Starcom promotes Kula to managing partner
Starcom has promoted Claire Kula to managing partner. In her new role, she will be charged with leading strategy across UK clients including Lidl, AXA, Alcon and Novartis. She will also continue to oversee a team of communication planners, as well as the broader team of product and activation specialists to deliver exceptional client understanding, idea generation, and media planning and activation for these accounts. She will also develop accelerator projects to help sustain and win future clients.

She started her career in digital media 15 years ago, joining Publicis Media in 2008 as digital strategy director for P&G, where she was awarded ‘Digital Wonderperson’, the P&G Media client team’s highest honour. She has also held roles within the Publicis Media Content team as senior client services director. During this time, she enhanced and fostered organic growth across key global clients including McCormick, Colart, Citigold and Citi Private Bank. Most recently, she has helped retain and grow Publicis Groupe’s Power of One proposition for AXA.

Supporting other working parents to thrive in this industry is a subject close to Kula’s heart. She is part of a community championing Starcom’s ‘Becoming’ initiative, which helps rebuild confidence for new and returning parents at work.

She said: “I am thrilled to have been appointed to managing partner. I look forward to redefining the way we drive value and new commercial solutions for our clients. Having had two beautiful babies during my time with the company, I think I’m a great example of Starcom supporting and promoting parents into key leadership positions. I certainly have not been held back by having a young family, working a four-day week and I’m very excited for what this year will hold.“

Klimaszewski joins ‘Moment marketing’ firm Aki Technologies
Mobile marketing firm Aki Technologies has appointed Stephanie Klimaszewski as its VP of marketing. In this role, Klimaszewski will grow the marketing team, support new product launches, and collaborate with brand clients to demonstrate how ‘moment marketing’ ultimately wins customer attention and affinity.

Previously, Klimaszewski led marketing at Kiip (now NinthDecimal) and, more recently, served as marketing director for JustAnswer, an expert marketplace that has connected more than 16m people worldwide with doctors, lawyers, and other expert professionals. She also worked for SpinMedia (now Billboard) and Townsquare Media.

“Stephanie is a pioneer in moment marketing and was responsible for much of the early innovation in the space when she led the marketing team at Kiip,” said Aki Technologies CEO and co-founder, Scott Swanson. “She’s a true thought leader that knows how to bridge creativity with technology to help brands capitalize on the opportunity around personalized advertising. We are thrilled to have her energy and expertise at Aki Technologies.”

Klimaszewski joins Aki during a time of growth. The company, which uses artificial intelligence to predict when and how a mobile consumer is most likely to respond to a marketing message, hired its first CRO last year and has plans to hire more than a dozen people this quarter. Aki now has offices in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago.

Briggs takes up data strategy role at Quantcast
Audience intelligence and measurement firm Quantcast has appointed Louise Briggs as client partnerships director. Reporting directly into Ben Murphy, Quantcast’s UK managing director, Louise will be responsible for advising and guiding Quantcast UKs clients on data capabilities to develop their digital advertising strategies.

With nearly 18 years of experience working for global ad tech companies, Briggs joins Quantcast from RadiumOne where she led the company’s sales and account management teams.

She said: “At Quantcast we’re conscious of the challenges that marketers and their agency partners are facing in an increasingly complex digital landscape. By working closely with our clients we will continue to develop bespoke insights and marketing solutions that not only deliver performance, but also align with our clients’ desired business outcomes. I am excited to join the team and look forward to working with our partners throughout 2020 and beyond.”

Medialab hires Parker
Independent data marketing firm, Medialab Group, has appointed former Publicis executive Steve Parker to the newly-created position of executive director. He will take a place on the board, into whom he will directly report.
Parker is widely known for his 20 year career within Publicis Groupe rising to co-CEO at Starcom .

Media Group UK, before relocating to Dubai to help create Publicis Media as CEO of Middle East & North Africa. A highly respected leader, he has a track record of new business success, developing digital-based performance marketing units and building strong, transparent media owner partnerships.

MediaLab CEO Marcus Orme said “We are absolutely delighted to have Steve commit to our team, and have thoroughly enjoyed his involvement and contribution over the last few months. Steve has outstanding experience in the data and tech arena and a stellar reputation for driving high levels of valuable growth through trusted relationships, and he will help the Medialab Board to deliver transformative outcomes for organisations we believe in. It is a real statement of our growth, ambition and culture that we can attract someone of Steve’s reputation to our business.”

The appointment comes on the back of significant new business and organic growth for Medialab in 2019, culminating in six key account wins, the most recent of which was the £30m SunLife insurance business.

Jones takes up publisher development role at Telaria
Telaria, the software platform that optimises yield for leading video publishers, has hired William Jones, as head of publisher development, EMEA. 

Jones will work closely with Telaria’s expanding network of premium video publishing partners to help maximize the value of their inventory. With more publisher clients exploring emerging revenue streams and developing sustainable (Connected TV) CTV and streaming businesses in EMEA, Telaria’s addressable advertising solution, Audience Connect, is designed to provide publishers with complete choice and control on a deal-by-deal basis.

As commercial director at Digiday Europe, Jones was responsible for growing revenue across the publisher’s portfolio of display, content and events, building its profile in Europe and managing all commercial EU staff.

He said: “It’s an exciting time to join Telaria, I’m looking forward to combining my skills and experience with Telaria’s innovative technologies and customer-centric ethos, empowering publishers to unlock the value of their premium video inventory across mobile, desktop and CTV.”

Two senior hires for digital ad trade body, IAB UK
IAB UK has hired Elizabeth Lane in the newly-created role of head of research and measurement and Dominic Tillson as head of industry relationships and initiatives.

Lane joins IAB UK from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) where she led research and analysis for media and creative policy. Prior to this she worked at the BBC and Ipsos MORI. In her new role, she will oversee the IAB’s research strategy, including the launch of major insight projects in 2020.

Tillson, who has worked in digital advertising for over 20 years, joins from Inskin Media, where he was most recently director of marketing and insight. His new role will see him work with the IAB’s Steering Groups to shape and deliver member-led projects and increase member involvement with IAB initiatives. Antonio Forte joins Tillson’s team as industry initiative’s executive, having previously worked at Wavemaker.

“It’s great to have Elizabeth and Dom onboard as we start 2020,” said IAB UK CEO, Jon Mew. “Dom’s work in ad tech, not to mention first-hand experience of being an IAB member, makes him uniquely placed to lead our membership initiatives. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s time spent at the DCMS is invaluable when it comes to understanding the political context of our industry and creating research projects that resonate with both policy makers and the media industry.”

Bazaarvoice appoints Nealon to CEO role
Bazaarvoice has appointed Keith Nealon as its CEO. In his new role, Nealon will draw on over 20 years of experience with high-growth technology companies to help take Bazaarvoice into new markets and areas of innovation. Nealon assumed his role as CEO on January 1st, 2020, and is based out of Bazaarvoice’s headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Joe Davis of Marlin Equity Partners has served as CEO since Marlin Equity acquired Bazaarvoice in February 2018; he will transition out of the CEO role and return to his original role as operating executive.

“Keith is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with a strong track record leading successful, client-focused growth,” Davis commented. “His technology and go-to-market experience is the ideal match for the business needs of Bazaarvoice. With expansion into international markets, acquisitions of new solutions, and organic roadmap acceleration over the last two years, Bazaarvoice is positioned for continued growth, and we look forward to Keith driving exponential success for the business and its clients.”

