Leo Burnett names Doskow CMO
Emily Doskow has been announced as Chief Marketing Officer at Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett. Reporting to North America CEO Andrew Swinand, she will drive Leo Burnetts business growth by drawing on the agencys creative firepower, now backed by Epsilons data assets, and allowing the agency to understand people at the individual level.

Doskow rejoins Leo Burnett, where she won Ad Age’s 2011 ‘Marketer of the Year’ and spent several years leading the Coca-Cola account team. Between her stints at Leo Burnett, Doskow spent three years at the helm of business development, architecting the teams and processes that led to significant global-scale wins, and helping build and market new capabilities to drive organic growth for Energy BBDO and helped build the business development practice for VSA Partners.

“Im incredibly proud to return to Leo Burnett, where my passion for driving agency growth really began,” said Doskow. “More than anyone, Burnetters know what it takes to be both timely and timeless—helping brands move at the speed of culture while also ensuring they stand the test of time. I couldnt be more excited about what this means for the future of our work with client partners.”

Pair of key hires made at R/GA
R/GA, IPG’s innovation consultancy, has brought in Ashish Prashar as Global Chief Marketing Officer and Rowena Vithlani as Executive Client Services Director at R/GA London.

Prashar, who begins the role on 2 March, will oversee the global marketing function for R/GA with responsibility for market strategy, brand, and corporate communications. He joins from Publicis Sapient with over 15 years of experience.

Prashar is also known for justice reform activism, having created programmes for incarcerated peoples following his own incarceration and campaigned for bail reform, the ending of solitary confinement, and the restoration of voting rights. He recently worked with the Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee for Joe Biden’s 2020 Presidential Election and previously served as a campaign Press Secretary for Boris Johnson in his Mayor of London days.

“I feel honoured to contribute my experience to an already dynamic legacy and I have a special place in my heart for those who use their creativity, technology, and their platform to drive social change,” said Prashar. “R/GA is that kind of modern company. Im looking forward to helping Sean and R/GA grow, build and execute the next generation of digital businesses using mission-driven innovation and technology to design better experiences for the human future while helping brands become better citizens of the world.”

Vithlani will be responsible for the leadership of R/GA Londons senior client relationships, growing the agency’s client services team and leading strategic partnerships to help clients navigate industry disruption.

Vithlani joins R/GA from AnalogFolk, where she held the role of Managing Partner. Here, she led the implementation of AnalogFolk’s marketing innovation capability and output, building and leading multi-disciplinary teams to create and deliver work for clients including The Coca-Cola Company, BT Group, and Unilever. Before that, she held roles at Sapient Razorfish, AKQA, and BBH London.

“After meeting Becs [Rebecca Bezzina], and the new leadership team she’s building, I was inspired by the direction the agency is moving. To be part of the journey of shaping the next chapter of success here is something that excites me.” said Vithlani. “Ive always been an advocate of delivering best in class service, not servility, and my vision for this role is to foster an innovative mindset and culture where the output is that the work can be the best it can be – with a sharp focus on relationships, commerciality and creative affinity.”

Havas appoints Bland to newly created role
Paul Bland has been hired by Havas Media Group as Head of Biddable Media. He will lead the 100-plus digital specialists in Havas Media Group’s UK and international teams, who will now come together under a new biddable team structure. He will set the strategic vision for all biddable channels, and work to deliver greater cross-channel agility to further drive client business performance, all fuelled by data and insights.

Bland joins from iProspect, where he spent nearly six years and was most recently Head of Performance Strategy within the agency’s leadership team, responsible for driving growth and innovation across digital and performance products and solutions, contributing to winning new business, and developing new partnerships with brands. He previously held positions at MediaCom and Equimedia.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be leading Havas Media Group’s biddable operation and can’t wait to get started on a mission to make digital and biddable the most meaningful media for brands,” said Bland. “This move comes at a genuine pivot point for media, with shifting consumer behaviours and expectations driven by tectonic change, leading to far more direct connection between people and brands.

