The mobile and digital marketing industry is ever-changing, and that applies to the people as much as the technology. Movers & Shakers is our monthly round-up of the hottest hires in the industry…

Peinze to head up Marketing at Motorola’s EMEA Mobile Business Group
Motorola has appointed Jutta Peinze as Marketing Director for the EMEA Mobile Business Group (MBG). Peinze has over 20 years’ experience in the technology sector. Prior to joining MBG, she was Marketing Director at Asus. Before Asus, she garnered an impressive wealth of experience within the mobile industry, having previously held roles at Nokia and Huawei. In her role at Motorola, she will be instrumental in accelerating the momentum of the EMEA MBG business as the brand develops its growth strategy. The hyper-growth in the EMEA MBG business follows an incredibly strong FY21/22, with EMEA being a key sector for Motorola. 

Motorola forms part of Lenovo’s Intelligent Devices Group, a global operation comprising its PC and Smart Devices business unit and its Mobile Business Group. Its portfolio of products, solutions, software, and services ranges from PCs and smartphones to smart collaboration and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) solutions.

“I am delighted to be joining the Motorola team at such an exciting time with the significant growth potential across EMEA,” said Peinze. “I believe the brand is in its strongest position yet to capture market demand through its broad portfolio of devices and achieve hypergrowth across the region. I look forward to combining my breadth of experience across the technology and mobile sectors, with my passion for leading a dynamic team, along with building on Motorola’s current position as a leader in the market and feeding its appetite for growth”. 

Peinze succeeds James Atkins who has led the EMEA Motorola marketing business for over two successful years. Atkins remains with the business, transitioning into the newly-created role of EMEA MBG eCommerce Director. In this position, he will play a key role in supporting Motorola’s telco business across EMEA and developing the brand’s eCommerce strategy. 

BBH hires two as it expands Black Sheep Studios
BBH is expanding its BAFTA Award-winning Black Sheep Studios to form a full-service production company, reflecting the evolution of client needs over the seven years since it launched. Black Sheep Studios will continue working with BBH clients and remains rooted in the agency’s Power of Difference philosophy, but adds a new direct-to-brand offer across content, design and music supervision.

As part of the expansion, Andy Cooke joins as Head of Design and Sophie FitzGerald takes on the position of Executive Producer, forming a leadership team alongside Creative Director, Rory Forrest. Black Sheep Studio’s Lead is Stephen Ledger-Lomas, who is also BBH’s Chief Production Officer. 

Cooke is an award-winning designer, and was most recently working in freelance roles at R/GA, Google Creative Lab and Design Studio. His career has included a three-year stint as Creative Director at Education First in Switzerland; the launch of his own design studio; and teaching at Staffordshire University.

FitzGerald spent seven years at We Are Social in its in-house production studio, before joining Sky as a Senior Producer. Most recently she has been freelance, including a stint as Senior Producer at The Or.
 
“BSS is in the business of making, and in our age of the universal social storefront, every brand of any size, from supermarkets to small business, always has to be,” said BSS Creative Director, Rory Forrest. “It’s never been more constant, but the right face or film can change company fortunes. Pulling these units together, especially with talent like Sophie and Andy, allow us to answer that need better than ever.”

Hasemeyer to head up the Americas at Kin + Carta
Digital transformation firm, Kin and Carta plc, has appointed Adam Hasemeyer as the Group CEO of its Americas region. Hasemeyer joined Kin + Carta through acquisition three years ago, having most recently held the role of President of the Americas’ West territory. He has steered the firm’s growth in that territory, established key philanthropy partnerships, and led the successful acquisitions of Cascade Data Labs and Octain AI. Prior to this, he was President and CEO of Spire Digital, where he significantly expanded its influence into the Americas region before leading the sale of the business to Kin + Carta in 2019.

“I would like to congratulate Adam on his new role as Group CEO of the Americas region,” said Kin + Carta Global CEO, Kelly Manthey. “Adam’s invaluable experience driving commercial growth and successful acquisitions further strengthens our Americas leadership as we continue to scale profitable global growth.”

Georg takes EMEA COO role at Merkle
Customer experience management firm, Merkle, has appointed Christiane Georg to the role of Chief Operating Officer of the EMEA business. In her new role, Georg will be implementing innovative, technology-based business and operating models, driving automation and growth in the business across the region.

