Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO, replaced by Jassy
Amazon has announced that its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Bezos, will step down after 27 years. He will become Executive Chairman and be replaced as CEO by Andy Jassy in the third quarter of this year.

“Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else,” said Bezos in a letter to Amazon employees. “As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.”

Jassy has been at Amazon since 1997 and founded Amazon Web Services (AWS), with a team of 57 people, in 2003. In 2016, he was promoted from Senior Vice President to CEO of AWS.

Reprise appoints Hawking as UK CEO
Chloe Hawking has been hired as UK & Ireland Chief Executive Officer for IPG Mediabrands’ performance media marketing agency, Reprise. She will join the agency in the coming months and report to Mediabrands UK & Ireland CEO Richard Morris, while also joining Reprise’s EMEA leadership team under EMEA President Jimmy Schougaard.

Hawking will arrive from PHD Global, where she held the role of Chief Digital Officer. In the past three years, she has been pivotal to PHD’s digital acceleration, working with clients including Volkswagen, Audi, HSBC, Bayer, Diageo, Porsche, and Hewlett Packard. Before PHD, she held a number of digital leadership roles across a number of media and digital agencies in the UK and Australia.

“I am thrilled to be joining Reprise and the wider Mediabrands group at such an exciting time. Reprise is perfectly positioned to help their clients grow through this era of digital disruption and eCommerce acceleration,” said Hawking. “Their breadth of capabilities across performance content, media and experience management are the keystone of a new age performance agency and one of the many reasons I am excited to join. I am looking forward to applying my experience in building innovative digital services, unified teams and growth solutions for clients in this new role. I can’t wait to work with the talented team across the UK and their impressive clients.”

Boone takes charge of HR at eBay
eBay has recruited Cornelius Boone as its Senior Vice President, Chief People Officer. He will be responsible for all aspects of human resources across the eCommerce company, driving business performance, talent development and acquisition, learning and development, compensation, benefits, HR shared services, and people tools and technologies.

Boone most recently oversaw the people functions for American Airlines Group, where he was responsible for expanding and improving the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Before American Airlines, he was Vice President of Field Hourly Talent Management at Walmart.

“I am thrilled to join the eBay team,” said Boone. “eBay has one of the strongest, purpose-driven, cultures I’ve encountered and their desire and drive to create economic opportunity for all is truly an inspiration.”

Incubeta hires two to boost ad tech
Zoe Hall and Lauren Stearley have joined Incubeta, a digital marketing services group, as Managing Director of Adtech Solutions and Director of Programmatic respectively. Hall will drive technological innovation and advancement across the agency’s ad tech services, while Stearley will lead the expansion of Incubeta’s programmatic media offering including display, video, and connected TV.

Before joining Incubeta, Hall was instrumental in launching early-stage investment platform Antler, where she worked as Director of Marketing. Prior to this, she was Senior Expertise & Innovation Manager at Fifty-Five, where she expanded and led the analytics departments.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Incubeta and to have the opportunity to apply my expertise to boost the product development at Incubeta,” commented Hall. “The company has continued to grow and innovate during one of the most challenging times for businesses across the globe. I look forward to working with the entire team and being a part of an organization which is a pioneer in the integrated marketing space.”

Stearley arrives at Incubeta from Starcom, where she was Acquisition Marketing Lead. Here, she led on acquisition, while being responsible for developing and implementing strategy across search, social, and programmatic. Before Starcom, she held roles at MediaMath and Index Exchange.

“I’m excited to join a company which is growing so rapidly and providing such outstanding service to its clients,” Stearley added. “With my holistic understanding of the sell-side and buy-side, coupled with my knowledge of acquisition marketing, I’m looking forward to helping Incubeta take its programmatic offering to the next level.”

Sturgeon takes lead on brand and marketing ROI at Kantar
Insights and consulting firm Kantar has chosen Paul Sturgeon as its ROI Analytics Consulting Lead. Leading brand and marketing return on investment, he will support global and UK-based projects.

Sturgeon has 20 years’ experience in marketing analysis and consultancy and, until recently, led Mindshare UK’s data science team. Prior to that, he held senior roles at MediaCom and PwC. Sturgeon is also a member of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Value of Media Committee.

“Paul is a fantastic addition to our team as we see increasing appetite among our clients for intelligent and focused guidance around ROI,” said Amy Cashman, CEO of the UK & Ireland Insights Division at Kantar. “Marketing budgets have been under pressure for some time, with COVID-19 accelerating that trend.  Now more than ever they need to make their investment go further, and be able to demonstrate to boards how vitally important their activity is for driving sustained brand growth.  Success will require a level of insight which can help them to pinpoint where they need to focus and build effective, creative campaigns that generate sales now, and create long-lasting consumer demand.”

Silverbean appoints Beeskow Blay to lead US expansion
Sarah Beeskow Blay has been named Vice President North America at Silverbean, an affiliate and partner marketing agency, as part of its expansion into the US. She will focus on building the agency’s business in the well-established US and Canadian market, as well as helping to hire the right talent and delivering an outstanding customer experience.

Beeskow Blay has extensive experience in the affiliate marketing sector having held previous leadership roles at Awin Global and ShareASale.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the stellar team at Silverbean. As global e-commerce continues to experience exponential growth, we’re seeing increased demand from brands in North American with a desire to expand their reach to new regions. I’m excited to be a part of the solution in providing these brands with an exceptional service option to further grow their marketing efforts,” said Beeskow Blay.

“Silverbean is in a class of its own with established footing and unparalleled reach across Europe and APAC to help brands achieve their partnership marketing goals.”

In addition to Beeskow Blay’s appointment, Louise James has been promoted from Head of Affiliate Marketing to Global Associate Director. She will work closely with Beeskow Blay and Silverbean Associate Director for Australia, Annabel Grey, to ensure clients have an integrated approach for their global strategy and implementation.

Clayton takes up solutions officer gig at Mindshare
WPP’s Mindshare USA has brought in Sean Clayton as Executive Director, Solutions Officer. He will be responsible for architecting new client solutions, integrating the best data, technology, and analytics products and capabilities across Mindshare, GroupM, and the wider WPP organisation.

Clayton brings more than 15 years of experience across data science, media, and consulting to this role. Most recently, he was the Co-founder of Myosin. Here, he led holistic data and targeting initiatives for a range of Fortune 500 brands across fintech, fitness, healthcare, retail, and eCommerce, as well as major distributors in the entertainment industry. Prior to that, he was Chief Strategy Officer and President of the Entertainment Division at SITO Mobile.

“Marketers cant ignore the rapid changes that our industry is going through, especially in the data and analytics space. There is just too much at stake,” said Clayton. “Im excited to join Mindshare because theyve shown that they will run towards the disruption, and push their clients and the industry to think ahead and work proactively.”

Born Social hires duo on back of management buyout
Hannah Wolff and Harry Fishwick have joined social media agency Born Social as Head of Social Media Management and Head of Creative respectively.

Wolff joins from Three UK, where she was lead creative in the social and PR team, while Fishwick arrives from his role as Video Marketing Manager at TUI. They join a team that includes Essi Nurminen and Kate Higham, who have been promoted to Head of Strategy and Head of Operations respectively, and Head of New Business and Marketing Ed Knights.