Most recently, Nealon was the Chairman and CEO of financial technology platform Vyze, which was acquired by Mastercard in April 2019. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at both private and public technology companies, including Adaptive Insights, Eloqua, ShoreTel, Conductor, and NaviSite.

The Independent bolsters its US team
The Independent has hired Katie Davies as US Editor and John T Bennett as Washington DC Bureau Chief.

Davies returns to The Independent, where she previously worked on the news desk in London until 2012. She has spent the past seven years at MailOnline in New York, rising to the position of senior editor and helping to grow its digital audience in the US.

Bennett joins from Roll Call, where he has been White House correspondent for four years, having specialised in political analysis and reporting throughout his career.

In a change of role, Richard Hall will be relocated from his position as Middle East Correspondent in Beirut to become a Senior US Correspondent in New York.

“As President Trump moves from impeachment to re-election campaign, and with an unprecedented focus on the climate crisis, the year ahead offers The Independent a golden opportunity to establish a reputation for truly independent, free-thinking journalism within the most dynamic news market of all,” said Christian Broughton, editor of The Independent. “I can’t wait to work with Katie again, give John a broader platform on which to share his outstanding analysis, and provide Richard with a new territory for his endless energy and commitment to finding truly remarkable stories.”

Thorn returns to Tag in strategy role
Tag, a global creative production partner to brands and agencies, has appointed Kevan Thorn to the role of chief strategy officer. Based in London, he will work alongside the company’s regional CEOs, and report to Tag CEO David Kassler.

Thorn spent 10 years as CEO of Hogarth Worldwide and was one of the founding partners of the agency in 2008. Prior to Hogarth, he was managing prtner of Hub+ (now EG+) part of the Omnicom Group, and had previously worked for Tag from 2000–2005.

Tag CEO David Kassler said: “We’re delighted to have Kevan back with Tag. As we step into the new decade we are building the best team in the industry and we’re proud to be attracting such high-calibre talent. Kevan’s deep industry knowledge and expertise will help to expand our Creative Production business helping brands to make marketing more effective and efficient by transforming content production.”

DMA announces board level changes
Stephen Maher, CEO of MBA, has been named as the new chair of the DMA Board, with VerveIQ founder & MD Pipa Unsworth named as deputy chair. The pair are also joined by two newly-elected additions to the DMA Board in Cordell Burke, creative managing partner at Up There, Everywhere, and Firas Khnaisser, head of decisioning at Standard Life.

As his tenure begins, Maher said: “I am so delighted to be taking up this new role at such a vital time for the DMA and our 1,000 members who represent the UK’s leading brands and their marketing services partners. We will look to further extend and raise the profile of our industry expertise and training around data ethics and martech, as well as foster even greater industry diversity and inclusion from the classroom to the boardroom.”

Pipa Unsworth, new deputy chair of the DMA Board said: “Though technologies like AI and data-driven marketing are prominent trends in our industry, our members are equally focused on people – building diverse teams and flexible, inclusive environments that enable the kind of creativity and innovation that delights us all as consumers. The DMA provides leadership and support across all these areas and it’s a privilege to help lead the agenda forward as we enter a new decade.”

Maher and Unsworth succeed Mark Runacus, co-founder and planning partner at Wax/On, and Caroline Worboys, COO at Outra, who took up their posts in 2017 and helped steer the DMA through a significant period of change for the association and the industry it represents. This has included helping the data and marketing industry through the biggest legislative change in a generation, with the General Data Protection Regulation that came into force in May 2018.

Both Runacus and Worboys have also supported the DMA team through its rebrand in 2019 that saw it become the Data & Marketing Association, including the Institute of Data & Marketing and DMA Talent.

Burke and Khnaisser have both been elected to three-year terms on the DMA Board. They will be filling the positions left by Gavin Wheeler, CEO at WDMP, and Michelle de Souza, chief data officer at Age UK.

Bounteous goes for experience
Chicago-based digital agency Bounteous has hired Marc Blanchard as its first chief experience officer. The move marks the agencys latest strategic move in recent months, as it continues to win clients and add to its leadership team in response to growth.

Blanchard is responsible for leading Bounteous’ Experience Design practice and joins SVP of experience design, Amanda Ruzin, to set the strategy for the XD practice, one of Bounteous’ fastest-growing practices.

“Marc is a savvy designer, strategist, and thought leader, and we’re elated to have him join our team at Bounteous,” said Keith Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Bounteous. “Our design practice competes with the very best firms in the world, and Marc will continue the efforts of shaping those offerings and momentum.

“In partnership with Amanda, and the rest of our leadership team, Marc will sharpen our experience strategy; help develop creative engagements that drive value for our clients; and excite, challenge, and deepen our teams.”

Blanchard is a creative lead and experience designer with a 20-year track record of crafting digital brand experiences for global brands such as IBM, Intel, Charles Schwab, and Nike. Previously Global head of experience design at Havas, Blanchard is a recognized thought leader in using data and AI to power experiences, and has been a guest lecturer and adjunct professor at both NYU and Columbia.

Blanchard cites a transformative shift in marketing and heavier engagement than ever before in brand experiences from apps to online to retail. Marketing has grown beyond storytelling to create valuable experiences that people need at every stage of their customer journey, and in response, organizations are evolving their talent, type of work output, and types of engagements with clients.

“Marketing is evolving from making people want things to making things people want,” he said. “To own the conversation, our clients need different processes, different types of research, different ways of working. Its important today to have people in place who understand user experience, who are highly valued in the organization, and who use deep user research that empathizes with people to organize their work.”

Saskin takes up CX role at Selligent
Omnichannel marketing and experience cloud platform Selligent has hired Matthew Saskin as vice president of customer experience. Saskin will help drive Selligent’s growing CX business, working with its channel and technology partner community to enable businesses to deliver powerful end-to-end customer experiences.

Saskin brings more than 15 years of CX and digital strategy experience to Selligent, most recently serving as VP and general manager of Dimension Data’s Customer Experience practice for the Americas. While there, he defined and executed against a multi-year growth plan, which led to substantial growth in professional, managed, and cloud services bookings.

Prior to his role at Dimension Data, he was global practice director at managed services provider, IPsoft, where he spearheaded its unified communications and contact centre managed services practice, growing revenues from $0 to $20M ARR within two years.

He said: “I’ve always had a passion for using technology to deliver transformational business outcomes. I am very excited to join Selligent to usher in the next wave of experience-driven solutions. For years, organizations have struggled to break down silos across channels and functions to deliver end-to-end experiences – until now. I look forward to working with the Selligent team to drive change across the industry with their game-changing platform, and witness its growing impact in helping organizations deliver high-quality experiences.”

Pierce promotes Kelley to MD role
Pierce Global, an experiential agency within Omnicom Experiential Group, has promoted Mike Kelley to managing director. In this role, Kelley will lead Pierces vision, as well as the agencys strategic service offering.

Kelley, formerly of Gatorade (PepsiCo), was previously acting as the agencys executive vice president, heading up Pierce Client Engagement and Strategy teams. During his 20-year tenure at Pierce, he has also led teams on both the operations and client engagement side of the business, responsible for integrated experiential programming for top companies and brands including CitiBank, Diageo, Heineken USA, Kraft, Lidl USA, Post Foods and Unilever.