Georg brings to the role more than 25 years of international business experience in top tier consultancies and general management roles in different industries, and a proven record in business innovation and strategy, large-scale digital transformation, data analytics and operational excellence.

She said: “It is such an exciting time to be joining Merkle, as it continues its rapid expansion across EMEA and evolution as a leader in customer experience transformation. Driving operational and organisational excellence at such a fast paced and growth-orientated company whilst working with clients to navigate complex data and technology decisions is the perfect challenge for someone with my background. This is a great opportunity to work with such an innovative team.”

Today Merkle’s EMEA business spans 17 countries across the region, comprising the DACH, Northern Europe, Spain and UK clusters and over 4,000 employees.

Erlmeier takes up CRO role at Outbrain
Recommendation platform, Outbrain, has hired Alexander Erlmeier as its Chief Revenue Officer. Erlmeier, a 10-year veteran of Outbrain, will be responsible for global business development and growth across all regions and functions of the business organization. Eytan Galai will step down after 15 years of service, transitioning into a consultative role through March 2023. 

Erlmeier, who most recently served as Outbrain’s International Managing Director, has been responsible for building sustainable growth and product adoption for advertisers and publishers across all international markets since 2018. With more than 20 years’ experience in the online sector, he originally joined Outbrain to lead the German-speaking markets, and was soon promoted to lead the company’s Central Europe operation into a high and sustainable growth market.

With Erlmeier’s appointment, Liesbeth Mack-de Boer, current Managing Director of Central Europe, will take on the role of Managing Director, EMEA. She will work alongside Sarah Baird, General Manager, North America, and Masahiro Ueno, Managing Director, JAPAC and will report to Erlmeier.

“Alex’s trusted reputation, esteemed industry experience, and decade of impactful results for our advertisers and publisher partners make him the perfect leader for this role,” said Outbrain Co-CEO, David Kostman. “He’s proven successful in building our German, European, and international business all while serving as a steward of Outbrain’s culture. I’m looking forward to seeing how he can further his impact as he takes on this new challenge.”  

VMLY&R promotes two
VMLY&R has promoted Dr Andreas Ortner to Chief Connections Officer EMEA and Ann French to Executive Director of Growth for Europe, as part of its EMEA growth trajectory.

In his new role, Ortner will be responsible for driving VMLY&R’s Connections Planning practice across key European markets. Connections Planning is VMLY&R’s proprietary audience-first, data-driven planning approach to creating impactful brand and customer experiences across digital and physical channels. Following Human Centered Design (HCD) principles, the VMLY&R Connections practice helps brands increase the value of each customer interaction and create clear differentiators which drive sustainable business growth. As part of this, Ortner will leverage a broad team of data analysts, planners, and connections strategists spread across the region, including a core team in the London flagship office.

Ortner takes the position from inside the VMLY&R network ,where he was UK Managing Director Strategy, leading Connections Strategy across global clients including Boots and No7 Beauty Company. At VMLY&R, he has led transformation programs across several industries, including CHC, FMCG, Automotive, Retail and Financial Services. Prior to that, Ortner spent over a decade in Management Consulting, including Deloitte Digital and Accenture Interactive. He holds a PhD in Economics and an MS in Marketing Management.

French will lead the growth teams across the region and be responsible for driving the agency's momentum, unlocking business opportunities with current and new clients. French takes the position from inside the VMLY&R network where she was previously EMEA Managing Director, leading client engagement teams and helping to accelerate capability expansion. Over the past decade, French has led some of VMLY&R’s biggest global clients, such as No7 Beauty Company, Colgate, and Sanofi, delivering innovative work that drives business results.

Both will report to Andrew Dimitriou, EMEA CEO, with Ortner also working closely with Amy Worley, Global Chief Connections Officer, and French working with UK Co-CEO’s Michelle Whelan and Justin Pahl.

Goff and Marsh take up New Business roles at VCCP
VCCP Group has announced two new hires, with Nick Goff joining VCCP London as Group Head of Business Development, and Becky Marsh joining VCCP Media as Head of New Business. In their new roles, Goff and Marsh will report to the agency’s Global Chief Growth Officer, Stephanie Brimacombe.

