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…
Gursahani to head up marketing and comms at Nourish You
Indian superfood brand, Nourish You, has appointed Divya Gursahani as its first Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. Following the appointment, Nourish You will ramp-up its marketing and communication initiatives, staying focussed on deepening awareness about superfoods and their benefits, while positioning itself as the first start-up to introduce the concept of superfoods to Indian consumers. Home to high quality, category disruptive offerings, Nourish You’s Millet Mlk, Breakfast and Meal Mixes, Speciality Flours, and Superseeds have been crucial to the brand’s success in India.
Prior to Nourish You, Gursahani served at the content studio, By the Gram, and media houses including Elle, and DNA. She was instrumental in developing campaigns for Netflix, Amazon, Apollo, Bumble, Tata CLiQ, and Nykaa. As Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, she will spearhead the development and implementation of integrated marketing strategies, encompassing all of Nourish You's product categories and consumer communication channels.
She said: “Nourish You has a powerful vision for the future of health and wellness in India. I am honoured to contribute to a brand that embodies such strong values and has established itself as a frontrunner in the superfood industry, with an exceptional growth trajectory. I look forward to working closely with the founding team as we march towards creating a positive impact for consumers, stakeholders including farmers and the industry at large.”
Canela Media appoints Lasheras as Chief Strategy Officer
Canela Media, a female- and minority-owned technology driven company delivering digital media experiences for the Latino community, has appointed Chechu Lasheras as Chief Strategy Officer. In this new role, Lasheras will spearhead the company's corporate strategy, emphasizing growth and identifying new avenues of opportunity.
He brings a proven track record in business transformation and scaling to the role. His comprehensive understanding of market dynamics stems from his experience on both the supply and demand sides of the industry. As Chief Strategy Officer, Lasheras will be responsible for promoting a culture of innovation within the organization, monitoring emerging technologies, industry trends, and consumer behaviours to identify disruptive opportunities and develop innovation strategies.
Prior to joining Canela Media, Lasheras served as Executive Director at Miami Dade College, a leading educational institution, where his strategic vision and leadership were instrumental in establishing the college as a hub for cutting-edge technologies, fostering innovation, and driving educational advancement. He also served, since the inception, as an advisor to Canela Media. He has also held the position of Chief Digital Revenue Officer at Grupo Prisa, a global media conglomerate known for its diverse portfolio of media assets, including newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and digital platforms, where he played an instrumental role in developing innovative monetization strategies, leading business development initiatives such as the creation of Prisa Content Studio and Prisa Programmatic & Data Hub, as well as driving revenue growth through new acquisitions and international expansion.
He said: “Canela Media has established itself as a dynamic force in the streaming industry, offering a truly unique experience for Latino audiences and advertisers seeking to connect with this vibrant community. I am thrilled to be part of this incredible team and contribute to its future success."
Robbins to lead strategy at S:E Creative Studio
Socially-led creative agency, S:E Creative Studio, part of Sony Music Entertainment, has appointed Ben Robbins to the role of Head of Strategy. Robbins will work across the agency’s existing client roster and as part of the new business team. He will form a special partnership with the Sony Music, Insights & Analytics division, tasked with using the same data and knowledge they use to launch and power music artists to support the launch and growth of new entertainment formats and franchises for brands.
He was previously a consultant strategist working with a range of clients, including TikTok and YouTube influencers. Before that, he worked in business development at Sky, as part of the team that acquired the multi-channel network Diagonal View to bolster Sky Sports’ offering across all social platforms. Robbins began his career at Drum Omnicom Media Group, working on the agency’s early influencer and social content for clients including 02, Mondelez, Canon and McDonalds.
He said: “I'm thrilled to join the S:E team at a time when the business is focusing on the impact that branded entertainment has on brands, particularly through their Dish podcast for Waitrose. I'm eager to lead the strategic direction of the agency in this role, and transform ideas into reality to enable brands to captivate their target audiences through culturally impactful content, rather than relying solely on advertising.”