“I am thrilled to be asked to lead the agency,” said Kelley. “We have a team poised for growth, and the industry is in the most dynamic phase its ever been – the value, impact and influence of brand experience has never been greater”.

Two senior hires for DivvyCloud
DivvyCloud, which provides security and compliance automation for cloud and container environments, has appointed Brandie Kalinowski as vice president of people and culture and David Geevaratne as vice president of North American sales.

Kalinowski will focus on recruiting, engaging, developing, and retaining a highly skilled and motivated workforce. Previously, she was the head of people operations at Etsy, where she and her team were dedicated to aligning the company’s People Programs and processes with dynamic business and growth strategies by focusing on information systems and analytics, business partnership and customer service, and total rewards.

Geevaratne will oversee the enterprise sales strategy to promote growth and customer satisfaction. He brings 20 years of sales and marketing experience in cloud and technology solutions. He most recently served as general manager and market leader for SoftwareONE, in Switzerland, and was an integral member of the North American leadership team.

“We are thrilled to have Brandie and David onboard,” said Brian Johnson, DivvyCloud CEO and co-founder. “Our team grew by more than 110 per cent in 2019, and we plan to double it in 2020. Brandie’s expertise will help us proactively align the people team strategy with the company roadmap. Davids sales leadership and his strong background in building top performing sales teams will help DivvyCloud achieve its growth goals.”

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The Independent names Leonard first CEO
Zach Leonard has been promoted to the newly created role of chief executive officer at The Independent. Working closely with Independent Digital News & Media Ltd (IDNML) chairman John Paton, he will focus on the continued expansion of the digital title, particularly amongst its growing North American audience.

Leonard joined The Independent and The Evening Standard in 2010 as managing director of digital and has since driven record audience and revenue growth for both titles. In 2016, he led the business transformation of IDNML, following the closure of The Independent newspaper and sale of the I newspaper to Johnston Press.

“It has been a tremendous privilege to lead The Independent’s digital transformation so far,” Leonard commented. “I look forward to extending the brand’s influence and commercial success in new territories, languages and channels in years to come.” 

Yahes set to lead financial at Shutterstock
Shutterstock has hired Jarrod Yahes as its chief financial officer, effective 9 December. Reporting to founder and chief executive officer Jon Oringer, he will lead Shutterstock’s finance, investor relations, and accounting functions.

Yahes arrives at Shutterstock with more than 20 years of financial experience. Since October 2016, he has served as CFO at Zeta Global. Previously, he was CFO at Jackson Hewitt services and he has served in multiple capacities at ExlService Holdings, where he advanced to senior vice president, controller. Earlier in his career, he worked at Citi and started his career at Ernst & Young.

“Shutterstock’s vibrant business and sustained growth over the last 16 years is commendable,” said Yahes. “I look forward to implementing additional efficiencies and strategies to solidify its position for long-term success and further its vision of being the leading creative platform in the market.”

BMB brings in Wallace as MD
Claudia Wallace has been appointed managing director at advertising agency BMB. She will focus on the day-to-day running of the agency, taking responsibility for client growth, both organic and new business, and report to chief executive officer Jason Cobbold. She will also work closely alongside founder David Bain, chief creative officer Matt Lever, and head of strategy Melanie Arrow.

Wallace joins from BBH London, where she was business lead on Samsung global and European campaigns. Before BBH, she was head of marketing and new business and business director at Y&R, where she ran the Chanel, Home Office, and Oxfam accounts, as well as working on Lloyds Bank and Marks & Spencer. Wallace has also worked at Mediacom in Singapore and at Possible in New York, both in strategy roles on the regional accounts of Coca-Cola, Pringles and Revlon.

“I am so excited to be joining the team at BMB,” said Wallace. “Just walking through the doors, you are struck by the fantastic culture and energy. This is an agency that is on the up and I can’t wait to get stuck in and help us move to the next level.”

Plant chosen to lead strategy at Starcom
Publicis Groupe-owned Starcom has hired Dan Plant as executive head of strategy. Reporting directly to chief executive officer Mark Howley, he will be responsible for developing Starcom’s overall strategic product and driving Starcom’s business proposition in the UK. He will also have a focus on attracting and continuing to grow talent across the business.

Plant will have the lead strategy role on Samsung and will work closely with managing director Nadine Young, data and tech managing partner Isabelle Baas, and global head of creativity and innovation Amy Kean.

In his almost 20 years’ experience, Plant has worked with brands including Netflix, Vodafone, Nestlé and Compare the Market. His previous positions include global strategy partner at Wavemaker, group strategy director at MEC UK, and head of integrated planning at Vizeum.

“I joined Starcom because its ‘Human Experiences’ philosophy directly aligns with my own vision for how media agencies can make a real difference to our client’s relationship with consumers,” Plant said. “In this exciting, dynamic, technology-driven media world, we must never lose sight of the human impact of what we do. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to help drive this mission forward, and Starcom have the tools and people to do it.”

Telaria selects Giblin to head up demand
Mark Giblin has joined Telaria, a video management platform, as head of demand. Based in the London office, he will work closely with more than 45 plugged-in video demand partners that count on Telaria’s premium inventory.

Giblin was most recently vice president of business development at News Corp’s Unruly. In this role, he was responsible for growing the Unruly exchange business and led the team’s managing relationships with programmatic demand partners across both the US and EMEA. Prior to that, he held a variety of roles at companies including PubMatic, The Financial Times and The Telegraph.

“As video consumption diversifies across multiple platforms and devices, advertisers are keen to reach engaged audiences in quality, brand-safe environments and Telaria is a highly trusted source for premium video inventory,” said Giblin. “Joining the company at a time of accelerated growth provides exciting opportunities to deliver the desirable audiences advertisers require and maximise the performance of ad campaigns as the digital video and CTV ecosystem evolves.”

Baert becomes Mention CEO
Media monitoring firm Mention, owned by NHST Media Group subsidiary Mynewsdesk, has named Jean-Philippe Baert as its chief executive officer.

Baert arrives with over 30 years of experience in the martech and software industry across companies in France, the UK, and the US. He was previously chief operations officer at Arago and has also held positions including vice president of Marketing Cloud South EMEA at Salesforce, executive vice president at Cheetah digital, and general manager at QAD Europe.

“I am extremely excited to join a start-up equipped with fresh talent, a global mindset and innovative tech. What attracted me most about the business is our firm footing in the US market as a European SaaS company. I want to accelerate our growth to become a global market leader and build off the momentum established by our Paris and New York offices,” commented Baert.

RewardStyle opts for Bodin as CTO
Bill Bodin has been recruited as chief technology officer at influencer marketing monetisation platform RewardStyle. He will play a key role in leading the company’s innovation endeavours and shape its technological vision and future product roadmap, while working to grow the platform’s base of influencers, retailers, and consumers.

Boasting more than 30 years of technology industry experience, Bodin was most recently CTO at Kony. Here, he chaired the Reference Architecture Council, led technology and strategy assessments, led the company’s intellectual property efforts, enhanced Kony’s Quantum platform, and filed 11 patents relating to artificial intelligence. Before Kony, he was CTO for IBM’s mobile computing CIO group.

