple, Bose, Ericsson, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nokia, Telink Semiconductor, and Toshiba.

“The addition of Haipeng Jin from Telink to the Bluetooth SIG board of directors is an honour and we look forward to Haipeng’s expertise and creativity,” said Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. “With the rapid growth of Bluetooth to provide commercial and industrial solutions such as connected lighting, asset tracking, and access control, the expertise Telink provides will be beneficial as Bluetooth continues to add capabilities and enhance the technology to meet market demands.”

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