Goff brings with him more than a decade of agency new business experience, securing client wins across a wide range of sectors, including FMCG, Drinks and Retail. Most recently, he held the role of Global Head of New Business at The Marketing Store, whilst also leading Carlsberg's social content 'Newsroom' and heading up the D&AD-winning Adidas Glitch project. In his new business role, he played a key role in helping colleagues drive their account growth ambitions, whilst also leading successful pitches for O2’s loyalty platform Priority, H&M, LNER and Vue. Goff also chairs the New Business Group for the Alliance of Independent Agencies. At VCCP, Goff will be responsible for driving organic growth of existing clients across multiple markets within the Group.

Marsh joins VCCP with a decade’s experience as a New Business and Marketing specialist, working with Group M’s agency, Wavemaker. She began her career in 2013, working for Wavemaker in the UK, and three years later she transferred to Wavemaker Australia, where she has spent the last six and a half years leading New Business and Marketing for one of Australia’s largest media agencies. She is passionate about business development, and over the years has helped win and retain multiple clients across a variety of categories.

“VCCP continues to go from strength to strength and I’m incredibly proud of our position as the UK’s most successful agency for winning new business,” said Brimacombe. “Both Nick and Becky are leading practitioners in their field and they signal the continued emphasis we are making as a business to win clients who share our challenger values. Nick and Becky bring a wealth of impressive experience and expertise from both home and overseas to the team, and it’s a pleasure to welcome them to the VCCP family.” 

Osborne to lead content production at Amplify
Creative agency Amplify has hired Anita Nair Osborne as Head of Content Production. Joining from Engine, where she was Head of Production, she brings 20 years’ experience to the role. She has consistently produced cutting edge content, working at top UK agencies including Anomaly, Mother and BBH. 

She began her career working in theatre, before spending over a decade working in brand experience and creative marketing for big-name clients, including AIG, Disney, Formula E, Hyundai and Netflix. Before moving into the operational management side of the business, she managed projects and teams at Jack Morton and Heart Productions as well as Amplify.

As Amplify builds on an expanding client portfolio and continues to grow its global creative content remit, Osborne’s role will see her expanding and delivering against the agency’s vision.

Amplify’s recent work spans everything from Dr Marten’s ongoing ‘Tougher than You’ content series to Mitsubishi’s latest TVC, and from Nike’s SNKRS Day 8-hour live broadcast to pioneering anamorphic CGI for the latest chapter of Fortnite. Notably, Amplify’s multi-channel production prowess was demonstrated with the highly awarded global ‘Play Has No Limits’ for the launch of PlayStation 5, blurring the lines between experience, OOH and content across 24 global cities and landmarks, shot, edited and shared on social channels within 6 hours.  

"Anita was the standout from a really diverse and high standard of candidates,” said Amplify Founder and Global CEO, Jonathan Emmins. “From her roots shooting music videos for the likes of So Solid Crew to leading 360 campaigns featuring Helen Mirren for L’Oreal, Anita’s extensive knowledge and experience with content production ensures our talented and expanding team has the guidance it needs. This will enable us to continue to take our clients on ever more exciting journeys and even more ambitious projects. Anita’s a great fit and we’re lucky that she’s chosen to call Amplify home.”

Bakirlioglu and Parenti head to Analysis Mason
Telecoms, media and technology (TMT)-focused management consultancy, Analysys Mason, has hired two new partners, Ethemcan Bakirlioglu and Giovanni Parenti.

Bakirlioglu joins the firm from Bain & Co, where he was a senior member of its global TMT practice, based in Turkey. He has a strong commercial strategy and transformation background, helping leading companies to find new growth and profit. He will help drive forwards the firm’s work in sub-continental Asia, Middle East, and North Africa, and will lead the firm’s continued expansion in Turkey and Central Asia.

He said: “I am very excited to be joining Analysys Mason to lead the growth of the firm in the region. I have been impressed by Analysys Mason’s intense focus on creating extraordinary results for its clients, its entrepreneurial spirit, and highly talented people who share a passion for TMT. Together we will continue to deliver lasting client impact.”