A management buyout has left Born Social’s six-strong leadership team with a 75 per cent share of the business. The company’s founders, Rob O’Donovan and Ben Gateley, will retain a 25 per cent stake but will no longer sit on the board.

“Since day one we’ve been a people-focused business and the creation of our Heads of team and internal leadership development programme allows us to continue along that path in a time where wellbeing and work satisfaction are being challenged by the ongoing pandemic” said Ben Tyson, CEO and Partner at Born Social “And this investment in building the next generation of leaders at Born Social is testament to the strength of our clients and teams. We now have an exceptional team in place to help drive the next phase of the business.”

Schmaier named President at Salesforce
Salesforce has selected David Schmaier as its President and Chief Product Officer. He will lead Salesforce’s global product team, strategy, and vision having joined the company through its acquisition of Vlocity.

Schmaier has over three decades of experience building cloud, CRM, and industry-specific vertical software companies as an executive, entrepreneur, board member, and investor.

“Salesforce is an incredible company,” said Schmaier. “I’ve been fortunate enough to experience this first-hand as a customer, a partner, and now a member of the team. I’ve been an admirer of Salesforce since the early days, and the things I admired then are still true now: we have the best products, we define the cloud and other technology shifts like mobile and AI, and we have a trailblazing leadership team, led by Marc [Benioff], whom I’ve known since early in my career.”

Colt turns to Voltolini on strategy
Mirko Voltolini has been named Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at telecoms firm Colt Technology Services. In the newly created role, he will seek to underpin the company’s product capabilities with innovation and the latest emerging technologies in order to ensure Colt remains an industry leader.

Voltolini was previously Head of Network On Demand at Colt – a role where he oversaw the development of the company’s on-demand platform and drove the development and delivery of its online digital customer experience offering. Voltolini also sits on the MEF board.

“I feel very privileged to be taking on this new role,” said Voltolini. “Seeing both Colt and the industry evolve and innovate has been something I have always been passionate about, and I feel this next period will be particularly exciting for our sector. The way Keri [Gilder] has structured our organisation primes us to be ready to assist enterprises as they prepare for their next wave of growth, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”  

Mistry joins Lab as CFO
Lab Group, a collection of digital marketing, technology, and creative services agencies, has appointed Amar Mistry as Group Chief Financial Officer. Reporting to CEO Jonny Tooze, he will be responsible for ensuring the business has good financial reporting and governance, assessing the financing needs of the business and looking at investment to support the growth plans and developing a new phase of the group’s agency acquisition strategy.

Mistry arrives from Myriad Global, where he supported the business globally with its continued growth, helped to secure new funding and assisted with the expansion of the executive team throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He has previously held positions at Vida Care, E2V, Brash Brands, and Konica Minolta.

“It’s safe to say that I am thrilled to be joining the business at such an exciting time,” said Mistry. “During a period where it would be easy to narrow focus and just survive it is inspiring to see a business with such intention and ambition. I have been really impressed with how the team have maintained humour and goodwill during challenging times, it really is a testament to the strength of the team. I very much look forward to bringing my expertise in financial management, financing and inorganic growth to the team.”

Glassbox names Zaheer CMO
Asim Zaheer has been hired as Chief Marketing Officer at Glassbox, a digital experience analytics provider. He will be responsible for expanding Glassbox’s commercial reach, penetrating new market verticals with the aim of doubling digital market share while also implementing a new brand and marketing strategy for the company.

Zaheer joins the company from Hitachi, where he served as CMO, helping to lead a multibillion-dollar portfolio of data infrastructure, analytics, cloud, and IoT solutions for Hitachi Vantara and Hitachi Data Systems. Before that, he held marketing leadership positions at companies including Archivas and Storability.

“I am thrilled to be joining a high-growth company that sits at the forefront of consumer experience innovations,” said Zaheer. “Glassbox is packed with talented individuals who are fundamentally changing how companies approach and interact with their customers, paving the way for a truly seamless customer experience. I cannot wait to contribute towards their mission and cement Glassbox’s position as leaders in a constantly evolving market.”

Ducker recruited to bolster Journey Further’s creative
Journey Further, a performance marketing agency, has hired Ben Ducker as its Executive Creative Director. He will provide a deep understanding of the traditional creative agency approach to brand advertising and combine it with existing data capabilities to create a performance-led and highly measurable approach to brand marketing.

Ducker has previously worked for VCCP and Fold7, as well as running his own production company, where he wrote and shot campaigns for brands including Carlsberg, O2, Diageo, Microsoft, EasyJet, and more.

“The industry and world is changing quickly, so I was looking to join a fast moving company that can keep up with the pace. The rebellious yet transparent mindset of Matt [Kwiecinski] and Robin [Skidmore] is what attracted me to joining the team, and I can see no better environment in which to create the future of advertising, where data meets creative for true engagement,” said Ducker.

“It’s refreshing to be calling out the ways of the past and exciting to develop a creative agency model that’s able to deliver on imagination and insight equally.”

Octopus recruits trio of advisors
Jack Randall, Dan Thomas, and Dave Kupiec have all been enlisted as Senior Advisors at Octopus Interactive, which provides a network of interactive screens inside Uber and lyft vehicles. The new recruits will be responsible for developing marketing partnerships with top brands to run on Octopus Interactive’s network of over 15,000 screens in rideshare vehicles generating over 60m monthly impressions of saleable inventory.

Randall spent 20 years at Univision, most recently as EVP of Business Development, before acting as Chief Commercial Officer at CivicScience.

Thomas joins Octopus from Active Media, where he was SVP of Strategic Development after senior leadership stints at NCM, Univision, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Kupiec is engaging with Octopus as part of his new consultancy venture, KPI Media Partners, after more than 30 years in media sales and publishing, featuring leadership roles at NCM, Wenner Media, and Conde Nast.

“As the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, people are going out again and rideshare is seeing a strong rebound,” said Cherian Thomas, CEO of Octopus Interactive. “There is light at the end of this tunnel with the prospect of widespread vaccination, and we brought these three industry leaders on board because they have the established expertise and track record to turbocharge our business development in the coming months.”

Tober shifts role at Searchmetrics
Digital marketing analytics provider Searchmetrics has announced that its Founder, Marcus Tober, has taken up a new position as Founder and Chief Evangelist at the company.

Tober, who founded Searchmetrics in 2005, will lead Searchmetrics’ external push to explain the value that SEO can deliver and how it needs to develop in the future. Internally, he will play a cross-departmental strategic role advocating for the needs of SEO.

“When I founded Searchmetrics in 2005, things looked very different but, at the same time, I still feel that SEO has quite a long way to go,” said Tober. “Comparing the effort that businesses put into other digital marketing channels with what they commit to SEO, there’s still a large disparity. For example, companies spend multi-millions on paid search but barely consider SEO. I’ve long been an advocate for SEO, of course, but I see now an opportunity to really increase its’ importance and for Searchmetrics to lead the charge to grow the discipline.”