Bridgstock to head up Data and Product at Jungle Creations
Social first publisher, Jungle Creations, has appointed Anna-Lee Bridgstock to the role of Executive Director of Data and Product. In the newly-created role, she will be responsible for bringing the power of Jungle Creations’ publisher data to its social agency, The Wild by Jungle, to equip brands with the necessary data and insights to most effectively operate across social channels.
She will begin her role by setting up Jungle Creations’ first dedicated creative data division, putting audience and platform insight and effectiveness at the core of the business to connect the dots between media brands and advertising teams. She will also develop a suite of products and services for brands to use across social, in activity including strategy and creative, organic and paid, and influencer and partnerships.
The data division will operate in tandem with Jungle Creations’ freshly -aunched Jungle Creators service, helping connect brands with the most relevant social media creators to the desired audience
She joins Jungle Creations following recent roles as Partner of Analytics & Insights at MSQ and Social Data & Insights Consultant for BBC Studios. At LadBible Group, she set up and led the company’s first hybrid data and planning team, bringing together data, paid media and commercial strategy. She was recently named one of the Top 100 most influential people in data by DataIQ.
“The richness and wealth of data Jungle Creations possesses through our 145+ million audience and how this fuels our work with clients through our social agency The Wild by Jungle has long been the key to our success and point of difference,” said Melissa Chapman, CEO at Jungle Creations. “However, Anna-Lee and her award-winning and industry-renowned experience allow us to take this not one step further but 10 steps further, and I am beyond excited about our ambitious growth plans here and delighted we have the best of the best to lead it forward.”
Schäfer to CEO at Lyca Mobile
Lyca Mobile has appointed Richard Schäfer to the position of CEO, effective immediately, as the company targets a new wave of growth underpinned by its investment in delivering high value, low cost services to mobile customers.
Schäfer also takes on the wider role of Lyca Group CEO, having previously served as Lyca Group CFO since May 2021. Lyca Group is a British multinational corporation offering high-quality, low-cost products and services to over 16m consumers in sectors including telecommunications, entertainment, travel, healthcare and financial services.
Schäfer has an extensive senior leadership track record, having worked in the domestic UK and international telecommunication sector for more than 22 years at some of the UK’s leading telecommunication companies including Three UK, Vodafone UK, Onecom, and Lebara.
At Three UK, he helped build, launch, and grow the UK’s first pure 3G telco, and delivered what was at the time one of largest European telecommunication outsourcing agreements between Three UK and Ericsson, valued at over £1bn. At Vodafone UK, he provided financial leadership to the pioneering site sharing joint venture between Vodafone and O2. More recently, he was Group Chief Financial Officer at Lebara.
He said: “Lyca Mobile has always delivered exceptional value to our customers, and I firmly believe we have some of the most cost-effective and compelling products in the market. As the world’s largest MVNO, we have built a loyal customer base by delivering reliable, low-cost international calling, and there is a golden opportunity to extend that base by targeting a broader value-seeking market.”
Wavemaker hires Rai as AsiaPac CEO, expands Global Growth Team
Wavemaker has appointed Sindhuja Rai as CEO in Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore and reporting to Global CEO Toby Jenner, Rai joins the media agency from Mondelez International.
As APAC CEO, Rai will drive the strategy and execution of how Wavemaker positively provokes growth for their clients and people around the region. She will join the Wavemaker Global Executive team, as well as the GroupM APAC Leadership Team ExCo, and collaborate closely with GroupM and WPP leaders across the region to connect the breadth and depth of the group's capabilities to drive growth on behalf of Wavemaker's clients.
Rai currently leads Global Media Investment & AMEA Consumer Experience at Mondelez International. Her leadership has step changed Mondelez’s media ROI, driven by creative excellence, engaging brand activation and a constant consumer-centric approach. With more than 20 years in marketing, her experience also spans media agencies, including Mindshare and Publicis Media.
Toby Jenner, Global CEO at Wavemaker said: “I’d like to thank Mondelez, and Jon Halvorson in particular, for supporting Sindhuja’s transition from Mondelez to Wavemaker. It’s all credit to Jon how highly regarded Sindhuja is. She is smart and driven with huge integrity. She knows our business well from our relationship with Mondelez, and her regional leadership and global sensitivity make her ideally positioned to take Wavemaker to the next level. Sindhuja will make a massive difference to our clients and our people across the region, making us incredibly well-positioned for continued success. I'm so thrilled she's joining our business.”