Parenti joins Analysys Mason’s Milan office from Italian consultancy, Strategic Management Partners, where he led the TMT & Innovation practice delivering a range of strategy, transformation and change management projects. He previously held a number of executive roles at WarnerMedia.

He said: “I am excited to join Analysys Mason, helping support our partners in fostering their innovation goals. I am impressed by the multi-sector competencies and talents in Analysys Mason and by the power to enable synergies. Italy has always been a key market in terms of innovation in TMT and in other sectors, and we will continue to boost the transformation process.”  

IAS hires as it expands its EMEA footprint
Integral Ad Science (IAS), which specialises in digital media quality assurance has announced new market launches and senior appointments to extend its EMEA footprint. The company is furthering its business operations in Norway and Denmark, and launching its services locally in Poland, Czechia, and Turkey through sales and service partnerships.

The expansion in Norway and Denmark builds upon IAS’s Nordic hub in Stockholm, Sweden. It includes new appointments of Ola Tveit in Norway and Morten Sandbæk Beck in Denmark as Sales Directors.  

IAS’s expansion into Eastern Europe includes teaming up with local partner Adsonice LLC in Poland. IAS has further affirmed its international presence through a launch in Turkey, alongside a local partnership with Logaritma, that has been working in the region since 2002. Both Adsonice and Logaritma partner with IAS as teams with extensive knowledge and trusted expertise in the regions. 

“IAS is delighted to announce the expansion of its global footprint in EMEA,” said Csaba Szabo, IAS Managing Director, EMEA. “We are seeing demand from brands for further verification and optimisation of programmatic digital advertising across EMEA. The scale of our growth across these markets for digital advertising represents our ambition towards international expansion. Investing into these markets presents a huge opportunity for local brands and agencies seeking the highest quality digital ad impressions, as well as for our existing global customers who are increasingly operating in the region.”

Parker to head up sales at BrightBid
BrightBid, an ad tech platform for Google Advertising, has appointed Robert Parker as Sales Director to drive the company’s ambitious growth plans in the UK.  

Parker has over 12 years’ experience in marketing and sales, leading business development for a number of startups and established companies across the fintech and media industries, including Groupon Getaways, DMG Media, Zip Co, and Humm Group. 

Following the launch of BrightBid’s UK business in September and its latest £2m investment from a number of European unicorns, Parker is tasked with developing the sales team, with new hires across the UK already in place. Based in London, Parker and the team aim to tap into the dynamic tech and startup scene and turn the UK business into its global flagship within the next nine months. 

He said: “Brightbid’s 300 per cent year-on-year growth since it was founded in 2020 is an incredible feat. We’re creating an environment to continue that trajectory and develop the UK business as we hire highly skilled sales executives to develop our UK client base. I am honoured to be leading the team in this next phase of growth as we transform the world of Search.’’ 

Bidstack tempts Franklin away from AdColony for COO role
In-game advertising and video game monetization platform, Bidstack, has recruited Camila Franklin from AdColony as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Lisa Hau will step up to Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) following two and a half years in the COO role.

Franklin brings more than two decades of gaming, mobile marketing and advertising technology experience to Bidstack. She was previously COO at AdColony, one of the largest gaming monetization platforms in the world, with a reach of more than 1.4bn users. She was also named one of The Top Women Leaders in SaaS in 2020 and was a Bronze Stevie Award winner for Woman of the Year in the business services industry in 2021.

Throughout her career, she has led engineering, product, operations, and client-facing teams. Prior to AdColony, she held numerous leadership positions across the US and Latin America at companies such as Blaze, Navio Systems, Tira Wireless, Device Anywhere, Antenna Software, and Moovweb.  

Last week, Bidstack announced a successful fundraise of $11m including its first ever strategic investment, from digital platform cybersecurity firm, Irdeto. This brought Bidstack’s total funding to USD $42m.

Franklin said: “I am delighted to join Bidstack at such a pivotal moment in their journey. My previous success in scaling revenue at AdColony demonstrates my ability to optimize operational performance in gaming environments, and I’ve been fortunate to grow within the space and watch gaming go from a niche medium only tested by a few, to a multi-billion dollar vertical that has plenty of growth ahead. Bidstack has an opportunity to be the market leader, and I’m looking forward to helping them reach their full potential.”