Alfonica opts for Fawcett to direct on sales
Scott Fawcett has been appointed Sales Director at Rose Communications Group’s B2B telecoms arm, Alfonica. He will work closely with Alfonica’s Mobile, Voice and Data teams and be responsible for the strategic leadership of the sales function within the business, while contributing to overall growth strategy.

Fawcett has 20 years of experience in the B2B telecoms market. He started his career at Genesis Communications and has since held a variety of sales leadership roles at FLR Spectron, Annodata, and IP Solutions.

“I am really excited to be joining the leadership team at Alfonica, opportunities like this don’t come along that often. Alfonica, part of the Rose Communications Group, has already proven itself as one of the most innovative and respected companies in the telecoms sector,” commented Fawcett. “I am looking forward to helping develop the business and its B2B propositions that will benefit our customers in these difficult economic times. My aim is to realise the potential of this fast-growing company, with its incredible reputation for customer service and technical capability, to help us engage new audiences and demonstrate the critical role of effective business communications and collaboration tools to help our clients deliver a greater overall end customer experience.”

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Should the deal receive the necessary regulatory and stockholder approval, Slack will be ‘deeply integrated’ into every Salesforce Cloud and become the new interface for Salesforce Customer 360. As an operating unit of Salesforce, Slack will continue to be led by CEO Stewart Butterfield.

Slack shareholders will receive $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce common stock for each Slack share.

“Stewart and his team have built one of the most beloved platforms in enterprise software history, with an incredible ecosystem around it,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce. “This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world. I’m thrilled to welcome Slack to the Salesforce Ohana once the transaction closes.”

“Salesforce started the cloud revolution, and two decades later, we are still tapping into all the possibilities it offers to transform the way we work. The opportunity we see together is massive,” said Butterfield. “As software plays a more and more critical role in the performance of every organisation, we share a vision of reduced complexity, increased power and flexibility, and ultimately a greater degree of alignment and organizational agility. Personally, I believe this is the most strategic combination in the history of software, and I can’t wait to get going.”

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The series D round, which put AppsFlyer at a valuation of $1.6bn, was led by General Atlantic earlier this year and included participation from existing investors Qumra Capital, Goldman Sachs Growth, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, Pitango Venture Capital, and Magma Venture Partners. Now, Salesforce Ventures – the software company’s strategic venture arm – can be added to that list.

“We’re incredibly excited to deepen our integration with Salesforce and Salesforce Ventures, as we take another step towards ensuring that marketers, app developers, and the entire ecosystem is armed with the best marketing tech stack for the challenges of tomorrow.” said Oren Kaniel, CEO and Co-founder of AppsFlyer. “The secret sauce for our success over the last nine years has been prioritising our customers and their end-users, putting them at the centre of every decision we make.”

AppsFlyer has secured more than $300m in funding since 2011, now exceeds $200m in annual recurring revenue, and recently reached 1,000 employees globally. It works with thousands of brands and partners including Macy’s, Minecraft, Nike, NBCUniversal, Tencent, US Bank, Wayfair, StitchFix, Facebook, Google, Apple Search Ads, Twitter, TikTok Ads, Pinterest, Snap, Salesforce, Adobe, and Oracle.

The post AppsFlyer adds Salesforce to list of investors in $210m funding round appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Dentsu places Stagg in charge of CX and Merkle UK
Anne Stagg has been named as Chief Executive Officer of Customer Experience Management (CXM) for Dentsu UK & Ireland and UK Chief Executive Officer of Merkle. She will lead a business of 940 people at Merkle while also overseeing delivery across Dentsu’s CXM business which incorporates data and analytics, CRM, commerce, media, digital experience services, and B2B.

Stagg was previously Head of Client Services at Merkle, leading the creation of a fully integrated client services team across the company’s media, analytics, customer experience and technology service lines. She is also a former Managing Director of Indicia and Chief Client Officer at KMMS.

“This is a unique opportunity, to take on the role as Merkle’s first UK CEO in a time when we are reimagining the customer experience in the digital landscape,” said Stagg. “We are continuously improving our capabilities and the potential for our CXM line of businesses is tremendous when it comes to driving and supporting our clients’ digital transformations.”

Bondy rises to CEO at Vungle
Mobile ad platform Vungle has promoted Jeremy Bondy to Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Rick Tallman, who moves into the role of Strategic Advisor.

Bondy, who joined Vungle in 2014, has held a number of senior sales and operational roles at the company, most recently as Chief Operating Officer. He has been responsible for setting up and scaling Vungle’s commercial organization, establishing teams in Berlin, London, Beijing, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, and Los Angeles.

“I am honoured to assume the role of CEO. Vungle has many exciting future growth opportunities, and I look forward to guiding our world-class team in creating the industry’s leading suite of tools to help mobile app developers maximise the value of their businesses,” said Bondy. “On behalf of the entire Vungle organisation, I want to express my gratitude to Rick for his invaluable contributions to the company’s historical success and, personally, for his mentorship in preparing me for this role. I look forward to his continued partnership with the company and wish him all the best.”

Salesforce names Bahrololoumi as UK CEO
Zahra Bahrololoumi has been chosen as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer at Salesforce UK and Ireland. She will join the company in March 2021 to lead operations in both key markets.

Bahrololoumi will join Salesforce from Accenture, where she leads the Accenture Technology practice for the UK and Ireland with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and platforms underpinning new applications. She also sits on the board of TechUK and is a Vice Chair of the Technology Leadership Group for the Prince’s Trust.

“I am excited to join a company with such an incredible track record of driving positive change and success for its customers,” said Bahrololoumi. “Salesforce provides outstanding technology to help businesses digitally transform and there is a unique opportunity for Salesforce to accelerate its growth in the UK and Ireland. Salesforce is also deeply committed to the role that businesses can play in society; I can’t wait to get started and support its game-changing work.”

Edwards to lead EMEA digital experience at Adobe
Adobe has appointed Lee Edwards as its Vice President for Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa. He will lead Adobe’s Digital Experience business across the region.

Edwards previously led Adobe’s Digital Strategy and Solutions business in EMEA, a position he had held since joining the company in January 2020 after 14 years at SAP. He will also take on the role of Managing Director for Adobe UK, helping to drive the company’s CSR and diversity and inclusion programmes.

“Earlier this year, Adobe was named the Best Workplace in Technology among large UK companies, but this is only the beginning. Now more than ever, it is crucial that our employees feel supported in their work, their career ambitions and their personal lives,” said Edwards.

“It’s not just good leadership, it’s also good business. Adobe’s global success this past quarter, including record overall revenue of $3.23bn and seven per cent growth year-on-year in our Digital Experience business, would not have been possible without the incredible engagement from our teams. I look forward to building on that momentum in Northern Europe and helping Adobe’s customers in every industry adapt to a new era in experience.” 

Group Nine selects Camara as DE&I head
Fanta Camara has been elevated to the role of Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at mobile video publisher Group Nine Media. She will design and lead a holistic DE&I strategy, identify growth opportunities, promote the adoption of inclusive practices and provide recommendations to senior leadership.

Camara most recently served as Human Resources Business Partner for Group Nine’s mobile news publisher, NowThis, where she developed tailored solutions for strategic workforce planning, change management and team building, in addition to serving as a Diversity and Inclusion Manager. Prior to Group Nine, she was Senior Human Resources Generalist at Snap Inc. Camara also held multiple human resources positions at The Estee Lauder Companies.