“RewardStyle is both incredibly relevant and well positioned for lateral and vertical expansion,” said Bodin, “Im excited to be a part of the RewardStyle family, focusing on massive platform scalability and the infusion of amazing digital technologies throughout our brand, influencer and customer experiences.”

Reynolds to direct on product delivery at Potato
Potato, a digital product development studio owned by WPP’s AKQA, has chosen Ian Reynolds as product delivery director of its London studio. Reporting to group product delivery director Cat Wildman, his specific remit is to drive progressive product delivery approaches throughout the business, mentoring and growing the team’s product leads and agile coaches.

Reynolds, who most recently headed up delivery for Havas-owned Ekino, brings more than 15 years’ experience in facilitation, agile delivery and client engagement to his latest role. He was part of the Effie award-winning team that produced Britain’s Beer Alliance website, which looked to showcase the struggles of pubs in the face of an impending rise in beer tax.

AccuWeather adds three to its board
Laura Lang, Lisa M. Shalett, and Sean Cohan will all be joining the AccuWeather board of directors, subject to approval by shareholders.

Lang is the founder and managing director of Narragansett Ventures. She previously served as chief executive officer of Time Inc., where she led the digital transformation of their publishing business prior to its launch as an independent publicly traded company, and was also previously global CEO of Digitas. She holds board positions at VF Corporation, Steiner Leisure, ICX Media and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and is an advisor to L Catterton.

Shalett is a retired Goldman Sachs partner who now advises and invests in growth companies and serves on public and private boards. In her over 20 years at Goldman Sachs, she held a number of leadership roles, ranging from head of international equities to chief operating officer of global compliance, legal and internal audit. Most recently, she was global head of brand marketing and digital strategy. Since leaving Goldman, Shalett served as chief marketing officer of a fast-growing millennials-focused media company, and head of strategic innovation at Brookfield Asset Management. She currently serves on the board of Bully Pulpit Interactive.

Cohan serves as president of Wheelhouse Entertainment, where he is responsible for driving content and marketing opportunities across multiple businesses and platforms, including talent, brand, and other strategic, corporate partnerships for the company. Prior to Wheelhouse, he spent nearly 15 years at A+E Networks, most recently serving as president of international and digital media. He also previously held roles at Primeida, Morgan Stanley, NBC, and A.T. Kearney. Cohan is director/trustee on the boards of The Opportunity Network, Parrish Art Museum, the Banff World Media Festival, and 2btube.

“We are delighted to welcome Laura, Lisa and Sean to our now 11-member Board of Directors,” said Joel N. Myers, AccuWeather founder, CEO and chairman. “As a growing, global brand trusted everywhere around the world, AccuWeather is thrilled to welcome to our Board this distinguished and diverse cadre of accomplished leaders, who will best represent all who work here as well as the more than 1.5bn people worldwide who use and depend on our products and services for the protection of life and property.”

Andretta picks up role at Alliance Data helm
Alliance Data Systems Corporation, a provider of data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions, has selected Ralph Andretta as its president and chief executive officer, effective 3 February 2020. Succeeding a Melisa miller, who served in the role following the retirement of Ed Heffernan, he will also join Alliance Data’s board of directors.

Andretta will join Alliance Data Citigroup, where he most recently served as managing director and head of its US cards business. Before his time at Citi, he was a global affinity products and international card executive at Bank of America and, prior to that, he spent 18 years with American Express.

“I am both excited and honoured to take on this new role with Alliance Data,” said Ralph Andretta. “Having worked in many capacities across major financial institutions, I recognise the uniqueness of Alliance Datas business model, data-driven centricity and go-to-market approach.  I appreciate the boards confidence in my abilities to lead the business, particularly during such an exciting, transformative time, and I look forward to working alongside the Companys talented associates across its lines of business to return to consistent, sustainable earnings growth.”

Button makes four exec changes
Ken Stelzer, Stephanie Mardell, and Jonathan Shottan have all been added to the executive team at mobile commerce optimisation platform Button, with co-founder Chris Maddern shifting into the newly created role of chief innovation officer.

Stelzer, who brings nearly 20 years of experience to Button, has been appointed chief financial officer. He will build a strategic finance function at the company to accelerate revenue and profit growth. He was, most recently, CFO at Zocdoc and, prior to that, CFO at Bankrate and Integreon.

Mardell has been promoted to the role of chief people officer, having previously served as vice president of people. Prior to arriving at Button, she spent more than a decade scaling teams during periods of significant growth while establishing operational best practices such as compensation and recognition programs, management training and development, and diversity and inclusion initiatives at Square, Airtime, and Isaacson Miller.

Shottan succeeds Maddern as chief product officer. He will lead all aspects of Button’s product organisation, which includes product management, design, and partner engineering. Before Button, he was general manager and head of global growth at Pinterest. He also previously led a product division within Facebook Ads, and has held product and operations roles at companies including Turn and SideStep.

“As Button advances into its next phase of growth, we’re excited to welcome Ken, Stephanie, and Jonathan to our executive team as we pave the way for 2020 and beyond,” said Michael Jaconi, co-founder and CEO of Button. “With this executive team in place to drive Button’s innovation and performance, we’ll be able to build faster and change the way companies think about monetisation – moving from the ‘advertising only’ approach of yesterday to one that’s laser-focused on actions and building experiences that add value for all parties. This approach is the foundation of a revenue story companies can and will be proud of.”

Cruz promoted at Tinuiti
Digital marketing agency Tinuiti has elevated Hiram Cruz to associate director of creative from his role as manager of graphic design. Reporting to vice president of creative Tom Olivieri, he will manage the agency’s Amazon-focused design services division and its growing team of creative professionals.

Cruz has worked in graphic design for eight years, He was the first graphic designer at CPC Strategy, where he helped to establish one of the industry’s first dedicated Amazon creative practices. He continued to grow the creative team following CPC Strategy’s acquisition by Elite SEM and later rebrand to Tinuiti.

“In the past few years there’s been an explosion of new brands advertising across a multitude of platforms, leading to an incredibly competitive marketplace to attract the consumer’s attention and inspire them to act,” said Cruz. “Creative is what sets a brand apart and gives a brand a unique voice in a sea of competition. We’re excited to be at the point where creative work is what’s now driving strategy, and it’s the most effective tool for driving conversions. I’m excited to be part of an agency that values creative work as the key to performance, and proud to work with some of the best people in the industry to provide a holistic approach that gets results for our clients.”

OpenSlate looks to Hill as APAC MD
Poppy Hill has been picked by video measurement and analytics firm OpenSlate as its APAC managing director. Based in the company’s Sydney office, she is responsible for driving regional business development efforts, and the greater adoption of the OpenSlate brand safety solution across the region.

Hill has spent the last seven years developing programmatic marketplaces and commercial strategies in senior positions at InMobi, Multi-Channel Network, and Network 10. Most recently, she was the head of programmatic at InMobi, where she was responsible for the Australia and New Zealand marketplace.

“I’m excited to be joining OpenSlate to steer the APAC business to its next level of growth,” Hill commented. “The recent Nielsen alliance ensures that our buyers have access to more control over their video inventory, which is imperative. Brands are becoming increasingly focused on content suitability and contextual relevance to ensure video inventory is a good fit for their brand.”