Other moves:
Digital agency Organic has appointed Natalia Wieczorek to the role of  Strategic Account Director. Reporting into Tim Burley, Head of Client Services at Organic, Wieczorek joins Organic from performance marketing agency Highrise, where she was Growth Strategist. She brings over a decade’s experience in tech start-ups, global corporations, boutique agencies and eCommerce brands, and will oversee multiple accounts at the agency, including CILEX, Improve International, and Gas Safe Register.

Ad tech firm, Verve Group, has appointed Evgeny Popov as its EVP & GM, International Sales. With more than 20 years’ experience spanning global organizations, Popov has demonstrated expertise in building teams, products and technology for buy- and sell-side businesses that unlock growth. In all of his endeavours, he has acted as the highest point of knowledge and stewardship for a client’s point of view on marketing technology products, services, and data solutions. He will utilize these skills overseeing Verve Group’s demand-side business units, Verve DSP (formerly Platform161), Match2One, Moments, AI and the Sales/Business Development teams supporting them. Previously, Popov served as Executive Managing Director for Hearts & Science. While there, he managed and nurtured teams across Marketing Science, Data and Technology disciplines. He designed global data strategy assessment frameworks for the agency’s largest clients to de-risk them post-data signal depreciation. Prior to joining Hearts & Science, he served as Executive Vice President of Lotame, where he managed the Global Data Solutions business across both buy and sell sides.

Creator-guided shopping platform, LTK, has hired Jeremy Paterson as General Manager of International. With operations now on five continents and recently expanding its presence beyond its core markets of the UK, France, Germany, Brazil, Australia, China and South Korea, and into Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and New Zealand, LTK is aggressively growing its three-sided marketplace for brands, shoppers and creators around the world.? Paterson will lead the firm’s efforts to further advance the opportunity for creators, brands and shoppers in international markets to leverage the LTK platform, enabling creators in each region to monetize their content and use LTK to grow their business, enabling brands to meaningfully engage global LTK Creators and delivering consumers around the globe a convenient and delightful shopping experience powered by creators. Prior to LTK, Paterson led International teams and operations for a variety of marketplaces and platforms, including Amazon and eBay. Most recently he led international operations for Groupon, as well as Voucher Cloud and Giftcloud.

Ad tech firm TripleLift has hired Dave Clark as its Chief Executive Officer. Clark most recently served as General Manager at FreeWheel. He replaces Eric Berry, the company’s co-founder and CEO, who is stepping away from his role overseeing TripleLift’s day-to-day operations. Berry will continue with the company as a member of its Board of Directors. Clark is a seasoned digital media executive with over two decades of experience spanning ad tech, streaming, software and publishing. Prior to FreeWheel, he held numerous leadership roles at both high-growth and established companies including The Weather Channel, Viacom, and Fuse TV. Known for his considerable operational and sales expertise, Clark has a track-record of capitalizing on a company's strength and seizing new growth opportunities to maximize future potential.

Enterprise Search firm, Sinequa, has appointed Wendy Lurrie as its Chief Marketing Officer. In this new role, Lurrie will manage Sinequa’s global marketing and brand strategy. She brings over 30 years’ experience to the role, with skills that span the full spectrum of marketing disciplines, including brand, direct marketing, CRM, digital marketing, and integrated marketing. Before joining Sinequa, Lurrie served as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Medidata. Prior to that, she  co-founded SPUR partners, a marketing and strategy consultancy, and has also held senior positions at global advertising agencies Grey, FCB and Gyro (now Merkle). Lurrie’s appointment comes alongside Sinequa’s North American expansion as the company grows its global presence while continuing to innovate, with the recent addition of industry-first Neural Search capabilities and its Workplace Search, built on Sinequa's SaaS search platform. 

Digital Transformation consultancy Equator has appointed David Buchanan to the role of Performance Media Team Lead. Reporting to Stacey Donald, Associate Marketing Director at Equator, Buchanan will oversee multiple accounts across the healthcare, travel, leisure, and financial services sectors. He brings with him over five years’ experience working on notable accounts including Thermo Fisher, the New York Shipping Exchange and Tourism Northern Ireland, during stints at Loud Mouth Media and Transiris Scotland. 