“Group Nine continues to lead the digital media space with its brands’ optimistic content that highlights diverse backgrounds, voices and opinions,” said Camara. “I am thrilled to bring my own personal and professional experience to further cement the company’s foundation as a safe place that is equitable, diverse and inclusive for every employee. We have ambitious goals and I am ready to tackle this crucial endeavour.”

Petranto to head up Kantar Analytics
Data and insights firm Kantar has appointed Chris Petranto as Global Head of Kantar Analytics. He replaces Fuentes who has taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer for the Insights division of Kantar.

Petranto, who will lead teams responsible for supporting client’s digital transformation, has been with Kantar since 2004. Before forming Kantar Analytics, he created and led Millward Brown Analytics.

“It’s a privilege to lead the team and further expand our solutions across the globe” said Petranto. “Since our launch in 2018, we have been on a mission to create the most advanced AI and machine learning tools, enabling our clients to make better business decisions, faster and at scale.” 

GroupM UK restructures
WPP’s media investment group GroupM UK has shifted Niel Bornman, Lisa Humphreys, Paul Rowlinson, Simon Willis, Charlotte Frijns, and Mark Collins into new roles as part of a restructure.

Bornman, currently Global Chief Technology Officer – Data, Product & AI at WPP, move to GroupM UK in January to lead its products and services squad as Chief Product and Services Officer.

Humphreys, current WPP UK Strategy Development Director, will begin a dual role leading the transformation and integration squad as Chief Transformation and Integration Officer, alongside her current WPP role.

Rowlinson moves from Managing Director of Group Digital UK to become Chief Customer Engagement and Growth Officer.

Willis will move from Managing Director of Investment to become Chief Investment Officer – leading the media investment management squad.

Finance and business operations will come together as one led by Frijns, Chief Financial Officer at Group M UK.

Collins will move from Chair of Investment to overall GroupM UK Chair.

“The changes announced today are the latest iteration of our goal to work in partnership with our clients to grow and create competitive advantage. By adopting a more agile way of working with these new overlapping squads we have the ability to adapt and shape our focus based solely on client needs,” said Karen Blackett OBE, GroupM UK CEO. “I am delighted with the new leadership at GroupM UK and thrilled to welcome both Niel and Lisa. Having worked with them for many years at WPP I am looking forward to having them as integral parts of this new era at GroupM UK.”

Tansill named transformation chief at Ogilvy
WPP’s Ogilvy New York has promoted Charlotte Tansill to the role of Chief Transformation Officer. She will lead an integrated strategy function for New York spanning all of the agency’s capabilities, while also partnering with Lauren Crampsie, President of Ogilvy New York, to drive the office’s business strategy and transformation.

Tansill has served in a range of roles across the Ogilvy network since joining in 2008, most recently serving as Executive Director of Ogilvy New York’s social media practice.

“I am grateful to Lauren and Ogilvy leadership for affording me this opportunity.  I am incredibly excited to accelerate growth at Ogilvy by leading our transformation and aligning our business practices with the evolving realities of our industry,” said Tansill. “Over my nearly 13 years at Ogilvy, I have fully embraced the strength of our culture and talent.  Our clients rightfully see us as thought-leaders, and we must innovate and deliver to maintain their trust.  I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure our leadership position sustains for years to come.”

DDB promotes Hesz and Rooney
Alex Hesz and Roisin Rooney have been elevated to the roles of Global Chief Strategy Officer and Global Chief People Officer at DDB Worldwide respectively.

Hesz will oversee the entirety of DDB’s global offerings and has work to harness the collective power of the global network. He most recently led strategy for the DDB’s Europe, Middle East & Africa and was Head of Strategy for Adam&Eve. He will continue to serve as Adam&EveDDBs Group Chief Strategy Officer for operations in both New York and London.

Rooney will lead recruitment, retention, leadership development and training and initiatives to ensure DDB talent is continuously advancing to stay ahead of client needs. She previously held the role of EMEA Chief People Officer at Adam&Eve.

“I am thrilled to elevate our current leaders from within the network into these roles,” said Worldwide CEO Marty OHalloran. “Things are changing rapidly, and were moving at pace to stay ahead. Alex brings an incredible track record from Adam&EveDDB, an agency known for its legendary work and clients. Ros experience in EMEA with growing the network, fostering our talent, and creating culture will ensure we are helping our people through this challenging time and into the future.”

Adams joins Kubient as partnerships SVP
Kubient, a cloud advertising marketplace, has hired Ryan Adams as Senior Vice President of Partnerships. He is charged with driving demand-side revenue and supporting supply-side inventory with the ultimate goal of growing partnerships and furthering Kubient’s development of relationships with brands, agencies, and publishers.

Adams has over 20 years’ experience as a sales and marketing professional at companies including Centro, where he was Head of Client Direct and Publisher Solutions in the East region.

“Kubient is a cutting-edge company driven by a passionate team of forward-thinking industry experts,” explained Adams. “I’m eager to join my new colleagues and work at a company that is bringing light to industry ad fraud and helping brands optimize their ad operations.”

FutureBrand turns to Esquivel as strategy chief
Eliza Yvette Esquivel has been announced as Chief Strategy Officer at brand transformation company FutureBrand North America. She will lead and build client teams across the agency, while developing and executing transformative strategic work for their global roster of clients.

Esquivel brings 20 years of marketing experience to the role, having previously served as the Senior Director of Global Brand Strategy at Microsoft, where she led a senior team of global strategists and partnership managers that managed the company’s productivity software portfolio. Before that, she served as Vice President of Global Brand Strategy at Mondelez International.

“I am excited to join a creative futures company,” said Esquivel. “I love thinking about and creating the future and see a huge opportunity to innovate the way thats done. I believe in the power of creativity to drive commerce and culture. With todays dynamic shifts in all areas of society, creativity is more crucial than ever.”

Lawson Johnston to manage partnerships at Hudson MX
Ad tech firm Hudson MX has named Sarah Lawson Johnston as Executive Vice President, Managing Director of Agency Partnerships EMEA.

Lawson Johnston joins Hudson MX after three years on the launch team of Covatic, where she will remain on the Board of Directors. Prior to this, she spent 22 years at Mediocean where, as Managing Director for Europe, she focused on new and existing revenue, oversaw the offices in London, France and Germany, and had full responsibility for the company’s European client relationships and business.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Hudson MX at such an exciting inflection point,” said Lawson Johnston. “They secured proof of concept through their work in local markets, they’ve established a fully comprehensive platform to replace legacy providers as the system of record, and they’re now breaking ground with the global agencies. The industry has been crying out for alternatives for years and Hudson MX has delivered a solution that far exceeds the original demand. I have great respect for JT Batson and I look forward to working with him and his team to develop the culture of the company and expand its reach.”

LivePerson adds Hamel and Higgins to exec team
Andrew Hamel has been hired as Executive Vice President of Operations and Emerging AI Businesses, while Shani Higgins has been appointed Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships, at conversational AI company LivePerson.