Three join PreciseTarget exec team
PreciseTarget, a retail-focused data management company, has hired Mitch Paletz as senior vice president of channel partnerships, Andrew McCasker as chief technology officer, and Brian Gaziano as vice president of marketing.

Paletz will oversee strategic partnerships and raise awareness for the company’s taste-based retail audience segments. He most recently served as vice president of partnerships & channels at Mobilewalla, where he oversaw partnership and channel distribution relationships with technology platforms. He also served as vice president at InMobi.

McCasker will lead the data science and technology teams at PreciseTarget. He takes on the role after serving as CTO at DynAgility, where he provided technology leadership on multiple client engagements. Prior, he served as CTO at Fishbowl.

Graziano will lead the development and implementation of the company’s overall marketing initiatives. He joins from Alarm.com, where, as director of consumer marketing, he built and led the company’s consumer marketing team and was responsible for brand and performance marketing efforts. Before that, he developed B2B marketing programmes for strategic partners at Gannett and oversaw digital marketing strategies for various clients at LM&O Advertising.

“I am thrilled to welcome Mitch, Andrew, and Brian to PreciseTargets senior leadership team,” said Rob McGovern, CEO of PreciseTarget. “Retailers are in rapid transition to an e-commerce-focused strategy. The higher-velocity online channel requires data solutions addressing their changing channel mix. Mitch, Andrew and Brian bring valuable expertise to PreciseTarget as we deliver the industrys first data solution that understands the product and brand tastes of consumers.”

Organic opts for Burley to head up client services
Tim Burley has been appointed as the first-ever head of client services at digital agency Organic. Reporting to managing director Ben Scoggins, he will oversee the agency’s client service and commercial function.

Burley joins Organic from Believe In, where he was strategic director. He has also previously been managing director at Design Stable and a director at Red Rocket. Clients he has worked with include Fontsmith, Eden Project, Greenwich Peninsula, UKHO, and Pinnacle Group.

“Having known of Organic for a while now, I’ve recently become aware of their evolved and sophisticated offering,” said Burley. “I’m really looking forward to strengthening the experiences that their clients enjoy and working with a great team to deliver real value. From a personal perspective the company’s commitment to ‘Digital for Good’ and their recently acquired B Corps status have both added to the appeal.”

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SAP names Morgan and Klein as co-bosses
Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein have been appointed co-chief executive officers at SAP, following Bill McDermott’s decision to step down from his position as CEO.

Morgan, who joined SAP in 2004, most recently served as president of the Cloud Business Group, overseeing Qualtrics, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass, SAP Customer Experience and SAP Concur. She was named an executive board member in 2017.

“I could not be more grateful to Hasso Plattner and the supervisory board for placing their trust in me and Christian to lead this next chapter for SAP,” said Morgan. “We accept the challenge with a high degree of humility, but also with a sincere belief that the best is yet to come for SAP. We have the finest, most talented colleagues in the world who give us so much confidence in the road ahead. Bill McDermott has been not only a tremendous leader, but a mentor and a role model for so many of us. In Bill, we stand on the shoulders of a giant and look forward to building on his legacy of success.”

Klein, who started his career at SAP two decades ago as a student, most recently served as the company’s chief operating officer, also overseeing product development for the flagship ERP solution SAP S/4HANA. Previously, he worked as SAP SuccessFactors chief financial officer and as SAP chief controlling officer. Klein was appointed to the executive board in 2018.

“As someone who began my career in the halls of SAP, this is the highest honour I can imagine to become co-CEO together with Jennifer. Hasso Plattner has given us a tremendous opportunity and we are truly thankful to him and the supervisory board,” said Klein. “SAP has the most comprehensive solution portfolio in the industry. We have an unprecedented opportunity to finish what we started and deliver the intelligent enterprise. This will be the best way to honor our predecessor, Bill McDermott. We will always strive to be leaders who bring out the best in people like Bill has always done.”

McDermott will remain in an advisory capacity until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

Tessier takes brand lead at MoPub
MoPub, a Twitter-owned mobile exchange, has hired Vincent Tessier as its brand and agency lead EMEA. He brings more than 12 years of experience into his new position from a variety of roles at Universal Music, AOL, Trademob and LaPlaceMedia.

Most recently, Tessier was the general manager EMEA at Adsquare, where he has successfully scaled and transformed the startup into a European market leader in the audience and footfall measurement category, across nine markets and four local offices.

“I am incredibly excited to be joining MoPub at Twitter and look forward to working closely with our brand and agency partners,” said Tessier. “Mobile has been ubiquitous in our lives for some years but only now is its true potential as a media channel being unlocked. I look forward working closely with our brand partners to help them reach their customers programmatically via MoPub, offering access to 45,000 apps and 1.45bn mobile devices globally.”

Leo Burnett selects Avener as MD
Carly Avener has joined Leo Burnett London as managing director. Reporting to chief executive officer Charlie Rudd, she will be in care of the day-to-day running and operations of the agency, working with existing clients including Iceland, McDonald’s, Betfair, and Gulf Oil.

Before joining Leo Burnett London, Avener was at BBH, where she launched and ran the agencys social media specialism and brand experience output working with clients such as Next, Burberry, Mentos, Burger King and Samsung. In 2018, she led Burger King’s brand repositioning and relaunched The Whopper. She also developed the AR immersive experience called Doorways for Samsung in partnership with Family Guy.

Prior to BBH, she worked at McCann Erickson on the Microsoft, American Airlines, and Co-op accounts.

“It’s a really exciting time to be at Leo Burnett right now and I’ve seen the agency go from strength to strength. Their iconic work is famous across the UK and I can’t wait to get started,” commented Avener.

Gold promoted to director of social at Grey
Grey, the advertising network of WPP-owned Grey Group, has elevated Kenny Gold to senior vice president, director of social media for Grey North America. Working with Grey offices in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Montreal, he will build the agencys talent and capabilities, enhance partnerships with social platforms, and ensure social is an integral part of new business development.

Gold has served as SVP, director of social media for Grey New York for the past 15 months. During his tenure, Gold has played an integral role operationally, strategically and creatively developing content and the innovative use of social media for the agency and its clients. Grey New York has doubled its social media team under his leadership.

Dan Bennett, worldwide chief innovation officer at Grey Group, said: “Kenny Gold has brought energy and vision to placing social at the heart of our creative and strategic approach to brand building. Hes expanded the horizons of how we create Famously Effective work that resonates in popular culture.”

Telaria adds Antoniou to direct on publisher accounts
Jenny Antoniou has taken the role of publisher account director, ad operations at video management platform Telaria. Reporting to vice president EMEA Bill Swanson, and based out of Telaria’s London office, she is responsible for the growth of Telaria’s EMEA publisher and broadcaster business.

Antoniou was previously head of campaign management at Dennis Publishing. She led teams through large-scale change covering all aspects of digital media operations, programmatic, content-led partnerships and B2B lead generation. As co-chair of the AOP’s Ad Ops Steering Group, Antoniou has also led and rolled out industry-wide publisher initiatives.

“Telaria has built a leading position in connected TV and premium video globally across the US and APAC regions,” said Antoniou. “As the video advertising landscape evolves and grows at a rapid pace in EMEA, I’m excited to build on thebe part of the company’s success journey by leveraging its technology to unlock more programmatic video opportunities for publishers and brands in EMEA.”