Creative agency BMB has promoted Mel Arrow to the role of Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), following a return to the agency after maternity leave. Arrow is an award-winning strategist, Cannes Lion speaker and former WACL Future Leader Award winner. Prior to joining BMB, she was Group Strategy Director and Partner at BBH London, leading the global Absolut account. Prior to this she led strategy on British Airways as well as Nike and Google projects. Since joining BMB in 2019 as Head of Strategy, she has been a key part of the leadership team who have developed a new agency proposition and attracted clients including Nike, Farrow & Ball, Innocent, La Familglia Rana, Breast Cancer Now, Gymbox and Rude Health.  As CSO, she will continue to push the strategy agenda for the agency, whilst bringing new and diverse planning talent into the business.

GrowthOps Asia has named Adzam Bahrin as its first Regional Creative Director. In this new role, Bahrin will be leading the creative direction for Malaysia and Singapore, working on brands including Kia, Grab and RHB. He has a proven record of leading the creative department in recognised agencies, bringing 12 years’ experience to the role. Prior to joining GrowthOps, he was Creative Director at Naga DDB Tribal. He started his career at Ogilvy New York as Junior Art Director and has since honed his skills towards art and creative direction with VMLY&R Malaysia, M&C Saatchi Malaysia, GSW New York, and Leo Burnett Malaysia. In his new role, he will report to Chris Greenough, General Manager of Malaysia, and Shaad Hamid, General Manager of Singapore. He will also play a critical role in evolving GrowthOps Asia’s brand and messaging in the Asia Pacific region.

Global mobile advertising platform Adludio has appointed Dave Ramsay as Chief Product Officer and Ian Liddicoat as Chief Technology Officer and Head of Data Science. Ramsay will be responsible for the further integration and expansion of Adludio’s automated platform. He joins from BT Digital, where he was Director of Product Innovation and Commercialisation, and was in charge of developing new services and insights. Previous to this role, Ramsay held positions at O2 Digital and Weve. Liddicoat will be leading development of Adludio’s proprietary algorithms and the optimization of its world-beating marketing analytics. He joins Adludio from Publicis, where he was Global Head of Data Science and was responsible for its development and delivery of AI products.

PowerX Technology, an AI platform that applies large-scale data analytics and AI automation to optimise mobile tower infrastructure performance, has hired Andrew Schafer as its CEO. He comes to the role with over 12 years’ experience at Verisae and Accruent, where he successfully scaled SaaS solutions across multiple industries and geographies, whilst leveraging his strong domain knowledge in physical asset management, energy management and sustainability. Prior to that, he held senior business advisory and strategy consulting roles at PwC and IBM.

Growth marketing firm, Power Digital, has appointed Christopher Hansen to the role of Chief Client Officer (CCO). Hansen is a veteran of the digital marketing industry, bringing over two decades of experience to the role. Most recently he served as Senior Vice President at 3Pillar Global, after previously working as Senior Vice President at Zeta Global. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer at IgnitionOne, President at Netmining, Senior Vice President at 360i, and a Director at 24/7 Real Media.

Multicultural digital media company, My Code, has appointed Veronica Gilton as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Gilton brings over 25 years of ad tech and media experience. Having managed teams of engineers, designers and product managers of various specializations, Gilton has a track record of elevating team members to encourage high performance at a sustainable pace. She has also demonstrated a strong commitment to diversity in technology by confronting bias, combatting stereotypes and building inclusive teams. In her new role, she will be responsible for overseeing the development and dissemination of My Code’s proprietary technology, including the utilization of My Code’s Intelligence Center, to collect and share media insights about multicultural consumer audiences. She will be driving new intellectual property, building technology to scale business development and elevating service for My Code’s publishers and clients.   

Digital marketing agency, Modo25, has appointing Nicola Sharp as Chief Financial Officer. With over 15 years of finance and CFO experience, Sharp previously held roles as Group CFO at Smoothwall for 11 years, growing the business’s turnover from £1m to £15m. She was also a crucial member of the team during a management buyout of Smoothwall in 2017.  She will be responsible for the agency's overall financial management and governance.