Hamel will oversee the daily operations of the company, help accelerate growth and scale, reimagine the future of work from a synchronous office-centric model to an asynchronous employee-centric workforce, and steer its business-to-consumer strategy and execution. Before joining LivePerson, he led the development of Amazon’s recommendation engines, search function, and other machine learning-powered experiences. Prior to that, he held leadership positions at Tacit Software, Infoseek, and Tumbleweed.

“Im proud to join LivePersons team as we build the new operating model to scale to the next level,” said Hamel. “Conversational AI is bringing about a shift as profound as search and social did, and its an exciting time to join the industry leader in this space.”

Higgins’ responsibilities include the selection and support of new global strategic alliances as well as the continued growth of existing partnerships. Prior to joining LivePerson, she gained over two decades of experience at companies including Mozilla, Infoseek, and Ziff Davis, as well as in her role as CEO of Technorati.

“Its an important time in LivePersons history to turbocharge growth,” said Higgins. “Im excited to join the companys team of experts as we distribute and integrate our industry-leading tech and inject even more value into our partner ecosystems.”

Ionita joins Organic dev team
Digital marketing agency Organic has appointed George-Andrei Ionita as Senior Developer. He will be focusing on leading back end development across multiple projects and his day-to-day responsibilities will include developing and maintaining cloud-based applications and APIs, ensuring efficiency and stability of backend code, working to design application architecture and helping to develop departmental processes.

Previously a developer at Prodo Digital, Ionita’s experience also includes stints at Fact Digital and Skiddle.

“I was blown away by the level of professionalism, expertise and knowledge at Organic,” said Ionita. “This role is every developer’s dream – being able to work with the latest tech and grow as part of a talented team, in a fun, relaxed environment.”

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Today, popular shoe brand Crocs has launched the Crocs Jibbitz Personaliser, where customers can virtually customize a pair of Crocs with Jibbitz shoe charms. The new digital tool was created in partnership with LiveArea, a global customer experience and commerce agency.

The tool, which has been built using Salesforce Commerce Cloud, has already triggered an 18 per cent increase in average order value, and a double-digit increase in Jibbitz sales.

“Customisation is a key topic in retail and footwear today,” said Feliz Papich, director of global digital product management, Crocs. “Our Jibbitz Personliser gives us a global platform to engage and entertain customers, and makes it easy and fun to accessorise Crocs in a creative way that simplifies purchases, too.”

With the Crocs/Jibbitz personalizing tool, customers can choose their Crocs clogs or sandal as a base, and then add on different categories of Jibbitz, including emojis, letters, numbers, sports, sayings, and more.

“Working with LiveArea as a digital transformation partner, we are creating engaging shopping experiences on leading technology and offering our loyal customers new and innovative ways to discover and acquire our products” said Harvey Biermann, vice president, global technology and operations, Crocs.

“Bringing the Crocs Jibbitz Personaliser to life has been an exciting challenge for LiveArea and plays to our strengths in elevating commerce experiences and creating more inspired customer interactions,” said Mark Moskal, executive creative director, LiveArea.

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Salesforce chooses Patterson as EMEA chairman
Gavin Patterson has been appointed chairman in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at customer relationship management (CRM) giant Salesforce. He will provide strategic guidance to Salesforce’s growing business in EMEA, the company’s fastest-growing region globally.

Patterson was previously chief executive at BT Group from 2013 to 2019 and CEO of the Group’s retail division from 2008 to 2013. While at BT, he completed the UK rollout of the superfast fibre broadband, started the deployment of ultrafast fibre broadband, led the £15 billion acquisition of EE, launched BT Sport, expanded BT’s cyber security practice, and championed BT’s social purpose agenda. He initially joined BT in 2004 as managing director of the consumer division.

Prior to BT, Patterson spent four years at Virgin Media and nine years at Procter & Gamble. He has also previously served on the advisory board of the Cambridge University Judge Business School and as president of the Advertising Association. He is currently a non-executive director on the board of British Airways, a Trustee of the British Museum, serving on the board of the charity Movement to Work, vice president of the Royal Television Society, and a fellow of the Institute of Telecommunications Professionals.

“Salesforce is a special company with an enviable track record and phenomenal future opportunities in EMEA,” said Patterson. “I look forward to supporting this team of talented leaders as the business moves into its next phase of growth.”

Krakowsky named IPG COO in management reshuffle
Advertising firm Interpublic Group (IPG) has promoted Philippe Krakowsky to the role of chief operating officer as part of a number of senior management changes. He will work with chairman and Chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Roth to oversee the company’s business operations and will continue in his positions as IPG’s chief strategy and talent officer and chairman of IPG Mediabrands, while now also overseeing Acxiom, Carmichael Lynch, Deutsch, Hill Holliday, Huge, and R/GA.

“For more than a decade, Philippe has played a key part in major strategic actions at Interpublic that have been integral to our long-term success, and more recently he was the driving force behind our acquisition of Acxiom,” said Roth. “He has helped me in the design and execution of our cross agency ‘open architecture’ model that delivers the best of IPG solutions to our clients. He has also been instrumental in helping create IPG’s distinctive culture, which attracts the industry’s best talent. Were very excited to have him positioned in this new chief operating role at IPG.”

Meanwhile, Daryl Lee has become CEO of Mediabrands, a role held by Krakowsky for the past three years, and Eileen Kiernan has been elevated to global CEO of UM, succeeding Lee.

Publicis Sapient hires Erickson as talent chief
Kristi Erickson has been appointed global chief talent officer at Publicis Sapient, Publicis Groupe’s digital business transformation hub. She will work directly with Publicis Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz to build a successful foundation for future generations of leadership and ensure the creation of an integrated, high-performing talent function that will drive strategic outcomes at the company.

Erickson arrives at Sapient with over 30 years of experience and has held chief people officer roles across verticals, regions, and horizontal services lines. She worked at Accenture for 25 years, where she was a partner and held positions of increasing responsibility, including executive director of human resources for Accenture’s global systems integration & technology dervice line. Additionally, she served as executive director of HR for the North America region setting the human capital strategy for 37,000 people across the US and Canada while leading a HR team of over 550 individuals to achieve this strategy through a period of high volatility. She was also a member of Accenture’s talent management board.

“I am very excited to join Nigel and the team at Publicis Sapient,” stated Erickson. “I look forward to partnering with our leaders to build strong, cohesive, world-class teams that help our clients realise their future, create meaningful work and experiences for our people and make Publicis Sapient a more inclusive and equitable workplace where all people can learn, grow and thrive.”

Morsy becomes Peer39 MD
Peer39, the ad management and distribution platform previously owned by Sizmek, has announced the opening of its first international office in London, headed up by Andrew Morsy as its international managing director.

Morsy brings 15 years’ experience in digital advertising to his new role, with expertise in scaling commercial operations, having worked at worked at Yahoo, Struq and StrikeAd. Most recently, he acted as UK managing director at Sizmek, where he oversaw the London sales team.

Alec Greenberg has also joined Peer39 as vice president of partnerships. He is tasked with establishing new partnerships and strengthening existing collaborations across the world. Greenberg previously acted as vice president of partnerships at Amino Payments and has also worked at Sovrn, Dstillery and aCerno.