Blakeway to lead programmatic at Journey Further
Performance marketing agency Journey Further has handed Ed Blakeway the role of head of programmatic & paid social at the company’s new Manchester office, which he will head up. He has joined to enhance the agency’s display and social offerings as clients demand greater transparency, stronger creative direction, and an integrated approach across paid and organic activity.

Blakeway was previously associate director at iProspect and, before that, head of programmatic at Search Laboratory.

“I am really excited to be joining the Journey Further team and establishing the agency in Manchester,” said Blakeway. “It is rare to find an agency that has such a strong proposition – Clarity at Speed – and a set of values that has created a unique and empowering culture. I will be working closely with Robin and the team to deliver for our clients and foster that culture in Manchester.”

Tealium welcomes Bullock to lead marketing
Heidi Bullock has joined Tealium, a customer data orchestration firm, as chief marketing officer, arriving from the same role at Engagio.

At Engagio, Bullock was responsible for the go-to-market strategy, product marketing, internal sales, corporate communications, and helping create the ABM automation category. Before that, she was group vice president of global marketing at Marketo, where she built out the award-winning demand generation function globally that helped lead to a successful IPO and, later, an acquisition.

“As a marketer, it is my job to provide customers with meaningful experiences and that requires leveraging the right types of data, responsibly, when it matters most. Tealium is appealing because it solves this issue regardless of the type of data or source,” said Bullock. “Im proud to be joining an innovative team that pioneered the customer data solution space. For me, the most important part of being a leader is to support, grow, energize and connect all of our team members – as well as the customers we serve.”

Balekjian and Cura join Badi senior team
Badi, an AI-driven room rental marketplace, has hired Glenda Balekjian as vice president of product and Ezequiel Cura as vice president of engineering.

Balekjian leaves her leadership role within Booking.com’s core marketplace product development team, which saw her lead data science based initiatives to match guests with the right accommodation, post booking automation services, and refining messaging based solutions which connected customer service, hosts and travellers across 42 languages. She will now use her experience to further Badi’s strategic drive to improve its user-centred product offering. 

“I’m looking forward to leading our product efforts at Badi, a young fast-growing organisation with huge potential,” commented Balekjian. “I’m inspired by Badi’s vision to create solutions that make our world better through the power of technology. Making space in a crowded world resonates as one of the biggest problems to solve for future generations. It’s about sustainability and quality of life.”

Cura joins from Google where he worked in Photos, Research, Google Pay, and SumUX.

“I have always been a product and goal driven engineer. I had the luck to lead a wide number of projects for Google that helped to hone the skill set I will bring to Badi,” said Cura. “I enjoy closely collaborating with cross-functional teams and I’m looking forward to continuing Badis efforts to help everyone live everywhere, now in an international setting.”

Mapp opts for Alberti to lead global sales
Maurizio Alberti has been promoted to the role of vice president of global sales at cloud-based digital marketing provider Mapp. He will oversee the development of Mapps annual sales plan and define the corresponding sales policies and practices. In addition, Alberti will lead the company’s global direct and channel sales strategies and expand the international sales team, providing optimal operational support for Mapps overall business objectives.

Alberti boasts more than 15 years of digital marketing industry experience, starting his career as an account manager at eCircle before being appointed managing director for Italy in 2010. From 2013, he held the position of managing director for Italy at Teradata, where his responsibilities included launching the integrated marketing applications solution in Italy. Teradata would then evolve into Mapp in 2016.

“Following my role as Managing Director Europe, I am delighted to now apply my knowledge to Mapps global business,” said Alberti. “As our company continues to grow, consistent, effective sales operations are essential to further expand our customer base and achieve our defined business objectives. We still have a great deal of potential in cross-channel marketing.”

Lewis to head up finance at Clicky
Digital marketing agency Clicky has appointed Jane Lewis as head of finance, bringing her wealth of corporate experience to the growing agency.

Lewis joins from a vice president role at ConvaTec Group, where she was instrumental in floating the $1.7bn business on the London Stock Exchange in 2016.

“I was impressed with both the energy at the office and the ethical values at Clicky that stem from the leadership,” commented Lewis. “I have the opportunity to help this dynamic company grow and flourish, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the journey takes us.”

Vungle promotes Bondy to COO
Jeremy Bondy has been handed the newly created role of chief operating officer at Vungle, a performance marketing platform for in-app video ads on mobile devices. The promotion coincides with Blackstone’s completed acquisition of the company.

Bondy, who has been at Vungle since 2014, will continue to oversee global revenue and Vungle Creative Labs, while ensuring operational excellence across the business.

“Jeremy is a seasoned and trusted leader who consistently delivers results,” said Vungle chief executive officer Rick Tallman. “Jeremy’s sales and operational leadership have been instrumental to our rapid, profitable growth over the past five years. I look forward to working closely with him in his new role as we continue to expand our company and better serve our customers.”

Wray and Graham take places on Tonik+ executive team
Tonik+, a video intelligence and editing solution, has named Lauren Wray as chief revenue officer and Chris Graham as chief product officer and general manager.

Wray will oversee key sales and marketing initiatives for company including strategy development, account management, pricing, forecasting, resource planning and budgeting. Prior to joining Tonik+, she led media and content domain sales, growth and strategy at Kantar. Before that, she directed the national sales team and played an essential role in the extensive growth of the business at Sharethrough. She started her career at Forbes Media.

“Lauren is a seasoned leader who brings a wealth of experience in sales and customer acquisition,” said Morgan Harris, founder & CEO of Tonik+. “She understands the needs of our business and how to effectively develop successful strategies that generate revenue. We are excited to welcome Lauren and her passion for quickly growing startups to the TONIK+ team.”

Graham will oversee technology, creative, and data science teams at Tonik+. Most recently, he oversaw the development of HYFN8 from concept through launch, monetisation, growth, and exit, creating and managing teams including analytics, ad operations, client services, product management, sales engineering, and marketing. He went on to found Noname Ventures and ZeroBaseOne.

“Chris brings an exceptional knowledge bank of technology, startup and media brand development to the Tonik+ executive team, and has been a consistent catalyst for operational excellence throughout his career,” said Harris. “We’re so thrilled that he chose to join us on our journey of growth, and vertical expansion this year. With the addition of both Lauren and Chris, our top-notch leadership team is stronger than ever.”

Channel Factory makes senior hires across Europe.
Idan Shuklin, Kasper Jensen, Ajay Daved, Mark Butt, and Juliet McCutcheon have all joined YouTube content alignment firm Channel Factory in various capacities across Europe.

Shuklin arrives as business development partner, EU/CEE. Bringing over 20 years of experience across eCommerce, software product and brand development, he was most recently eCommerce director for Europe at Chubb Limited. He will be tasked with creating and launching Channel Factory’s Central and Eastern European operations.

Jensen joins as sales manager for Denmark, bringing 15 years of digital media and management experience. He will be responsible for developing and activating a road map of clients for Channel Factory in the Danish market. Most recently, he was head of sales at Smartclip.

Daved, boasting 16 years of digital experience, will manage strategic partnerships across EMEA. He previously worked for DoubleClick and Google, and has held leadership roles at PowerLinks, Tremor, RhythmOne, and AppNexus.