“It’s an incredibly exciting time to be leading the new biddable team, as we partner closely with clients, innovating to drive tangible business results.”

Laycock elevated to CEO at Incubeta
Incubeta, an independent digital marketing services group, has promoted Sally Laycock to UK Chief Executive Officer. She will be tasked with continuing to drive Incubeta’s growth trajectory through the innovation of services and products and will also join the global Incubeta steering committee.

Laycock joined Incubeta in 2008 as Financial Controller and became Chief Financial Officer UK and US in 2017 overseeing all financial and business operations.

“Luke [Judge] has been instrumental to the success of Incubeta in the UK and the US. Not only has he been an outstanding leader and CEO, he is also an incredible colleague, friend and a truly amazing and humble person. Having worked side by side with Luke for many years, I have certainly learnt from the best and I am honoured the baton has been passed on to me,” commented Laycock.

“I want to ensure we carry forward the legacy of a strong people culture which has been built up over the years with a particular focus on creating an environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves at work. This is something I am absolutely passionate about. Over the past 13 years I have watched employees at Incubeta thrive and progress. I’m so proud of what we have all achieved together and I am excited to be at the helm to ensure this continues.”

Vodafone adds Swantee to board
Olaf Swantee will be appointed as a Non-executive Director following Vodafone Group’s annual general meeting on 27 July 2021, subject to shareholder approval. He will also become a member of Vodafone’s Audit & Risk Committee.

Swantee was CEO of Sunrise Communications between 2016 and 2020, transforming the company’s brand, network, and services to establish it as true challenger to Swisscom. Prior to that, he was CEO of EE, where he successfully merged Orange UK and T-Mobile under BT Group. He has also held senior positions at France Telecom (now Orange Group), Hewlett-Packard, Compaq Computer, and Digital Equipment.

“It is an honour to be invited to the Board of Vodafone, Europe and Africa’s leading telecommunications company,” Swantee commented. “I am greatly looking forward to working with Jean-Francois [van Boxmeer] and the board to support Nick [Read] and the executive team successfully drive forward the strategy.”

Rizwani hired to direct strategy at Tribal Health
Tribal Health, a division of DDB Worldwide’s Tribal Worldwide, has recruited Niaz Rizwani as its new Strategy Director. He will support Tribal Health’s clients across multiple activities notably – connecting a client’s commercial goals with interactive customer experiences, shaping data strategies and omnichannel planning, knowledge sharing, and delivering innovative approaches.

Rizwani joins from Publicis Health, where he was a Senior Strategist. Before that, he worked in strategy and innovation projects at DigitasLBi and Blue Latitude.

“This is a fascinating time to be involved in healthcare and I’m delighted to join Tribal Health as Strategy Director,” said Rizwani. “There is so much change in the world, and the way healthcare companies are digitally interacting with their customers is fundamentally and rapidly evolving. I’m looking forward to working with our clients to help them deliver meaningful change to their customers and business.”

4A’s welcomes new board members
Vita M. Harris, Kate MacNevin, and Megan Pagliuca have taken seats on the Board of Directors as Directors at Large at the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s).

Harris, Chief Strategy Officer at FCB Global, is dedicated to helping drive agency and client success, as well as cultivating new business opportunities.

MacNevin leads MRM as Global Chairwoman & CEO, where she has sought to reinvent how agencies serve their clients, employees, and communities.

Pagliuca, Chief Activation Officer for Omnicom Media Group North America, leverages the Omnicom network’s vast data resources to advance more customer-centric and data-driven investment strategies.

“The challenges of the last year have reaffirmed the pivotal role the 4As plays in guiding our member agencies and helping them thrive during these uncertain times,” said Marla Kaplowitz, President & CEO of the 4A’s. “As we continue to support the needs and ambitions of our members in 2021, I am thrilled to welcome such a wonderful group of leaders to our Board of Directors who will partner alongside our leadership team to further identify opportunities to support members and advance the industry.”