“We are delighted to welcome Andrew and Alec to the Peer39 team, as the company enters the next phase of its development,” said Mario Diez, chief executive officer at Peer39. “Both possess a far-reaching knowledge of the digital advertising industry, proven leadership skills and a terrific focus for customer and partner success. We are also excited to be opening our first international office in London, providing us with a platform for expansion and the ability to reach a whole new client base, while strengthening our existing international links.”

Tealium looks to Purcell to lead on revenue
Ted Purcell has been hired as chief revenue officer at Tealium, a real-time data orchestration firm. He will direct the go-to-market strategy as the company continues to expand its independent customer data platform (CDP).

Purcell previously served as senior vice president of commercial at Marketo, where he led go-to market activity across demand generation, sales development, ales, and customer success. Before that, he held senior leadership positions at SAP and Clarizen.

“This is the perfect time to join the Tealium team, and I couldn’t be more excited to scale the business and drive success for both current and future customers,” said Purcell. “It’s clear that we’re at the forefront of innovation, helping enterprises around the world embrace the power and value of real-time customer data. Even better, Tealium provides a trusted platform that enables customers to comply with the growing number of data governance and privacy laws around the world. The Tealium team is helping hundreds of global brands across all verticals increase their conversion rates while decreasing the cost of customer acquisition and engagement, and I’m looking forward to helping more companies realise this enormous value that Tealium will bring to their business.”

Forster takes charge of Zenloop’s international business
SaaS customer experience management platform Zenloop has made Shane Forster its head of international. He will lead the company’s first step in internationalisation tacking the data-driven customer experience market in the UK.

Forster began his career at Become Europe before launching Voucherbox.co.uk at Webgears. Prior to joining Zenloop, he was head of marketing at Customer Alliance, where he focused on growth and positioning throughout Europe.

“With all of our experience from our market leading position within the DACH region, we have identified eCommerce sector as one of our core verticals with a clear market fit,” said Forster. “Moving into international markets is a key phase to the success of Zenloop and with its huge eCommerce industry, the UK will definitely be a key market for us. Within the next six months, we will be focusing heavily on establishing Zenloop in the UK.”

Coast Digital adds five
Sarah Tanner has joined digital marketing agency Coast Digital as business relationship manager. She is joined by UX consultant Catherine Holmgren, PPC specialist Hollie Beeson, and SEO specialists Sam Bonner and Robert Phillips.

“I am so excited to be part of the evolving Coast Digital family,” said Tanner. “The way they utilise the ever-changing technical landscape, especially in Biometrics, drew me to the company in the first place and I can’t wait to show more businesses the benefits of working with us.”

The agency added new staff in response to its 22 per cent year-on-year increase in turnover and 16 per cent in fee income over the past year. The company also recently opened a biometrics lab and a range of mobile testing equipment.

“The past year has seen our business go from strength to strength,” said David Wharram, chief executive officer at Coast Digital. “We continue to invest in people and technology to gain competitive advantage, this investment will both help to support our existing client base while giving Coast Digital the ability to take on even more customers. Our work is attracting global brands which is hugely exciting for the team.”

Williams to head up revenue at Boxever
Boxever, an AI-driven personalisation platform, has appointed Jon Williams as its first chief revenue officer. He is tasked with helping global brands deliver positive online consumer experiences which translate into measurable outcomes and ROI.

Williams boasts more than two decades’ worth of martech experience – of which much was spent at Aprimo. There, he held several positions, most recently running its non-US operations, helping major brands such as Lloyd’s Bank, Qantas and ASOS achieve measurable growth through more engaged customer experiences. Prior to Aprimo, Jon worked at Teradata, where he was responsible for their Marketing Applications division in the UK & Ireland.

“Boxever is leading the way in using data and AI to help the world’s biggest brands deliver game-changing customer experiences that result in measurable outcomes and growth,” said Williams. “I am very excited to join Boxever and relish the opportunity to work with such a superb team who have developed the market leading personalisation solution.”

Ecrebo brings in Gardenswartz as CMO
Will Gardenswartz has joined retail technology firm Ecrebo as chief marketing officer. Reporting to chief executive officer David Buckingham, he has responsibility for all marketing activities for Ecrebo globally with a focus on driving clear and consistent market positioning.

Gardenswartz most recently headed up strategy for Palomino Media Group, the agency charged with selling the first-party targeted TV ads on Vudu, Walmart’s streaming media service. Prior to that, he served in various marketing and strategy roles at Catalina Marketing as well as in several venture-backed ad tech and marketing services startups. Gardenswartz started his career at former US cable TV giant, Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI).

“I’m a big believer in point of sale marketing, because I’ve seen how well it works,” said Gardenswartz. “But, for several years now, I’ve felt POS marketing could be done in a more modern, retailer-centric way. Ecrebo has done exactly that. They’ve re-imagined and re-engineered POS marketing for the 21st century. Employing paper and digital receipts, Ecrebo’s software-only solution – that works with all legacy POS systems – delivers mass-personalised promotions more efficiently than any other channel. I look forward to helping Ecrebo spread that message to retailers and their partners.”

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Salesforce appoints a Dame to lead its UKI business
Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia will join Salesforce as its UK and Ireland chief executive officer on 1 October to lead the business through its next stage of growth.

Gadhia is founder of the startup, Snoop. Previously she was the CEO of Virgin Money from 2007 to 2018. As a chartered accountant, she spent six years at Norwich Union (now Aviva) before becoming one of the founders of Virgin Direct in 1995. Three years later, she set up the Virgin One account, which was acquired by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in 2001. She subsequently spent five years at RBS before returning to Virgin as CEO of Virgin Money. She became a Dame in the 2019 New year Honours list for her contribution to financial services and women in the finance industry.

“I’ve admired Salesforce from afar for a long time,” said Gadhia. “This is a different kind of business, with deeply held values and a true focus on transforming the experience of every customer through cutting edge technology. I’m looking forward to working with the team as we continue to invest and support Salesforce’s growing customer base in UKI.”

Bhasin joins Shutterstock’s board
Shutterstock has added Rachna Bhasin to its board of directors, where she will serve on the compensation committee.

Bhasin, founder and CEO of EQ Partners and co-founder of Pacifica Investments, previously served as chief business officer at Magic Leap for over three years. Here, she helped grow the team and led business development, M&A, and strategic partnerships. Since departing in January, she has continued to work with Magic Leap as a senior advisor to the CEO.

Before Magic Leap, she held the role of senior vice president of corporate strategy and business development at SiriusXM Radio, and has previously held senior positions at Dell and EMI Music North America. Bhasin currently serves on the board for Ryman Hospitality Properties and is a current member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

“I am honoured to join Shutterstocks board of directors and to draw from my knowledge and experience to help guide Shutterstock in its mission to deliver increased value to its customers, contributors and stockholders,” said Bhasin. “In a time where the demand for content is at an all-time high, Shutterstock is well-positioned to serve the needs of marketers, creatives and businesses around the world, providing them with the content, tools and services they need to grow and thrive.”

Twitch brings in Cowan as advertising marketing director
Fran Cowan has been hired by Amazon-owned live streaming platform Twitch as its first director of advertiser marketing. Starting on 12 August, she will be charged with raising the profile of the Twitch sales proposition.