Butt will work as strategic business development consultant in the UK, having a remit to develop partnerships with key agencies and brands. With more than 20 years’ experience in commercial strategy, mergers & acquisitions, media buying, programmatic technology and ad operations, he was managing director of Eyeconomy before launching Seventures Lab.

Last but by no means least, McCutcheon takes on the role of key accounts manager in the UK. Joining from her role as sales manager at Amobee EMEA, she will be working closely with the UK agencies, driving awareness of Channel Factory’s solution, and developing the UK roadmap.

“We are excited to welcome Ajay, Mark and Juliet to the UK team to further service brands and agencies across the UK,” said Mattias Spetz, EU managing director at Channel Factory. “We are delighted to announce the launch of the Danish office and appointment of Kasper to build the business in Denmark and deliver a truly localised offering. We are also pleased to open our office in Russia and welcome Idan to lead Central and Eastern European operations for Channel Factory.”

Three leadership changes at Starmind
AI SaaS company Starmind has appointed Stefan Gass as chief marketing officer & head of growth and Eric Storm as vice president of sales, Americas, while promoting Adrian Schlund as chief revenue officer.

Gass will lead all marketing, inside sales, customer success and community functions. He will focus on Starmind`s accelerated go to market, product-led growth and global scaling strategies. He brings over two decades of experience leading high-growth teams at venture-backed SaaS companies like Veeam and scaling teams into new markets at BCG, Microsoft and Oracle.

“Starmind is paving the way in defining a new category, which is a natural evolution in the future of work as every large corporation today is going through fundamental shifts in their workforce,” said Gass. “Our neural networks are helping enterprises harness human intelligence to unlock productivity and competitive advantages while facilitating knowledge-sharing and growth. Our customers have a significant opportunity to transform in the way they tap into their most valuable asset – human knowledge – and I am excited to help them realize that.”

Storm will lead Starmind’s expansion into the US market, focused on enterprise businesses. He joins from Citrix, where he was one of the key enterprise US sales leaders.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Stefan and Eric to Starmind,” explained Oliver Muhr, CEO at Starmind. “Each bring unrivalled experience working at both high-growth startups and large-scale enterprises, as well as impressive track records in growing companies and creating new categories in enterprise software.”

Tag brings in Vidler as Europe boss
Andria Vidler has been hired as EMEA chief executive officer by Tag, a creative production and sourcing partner to brands and agencies. Reporting to global CEO David Kassler, she will officially start her new role in January 2020.

Vidler has spent the past six years as CEO of Centaur Media PLC, which she transformed into a business intelligence, data and event group primarily focused on the marketing sector. She was responsible for setting strategy, driving financial performance, overseeing operational improvement and delivering cultural change.

Before Centaur, Vidler spent four years as CEO for EMI Music UK & Ireland and has held senior roles at Magic Radio-Emap, Bauer Media and at the BBC. She is also a trustee for Media Trust and a non-executive for Gamesys PLC.

“Having worked at the heart of the marketing and media sector for over 25 years, I fully understand the appeal of Tag’s compelling proposition as a creative production and strategic sourcing partner,” commented Vidler. “More than ever, brands need trusted, independent partners with capability and scale to help them navigate the complex and ever-changing demand for content across all media channels. This is exactly what Tag is built for and why it is well-positioned for growth. Im excited to continue to drive the success of its business across EMEA.”

Barclay and Wagner arrive at Synup
Synup, an intent marketing cloud, has selected Margie Barclay as senior vice president of client services and Brett Wagner as vice president of enterprise sales.

A 22-year veteran of the technology space, Barclay served as vice president of sales and customer experience at Contently before joining Synup. She also served in senior leadership roles at TapClicks, YP.com and Advance Publications.

“The future of marketing is going to be about giving customers the right information at the right time, based on purchase intent. That’s why I’m so excited to be joining Synup,” Barclay said. “Consumer behaviour is changing rapidly, and the Synup Intent Marketing Cloud is in the perfect position to drive outcomes that truly help our customers’ bottom lines.”

Wagner joins Synup after serving as APAC general manager at Movable Ink, where he helped drive sales. He has also overseen growth at LiveIntent and Bomoda, where he held leadership roles in sales and revenue.

“When scaling a company, I’ve always put the customer at the centre of my efforts. That’s the true key to client retention and growth, and that’s why I’m excited to be joining a like-minded organization like Synup,” Wagner said. “The company’s expansion plans are ambitious, and they’re mapped out in a way that will not only expand the company’s customer base, but also make existing customers happier than ever.”

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Pixability brings in Woods to lead revenue
Chris Woods has joined video advertising software company Pixability as chief revenue officer. He is tasked with helping to build revenue growth and promote the company’s video marketing solutions as it expands them to include connected TV.

Woods served as a sales executive for Google for seven years, rising to become the head of UK sales strategy and global industry relations. Immediately prior to joining Pixability, Woods served as chief growth officer at Allen & Gerritsen. He has also advised CEOs on sales and marketing issues as president of Boston Bridge Partners, LLC. The company, founded by Woods in 2013, donates a portion of its profits to support at-risk children in the inner city.

“Pixability has demonstrated the strength of its video advertising platform with rapid growth, and we are confident that Chris Woods is the right person to further propel us to the next level,” said David George, CEO of Pixability. “Chris knows what works for each sales vertical and his record of success in growing revenue across all of them, along with his crucial experience at Google, will point us in the right direction as we continue to deliver more unified campaigns across social video platforms and CTV.”

Matthiesen joins Quantcast’s legal team
Quantcast, an audience intelligence and measurement firm, has appointed Matthias Matthiesen as senior privacy council. Joining the company’s legal and corporate development team in Dublin, he will be responsible for creating, advising, and enforcing global privacy and data protection policy, as well as guiding clients and partners through compliance with GDPR and future privacy regulations.

Matthiesen joins Quantcast from his role as director of privacy and public policy at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe. While there, he led the industry body’s strategy and approach to privacy and data protection, including playing a key part in developing its Transparency and Consent Framework in response to GDPR.

“I have had the pleasure to work closely with Quantcast during my time at IAB Europe, where Quantcast has substantially contributed to the development and recent review of the Transparency and Consent Framework,” said Matthiesen. “I believe Quantcast’s approach to privacy, and its leadership in enabling transparency and choice online is an important step toward better advertising and publishing industries.  I look forward to being a part of Quantcast’s continued efforts to empower users online, and its mission to sustain a free and open internet.”

SpotX hires Richter as science chief
Dr. Neal Richter has been appointed as SpotX’s first chief scientist. Reporting to the video advertising firm’s chief technology officer, J. Allen Dove, he will head up SpotX’s new Salt Lake City office, where he will invest in the company’s data science and machine learning efforts alongside the greater RTL Group’s work in artificial intelligence.

Richter joins SpotX with 20 years of experience in software development and data science. He holds 10 patents and has published more than 15 academic papers on machine learning and artificial intelligence. He was also recently elected chairperson of the IAB Tech Lab and has contributed to the early development of the OpenRTB protocol, OpenRTB Native, Ads.txt, Ads.cert, Sellers.json, and other industry standards. Prior to his new role at SpotX, Richter served as CTO of Rakuten Marketing where he oversaw technology and data science teams across programmatic and affiliate systems.