Senior ad industry players signed by Admix
In-game ad company Admix has appointed Nigel Morris to its Board and enlisted Rob Norman as a Senior Advisor.

Morris, who is already an Admix advisor and investor, will work closely with the leadership team. He was a central figure at Dentsu Aegis Network for over 25 years, founding Isobar and transforming the US Group. He is currently Chair of The Upside, on the Board at Gyana, and a Non-executive Director at Guardian Media Group.

“The video gaming domain will be the next big media channel following social media’s emergence some 15 years ago. In-Play is intrinsically engaging to audiences and brand safe for marketers at scale, and will become a key driver of sustainable growth strategies for brands,” said Morris. “The Admix team is very conscious of the whole ecosystem for consumers, brands and publishers, and we have developed a pioneering and agile platform that provides a great experience and performance for all.”

Norman will focus on the Americas, acting as an advisor to Admix’s US team. He was a long time CDO of WPP’s GroupM and additionally served as its North American CEO. He is also a Director at Simpli.fi, Director at Piano, and Non-executive Director at BBC Global News.

“I am delighted to join Admix as an advisor. Gaming on personal devices has become a huge part of media consumption,” Norman commented. “In-Play advertising creates revenue for publishers and reach and engagement for advertisers. Admix unlocks the economic opportunity with programmatic speed and precision, and does so without compromising user experience.”

Remerge selects Eichmann as GM
Patrick Eichmann has been appointed General Manager of the Americas at mobile app retargeting company Remerge. Focusing on the US, Canada, and South America, he will head up strategy in region to build upon and drive the company’s growth in those markets.

Eichmann has been promoted from Vice President of Sales. Before Remerge, he was Director of Sales and New Business at Liftoff.

“App marketing is at a critical crossroads. At a time when Apple is ushering in changes to IDFA to empower user privacy, we are also seeing a surge in consumer demand for mobile gaming, shopping, food delivery and more. Remerge has been at the forefront of respecting privacy changes and building new products to allow apps to thrive in this new environment. I’m proud to be helping build Remerge into the leading mobile DSP in the Americas,” said Eichmann.

Gore promoted to CDO at Zeta
Zeta Global, a marketing tech company, has elevated Neej Gore to the position of Chief Data Officer. He will lead the Companys global data and analytics strategy, creating growth for brands by transforming data into actionable business insights, and continue the development of Zetas large identity graph, while driving further innovation within Zetas Opportunity Explorer.

Gore was previously Chief Business Officer at Boomtrain, which was acquired by Zeta four years ago. More recently, he was President of the Data Cloud division at Zeta.

“I am thrilled to continue advancing Zetas Data Cloud, which we have proudly grown to be one of the largest proprietary consumer data assets in the world,” said Gore. “Data literacy and insights have become essential for every enterprise business to connect with consumers at an individual level, and to do that successfully, they must have strong identity and intent based data solutions. I look forward to furthering our mission at Zeta to help marketers acquire, grow and retain customers and combat their toughest challenges.”

Sightly turns to Papp as CTO
Stefan Papp has been hired by Sightly, a media services and tech company, as its Chief Technology Officer. He will growth of the company’s technology and its Brand Mentality solution.

Papp joins Sightly after serving as the Senior Vice president for Deloitte Digital. Previously, he was the CTO at Blab. He also held leadership positions at technology companies including AdReady, Intelligent Effects, and Solutions IQ.

“In todays turbulent world where information and events happen at an unprecedented pace, Sightlys technology is fundamentally transforming the way that marketers react and plan,” said Papp. “Our Brand Mentality methodology taps into the fire-hose of public discourse, leveraging advanced technologies, to provide brands with the unique and extremely necessary capability to act on real-time insights at speed, while trends still resonate.”

Four countries get new leadership at Lycamobile
Mobile virtual network operator Lycamobile has appointed new country managers in Australia, France, Russia, and Romania.

Brendan Feeney takes up leadership in Australia. Boasting over 20 years’ experience in the telecom sector, he previously created brand awareness and converted momentum into customer growth at Optus.