Cowan joins Twitch after seven years at InSkin Media, where she started as the company’s first marketing executive and progressed to the role of chief marketing officer. She is also VP of marketing at the International Advertising Association (IAA) UK.

Smith takes up head business role at Location Sciences
Location Sciences, a location verification provider, has appointed Jason Smith as its US chief business officer. Reporting to CEO Mark Slade, he will work to establish and build relationships with key customers in the US and develop marketing strategies to raise awareness of inaccurate location fraud and its impact on campaign performance.

Smith joins with over 16 years experience in the out-of-home and digital advertising space. He was a former senior partner and MD of Mindshare, where he led the business and performance strategy for clients including Geico and Capital One. Prior to Mindshare, he spent 10 years at Horizon Media. In his most recent role as VP of digital investments, he headed up trading and partnership developments.

“With location data transparency, integrity and privacy compliance under increasing scrutiny, I felt the opportunity to lead the US team at Location Sciences was too good to turn down,” said Smith. “I look forward to being part of the team that helps marketers drive exponential performance results within the $160 billion digital advertising marketplace.”

UM looks to Smalls-Landau to lead marketing
Deidre Smalls-Landau has been named as US chief marketing officer at IPG Mediabrands’ marketing and media agency network, UM. Reporting to US CEO Lynn Lewis, she will oversee UMs strategic branding, platforms and initiatives, carrying over her previous responsibilities as global head of culture, to ensure a broader impact for the diversity-based cultural framework she spearheaded at the agency.

Under Smalls-Landaus leadership, UM launched Remix Culture, the first culturally-focused iteration of its annual Wave X study that tracks social and digital media usage and motivations globally. She also spearheaded the launch of UMs Unity 20/40 diversity initiative, which aims to increase diverse representation within the agency by mirroring the projected US ethnic population of the 2040, by 2020.

Smalls-Landau is the IPG representative for the Times Up/Advertising Steering Committee and a member of the 4As Media Leadership Council.

“I strongly believe that having diversity as a filter for everything we do is a catalyst for cultural transformation and business growth, and an imperative for creating meaningful impact within all levels of an organization,” said Smalls-Landau. “Im excited for the opportunity to play a greater role in applying cultural perspective in how we go to market as we think about audience behaviours and trends.”

Boler to manage Scibids sales outside London
AI-powered ad tech firm Scibids has appointed One Link Digital, headed up by Peter Boler, to bolster its presence outside of London. Boler, acting as regional sales director, has been tasked with partnering with agencies and brands across Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Scotland who are interested in discovering how powerful the creation and deployment of custom algorithms can be on their campaigns.

Boler brings with him over 20 years of experience within digital advertising and has held senior sales roles at companies including, Yahoo, MEN Media, The Exchange Lab and most recently, Weve (O2).

“In today’s complex environment, marketers and agencies want and need the benefits of domain specific AI capabilities, yet are hesitant because of the resource and investment it incurs,” said Boler. “Scibids is a fascinating business that’s transparent and flexible and I’m sure its AI as a Service business model will be a game-changer for the industry.”

Centro adds Gensler in senior client development role
David Gensler has joined Centro, a digital marketing solutions provider, as senior vice president of client development. He will work with both agencies and clients to implement the company’s ‘Basis’ platform and integrate programmatic advertising with media planning, buying, operations, campaign analytics, business intelligence, and billing reconciliation.

Prior to joining Centro, Gensler operated his own firm, GSD Consulting, to strengthen the marketing capabilities of organisations in the data science and technology sectors. He was also senior vice president of the food beverage spirits category for Time, Inc., overseeing the group’s advertising sales. Before that, he was EVP and head of ad sales for LiveIntent. Gensler has also led and scaled sales teams for Millennial Media and AOL. 

“Considering the pressures that media agencies face from clients and stakeholders, we believe that Basis profoundly affects their ability to drive performance and profitability through automation,” said Gensler. “Centro has the opportunity to transform the way marketers work because of our game-changing technology, national sales coverage and principled reputation.”

Knights takes spot in WorkMobile’s software dev team
Mobile data capture specialist WorkMobile has appointed Che Knights as a software developer. As a C# developer, he will help to develop the company’s systems in line with industry best practice.

Knights has more than 20 years of software development experience. He has held a variety of programmer and developer positions at Pets at Home, Pregis and, most recently, Kaonix.

“Manchester is home to a burgeoning number of forward-thinking technology companies, and, as a leading provider of cloud-based digital solutions, WorkMobile is no exception,” said Knights. “I’m delighted to be joining the business during this period of growth, and helping to ensure its software systems remain at the cutting edge and the WorkMobile app is the best it can be.”

DoubleVerify opts for Bukhari as MD
Tanzil Bukhari has taken up the position of EMEA managing director at digital media measurement software firm DoubleVerify. Based in London, he is charged with leading the company’s expansion efforts across Europe with an added focus on Russia and the Nordics, while strengthening the company’s business relationships with brands, agencies and media platforms.

A 20-year media industry veteran, Bukhari previously worked at Google as EMEA head of agency development. Previously, he was head of DoubleClick Ad Exchange in Northern and Central Europe, where he launched DoubleClick AdX in EMEA.

“Global brands continue to address the issues of fraud, brand safety and viewability within their campaigns, and how they impact marketing effectiveness and business outcomes,” said Bukhari. “I’m excited to leverage my deep experience in programmatic and digital media to help accelerate DV’s growth across Europe.”

McCurry named chief of strategy at IAS
Integral Ad Science (IAS) has chosen Kevin McCurry as its chief strategy officer. Reporting directly to CEO Lisa Utzschneider, he will lead the organisation in identifying and evaluating large-scale strategic opportunities for the company with a focus on mergers and acquisitions.

McCurry boasts over 25 years of experience in strategy and corporate development. Prior to joining IAS, he was an executive in residence at Partners Healthcare, where he supported major data strategy, billing operations, and machine learning initiatives. Before that, he was senior vice president of corporate development and strategy at SunGard. McCurry has also been chief strategy officer for Thomson Reuters’ healthcare and science data and information businesses.

“Marketplaces — whether in financial services, healthcare, or advertising — benefit when buyers and sellers can access trusted and meaningful data supported by a highly-technical data science team. Digital advertising is at a particularly exciting and critical juncture with its rapid growth, increasing technological complexity, and heightened needs, especially in areas such as brand safety and fraud prevention,” said McCurry. “With its long track record of innovation, IAS has attained a truly unique position, delivering trusted data, measurement, and global insight to the digital advertising industry. I am thrilled to be joining the team as we set the path forward to deliver new capabilities and insights that our customers require.”

Media Chain gives Edwards lead sales role
Jon Edwards has been hired as head of sales at Media Chain, Social Chain’s social-first publishing arm. Based in London, he will hold responsibility of all Media Chain brand partnership sales across the UK, initially focusing on growing the social media publishing business and will work to deliver highly engaging and effective campaigns.

Edwards previously held the role of brand partnerships account director at LadBible Group and is also formerly of Hearst and Trinity Mirror, where he has worked with the likes of PepsiCo, Amazon, Sony Columbia, Ladbrokes Coral, and Warner Bros.