“I’m excited to work with such a renowned video advertising and monetization platform to refine its artificial intelligence and machine learning strategy,” said Richter. “Video content consumption and advertising is rapidly evolving, SpotX is already leading the pack in solutions and I’m glad to be part of the revolution.”

Pearson added to Cargo’s executive team
Cargo, Uber’s in-car commerce provider, has hired Kate Pearson as its chief operating officer. She will look to optimise the company’s trajectory for efficiency and effectiveness as it prepares for its next stage of growth.

Pearson’s appointment comes shortly after the firm’s first international expansion in Brazil. She joins from Tesla, where she was head of customer experience and operations, building the company’s North America delivery team and spearheading the launch and optimisation of its home delivery program. Before Tesla, she was vice president of strategy, operations and digital acceleration at Walmart.

“It was really important for me to find a company with not only great growth potential, but also a culture that empowers its employees to perform through respect, and Jeff has done an admirable job at doing just that,” said Pearson. “I’m excited to work with a high calibre team to continue pushing the company towards its full potential and build upon its many successes so far.”

Wavemaker makes a trio of senior appointments
Media agency network Wavemaker has added Robert Jane as chief talent officer, Chetan Murthy as head of journey design, and Nicky Bradley as marketing director – all within its UK division.

Reporting to chief operating officer Anna Hickey, Jane will be focused on embedding the Wavemaker manifesto ‘Let’s Make the Future’, driving the proposition of Care, Create, Grow into the business. He brings over 17 years HR leadership experience across a variety of different sectors, including seven years leading talent teams at Yahoo and, most recently, as a consultant to a variety of digital and technology businesses.

Murthy, who will report to chief strategy officer Verra Budimlija, has been tasked with helping to improve purchase journey thinking across all of Wavemaker’s roster of clients. He joins Wavemaker UK following five years as global head of strategy at Vizeum, working with clients such as Ikea, Honda and AB InBev.  Prior to that he led strategy across APAC for WPP’s full-service agency, Red Fuse, and as group strategy director at MEC UK across government clients, Bupa, Nintendo and Danone.

Bradley will report to chief growth officer Mu Ali and be responsible for developing and leading the marketing strategy for Wavemaker. Boasting more than 20 years’ experience within the media industry, she joins from Outdoor Plus, where she was head of marketing. Prior to that, she was UK marketing director at Maxus.

“In Rob, Chetan and Nicky we have three experienced senior practitioners who will help us continue to drive future growth for the agency, our clients and our people,” said Paul Hutchison, Wavemaker UK CEO. “Rob is a proven talent professional who will lead our commitment to the development of our People and Culture, while Nicky will ensure that our Wavemaker proposition is loudly and clearly communicated to clients and talent alike.  Chetan’s strategic capabilities will help to deliver impact for our clients and build the agency of the future.”

Ricci joins Zipwhip’s executive team
Zipwhip, a business text messaging platform, has appointed Faye Ricci as its senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. She will oversee all of the company’s legal activities, including the legal aspects of strategic transactions, business development and enterprise sales.  

Ricci brings more than two decades of transactional, operational and risk experience at major national law firms, as in-house counsel and in-business roles. She has also served as vice president at both Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Chase Bank.

“I’m thrilled to join such a welcoming and inclusive team here at a critical juncture for the company,” said Ricci. “I’m eager to collaborate with Zipwhip’s impressive leadership to ensure we’re applying best practices around compliance and data-protection regulations, managing our industry reputation and safeguarding our customers’ privacy.”

Telaria adds two to EMEA leadership
Bill Swanson has become vice president of EMEA, while Carole Dubourg has been made country manager for France, at video management platform Telaria.

Swanson will report to chief strategy officer Doug Campbell and be based out of the company’s London office. Most recently, he was chief revenue officer EMEA at PubMatic, where he was responsible for launching and growing the company’s EMEA supply side platform business. He has also held roles at leading publishers including The Independent (ESI Media), The Times, and The Sun (News UK).

“Telaria has built a leading position in connected TV and premium video in the US, and I’m looking forward to leveraging that expertise and unique technology for the growing CTV/OTT market in EMEA,” said Swanson. “With transparent business models and technology that simplify challenges and unlock programmatic video opportunities for publishers and brands, Telaria is perfectly positioned to accelerate growth in the region as more brands and agencies look to access cord cutters and premium video takes off.” 

Dubourg was most recently Country Lead in France at Sizmek, where she managed the sales team and developed and expanded relationships with stakeholders. Previously, she was the managing director of digital at Doctissimo and has also held leadership positions at Ovalie Communication, Yahoo, and Canal+.

“I’m excited to join Telaria at this strategic time as television and digital video undergo significant changes in France,” said Dubourg. “I see enormous potential for Telaria’s proven technology in digital video and connected TV in this region, and I look forward to contributing to the company’s accelerated growth.”

Olaye arrives at The North Alliance
Scandinavian design, communication, and tech network The North Alliance has appointed Michael Olaye as its chief growth officer. Based in Stockholm, his mission is to build a stronger international footprint by leading the network’s global growth initiatives.

Olaye brings more than 20 years of experience to The North Alliance. He has founded, led and worked at digital agencies including U-dox, Dare, Oliver, and Havas, where he has helped clients such as Adidas, BMW, Nike and Chivas through business transformations.

“When I first met  The North Alliance team, I was impressed with how this mainly Scandinavian player has managed to not only gather some of the world’s best advertising, design and digital agencies under one roof, but also how they consistently put amazing, award-winning work out there,” said Olaye.

“This, coupled with the fact that there’s something special going on in Stockholm – the city where Spotify, Mojang, iZettle, Skype, King and many others were founded and took off – presents an exciting new challenge. I’m very much looking forward to joining The North Alliance team and being part of the journey going forward.”

Clicky Media makes raft of appointments
Chester-based digital marketing agency Clicky has made a series of hires across its departments. It has brought in Robin Cooke as senior account manager, Sarah Barnard as digital account manager, Lowri Jones as SEO & content executive, Paulomi Bhadra as pro-support developer, and Shannon May as PPC executive.

“We’ve had a raft of new clients come on board and the need to expand the team,” said Oli Yeates, CEO and founder of Clicky. “Our business is a fast-paced one, and as such our recent hires are deliberately experienced and established digital marketers who can hit the ground running. We’re delighted that we are in a position as an agency to be able to attract some of the North West’s most exciting talents.”

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An open letter signed by Rubicon Project, OpenX, Pubmatic, Sovrn, SpotX, and Telaria speaks of a commitment “to unleashing the full potential of programmatic advertising” by providing transparent marketplace principles for advertisers and publishers.

For more efficient buying, the six companies are promising total quality assurance, standardised formats, and the elimination of infrastructure waste. Meanwhile, the exchanges are committed to fee transparency, a fully auditable supply chain, and transparent change notification. And then there’s the clear auction rules, no undisclosed business arrangements, and no biased auction mechanics.

Based on these principles, the firms will work closely with the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) to create a new compliance and accountability certification.

Though the pact seems like step in the right direction, there are concerns in the industry that a ‘fully auditable supply chain’ may be taken advantage of by bad actors – with “supply source, requests, winning bids, impressions, and clicks through every step in the supply chain” all auditable.

“How is that different than what they do today,” Mike Zanies, president and CEO of TAG, told Ad Age. “This is what criminals do. They seek vulnerabilities and they scale when they find out.”

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