Mikis de Bonneval takes up the France gig. In his more recent position at Lebara France, he oversaw a significant organisational reshuffle leading the firm back into profitability.

Mikhail Alilekov is now Russia Country Manager at Lycamobile after over 15 years working for telecoms firm including VimpelCom and MTT.

Finally, Mihai Nica will lead the Romania business. Over the past 10 years, he has worked at telecom companies including Vodafone and Telekom Romania.

“We’re very pleased to welcome such an experienced group of country managers to the Lycamobile family,” said Navanit Narayan, Group Chief Operating Officer at Lycamobile. “Each of them brings the depth of experience needed to boost our growth at a national level. I look forward to the exceptional work these four will bring to their new roles and look forward to realising our shared priorities.”

Bounteous hires Wang to lead strategy
Oscar Wang has joined digital experience consultancy Bounteous as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Insights. She will lead a multi-faceted team to create insights-centric strategies that drive transformative digital experiences.

Wang joins Bounteous with 15 years of experience at Prophet. She was a founding member and a key driving force of Prophet’s global strategic consumer insight & analytics practice, leading client engagements, hiring and developing talent, cultivating culture, and creating and evolving intellectual property critical to Prophets overall human insights-driven integrated branding, marketing, and innovation offerings.

“We live in a time where the old business books are being re-written in front of our eyes. Companies big and small are moving with a heightened sense of urgency to adapt,” said Wang. “In this context, I believe there is no disruptive growth without disruptive insights. It will be a true honour and great responsibility to lead and serve Bounteous’ clients in this transitioning world.

“It requires a fundamentally collaborative mindset, an agile but disciplined approach, and a pragmatic, strategic, and human leadership style. Within the Bounteous leadership team, I have found a group of comrades working toward this cause. I am proud to join a like-minded organization with a tremendous foundation. The co-innovation opportunity is, in a word, bounteous.”

Bell and Nicholls join Momentum exec team
Growth consultancy Momentum has appointed Robert Bell as Group Chief Financial Officer and Will Nicholls as UK Managing Director.

Bell, whose appointment follows his sale of private equity-backed company Cawood Scientific, has a track record of leading organisations through periods of high growth and international expansion and will guide the group’s M&A strategy – with a particular focus on North America.

“I am excited to be joining the team at Momentum during such a significant time in the company’s development and growth and look forward to leveraging my experience as we drive the business forward,” said Bell.

Nicholls becomes MD after a year with the company – having previously held positions as MD at Alpha Century and Managing Partner at both BBH and Saatchi & Saatchi – and will drive business strategy and operations, with a focus on developing Momentum’s consulting capabilities and client base in EMEA.

“It’s an honour to take on the role of MD and I’m excited to lead the continued success of the business here in the European market,” said Nicholls. “During my time in the business I’ve seen huge demand from clients to solve their biggest challenge – how to bring teams together to drive growth.

“Our clients are looking for partners with real depth of expertise to drive business outcomes and flawless delivery. We have phenomenal track record in delivering both and enter 2021 in a strong position.”

Momentum has also bolstered its regional management teams with the appointments of James Mollard as Business Development Director and Jacqueline Gummer as Consulting Director.

Alight hires Carreau to head up direct sales
Jacqui Carreau has been appointed Head of Direct Sales at out-of-home media owner Alight Media. Reporting to Chief Revenue Officer Ged Glover, she will lead Alight’s growing direct sales team positioned across the UK.

Carreau previously spent nearly eight years at Clear Channel, holding roles such as Head of South and Area Sales Manager for the South West. Prior to that, she spent almost 12 years at Newsquest, focused on Somerset and Devon.

“Alight Media has really impressed me, both in terms of growth and ambition, but also in the way the team runs the business,” said Carreau. “I’m over the moon to join a company with a clear mission to make out-of-home work harder for advertisers of all shapes and sizes, with a real focus on supporting SMEs build back better. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

The post Movers and Shakers: Leo Burnett, R/GA, Havas, Incubeta, Vodafone, and more appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

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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