“I’m very honoured to be joining Media Chain and to work on developing their commercial offering across their vast and progressive portfolio of brands,” said Edwards. “To have the opportunity to work on fantastic brands like SPORF, Student Problems and GameByte among many others, alongside some of the best entrepreneurial thought leaders in the social space at a time of ambitious growth, excites me. I look forward to seeing what the future of Media Chain holds.”

Doucette elevated to creative head at Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett Chicago has promoted Jordan Doucette to the role of chief creative officer. Reporting jointly to president and chief strategy officer of Leo Burnett Chicago Emma Montgomery and chierf creative officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide, she will oversee the creative and production departments at Leo Burnett Chicago.

Doucette, who’s been as the agency since January 2018, most recently served as executive vice president/executive creative director. In her new role, she will continue to lead the creative for clients including The Kellogg Company and Miller-Coors.

Previously, she was chief creative officer of Taxi in Toronto, where she led work for clients including Pfizer (Centrum, Advil and Robax), Canadian Tire, Marks, Fido Telecommunications, Mini Cooper, Vancouver Aquarium, and BC Hydro.

“What attracted me to Leo Burnett is that its a creative solutions company that is continually transforming how we work to bring the best, most effective ideas to the table,” said Doucette. “Im most excited that this role will help me get closer to our clients and our teams to help shape not only the work, but how we work.”

FCB brings Ordóñez onboard as head of creative
Andrés Ordóñez has been hired as chief creative officer at FCB Chicago. He will work closely with global chief creative officer Susan Credle and join the agency’s Global Creative Council.

Ordóñez has spent the last five years at Energy BBDO, working with clients including Wrigley, Bayer, MillerCoors, SC Johnson, American Egg Board, Avocados From Mexico, National Safety Council, Ocean Spray, and Luxottica. Prior to Energy BBDO, he launched Ford Sync.

“I am very happy to have the chance to work with Susan. I have always thought I was destined to work with her. Even before I ever met her, it felt like I was in her orbit because of the places we both worked and the kinds of ideas we have created for brands. I know we will do great things together,” said Ordóñez.

“From the moment I walked into FCB Chicago, I couldnt stop thinking about it. I wanted to be a part of it and work with the people there to set new heights. It is the place – and the people – where I will be able to put my heart and the passion for what I do, where Ill be able to create some of the best work of my career.”

Pokkt selects Kumar as head of technology
Dinesh Kailash Kumar has been appointed as chief technology officer at Pokkt, a mobile in-game advertising platform. Based in Bangalore and reporting to co-founder and CEO Rohit Sharma, he will lead the company’s technology function.

Kumar has worked at organisations including Amazon, InMobi, Microsoft, and Yahoo. At Amazon, he led a 50-member international tech division in Bangalore, where his teams built software solutions for the automotive category and vendor management solutions.

Before Amazon, he was at InMobi as their VP of engineering. In this role, he led the brand and programmatic engineering initiatives managing engineering activities spanning across Bangalore and San Francisco.

“Pokkt’s growth in the past few years has been commendable and to be a part of the team that takes good quality in-game advertising to the next level is very exciting for me,” said Kumar. “I look forward to building best in class advertising products that will power the next phase of POKKT’s growth.”

Matta installed to lead ICX Media
Video analytics startup ICX Media has handed Serge Matta the role of president and chief executive officer. Michael Avon, the founder of the company, will remain actively involved as executive chairman.

Matta joins ICX Media from GroundTruth, where he served as president. During his tenure, he managed GroundTruth’s global sales and marketing teams. He was instrumental in GroundTruth’s acquisition of WeatherBug and securing Dentsu Japan as a strategic partner.

“I had been following ICX Media’s progression, and when I was approached to lead the company in its next stage of growth, I joined without hesitation,” said Matta. “I know that media and entertainment companies, brands and agencies must have access to the tools, data, and insights necessary to power their video strategies. Built with machine learning and data analytics at its core, ICX Media’s market approach, powered by best-in-class tools and audience data for video content creation, distribution, marketing and monetization truly sets the company apart.”

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The products that Salesforce will bring to customers through the Alibaba Cloud include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Commerce Cloud, and Salesforce Platform.

“At Salesforce, customer success is at the center of everything we do. And more and more of our multinational customers are asking us to support them wherever they do business around the world,” said Ryan Aytay, executive vice president of strategic partnerships at Salesforce. “With Alibaba’s strong, advanced and secure cloud infrastructure network and insight into the Chinese market, both parties will provide the best localized solutions for our global customers.”

Ken Shen Tao, vice president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, added: “Alibaba is pleased to establish a strategic partnership with Salesforce, the world’s number one CRM. As the leading cloud service provider in the Asia Pacific region, our cloud infrastructure and data intelligence platform combined with Salesforce’s market leading solutions for Sales, Service, Commerce and more will provide global customers with incredible customer experiences at every touchpoint.”

The deal comes just after Alibaba opened up its platform to manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributers in the US for the first time. The program is aimed at US small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to enable them to sell goods on Alibaba’s business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce site.

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Salesforce will use Tableau to help it diversify beyond CRM and provide companies with deeper insights into their customers. Tableau, which will continue to operate independently, is used by more than 86,000 businesses including Charles Schwab, Verizon, Schneider Electric, Southwest and Netflix.

“We are bringing together the world’s number one CRM with the number one analytics platform,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce. “Tableau helps people see and understand data, and Salesforce helps people engage and understand customers. It’s truly the best of both worlds for our customers – bringing together two critical platforms that every customer needs to understand their world.”

Though Tableau will remain independent, Salesforce will look to combine its new acquisition with its Einstein AI and Customer 360 products. The former delivers analytics for sales and marketing, while the latter aims to give companies a full view of customers at every touchpoint.

Tableau will continue to be headquartered in Seattle, Washington and will continue to be led by CEO Adam Selipsky and its existing leadership team.

“Joining forces with Salesforce will enhance our ability to help people everywhere see and understand data,” said Selipsky. “As part of the world’s number one CRM company, Tableau’s intuitive and powerful analytics will enable millions more people to discover actionable insights across their entire organizations. I’m delighted that our companies share very similar cultures and a relentless focus on customer success. I look forward to working together in support of our customers and communities.”

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Rebel uses API and mail solutions to turn emails into an extension of a companys website or app, enabling them to both offer additional services and collect more advanced data. The companys technology will be integrated into Salesforces Marketing Cloud, bringing this functionality to Salesforces worldwide clientbase.

Marketing is Salesforces smallest division, behind its Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and the Salesforce Platform, but it still brought in $452m (£346m) in revenues last quarter. The acquisition of Rebel shows that Salesforce hasnt given up on its marketing offerings, and is still seeking to compete with rivals like Adobe, Google and Microsoft in this area.

“We are excited to join Salesforce and accelerate our mission of reimagining the inbox by enabling marketers and developers to create beautiful, seamless, interactive email experiences,” said a Rebel spokesperson. “We would like to thank the email community, the forward thinking brands we have worked with over the years, our partners, and everyone that has been part of Rebels success. We are thrilled to become part of the amazing Salesforce family and continue the journey.”

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