Separately, Wavemaker has expanded its Global Growth team. Natalie Yorke has joined as Global Growth Partner based in London, from HH Global, bringing significant insight from her experience at IPG, and running her own business.
For the Americas, Lynne Reilly has joined as Chief Growth Officer, leading all growth initiatives across North America. Prior to Wavemaker, Reilly was at UM, where she led teams to unprecedented expansion over the course of her nine-year career. Additionally, Natalia Lopez, who has transferred from GroupM Latin America, joins as the new Head of Growth for Latin America.
Pall to CTO at InMobi
InMobi, which provides content, marketing, and monetization technologies, has appointed industry veteran, Inderbir Singh Pall as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for InMobi Advertising Platform. With more than 10 years’ experience with InMobi, Pall will play a crucial role in elevating the company's technology roadmap, spearheading innovation initiatives, and driving growth in an ever-evolving and competitive market.
"We are thrilled to introduce Inder as our new Chief Technology Officer,” said Abhay Singhal, Co-founder and CEO of InMobi Advertising Platform. “With his extensive experience and visionary leadership, we are highly confident that InMobi will continue to excel in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. Inder shares our commitment to innovation and delivering exceptional products to our customers. His appointment reaffirms our unwavering dedication to remaining at the forefront of technological advancements and driving sustainable growth."
Pall will oversee InMobi’s technology strategy, product development, and engineering teams, ensuring their seamless alignment with the company’s overarching vision and objectives. He takes the helm as the company has seen a 25 per cent year-on-year growth across the businesses.
In nearly two decades of leading technology teams, Pall has focused on both commerce and mobile categories. An InMobi veteran, Pall was responsible for the creation of InMobi’s foundational big-data platform, architected the company’s Commerce Media solutions, and was on the founding team of Glance. Pall was also a founder of Pikup.ai, an autonomous retail store technology.
He said: "I am deeply honored to assume the role of Chief Technology Officer. This is an incredibly exciting time for the company, and I am eager to collaborate with the exceptionally talented team here to accelerate innovation and create new avenues for growth. By harnessing the immense potential of technology, we will propel InMobi's digital transformation, ensuring that our advertising solutions surpass customer expectations and set new industry benchmarks."
Leagas Delaney London appoints Boyton as Managing Partner
Leagas Delaney London has appointed Chris Boyton as Managing Partner. He joins from M&C Saatchi World Services where worked for the last four years as a Business Director. Prior to his time at M&C Saatchi, he spent five years at Engine working on campaigns for the UK Government including Royal Navy recruitment, The Army, Department of Work & Pensions and the Cabinet Office. He started his career at Publicis, joining on the graduate scheme and working on clients including P&G, Malibu and Confused.com.
Leagas Delaney won 17 new clients in 2022, placing it amongst the top UK agencies in the Annual New Business tables, produced by the AAR Group.
Boyton said: “It is a very exciting time to be joining Leagas Delaney. It is not only an agency with a legacy of outstanding creative work but one that is also at the forefront of technology, particularly in AI-led automation. It’s a compelling combination and one which positions Leagas Delaney distinctively within the market. I’m really looking forward to the challenge of building on that momentum and to working with Gareth and the team here.”
Brassington-Richards takes on Global Chief Health Officer role at Iris
Iris has appointed Cath Brassington-Richards as its Global Chief Health Officer. Cath will be responsible for developing and defining Iris’s healthcare strategy, and advancing and consolidating the agency’s healthcare capabilities.
She joins Iris in this newly-created role to strengthen the existing healthcare practice within the agency, whilst ensuring it is integrated into other specialisms within Iris to give healthcare clients access to talent and expertise from different sectors. She brings extensive scientific experience to the role, including time spent as a Behavioural Neuropharmacologist, to collaborate with Iris’s clients, including Roche, Alcon and Convatec.
She joins from Havas Lynx Group, where she spent the last decade playing a keyrole in the growth and development of the agency. She served most recently as Global Chief Growth Officer, where she was responsible for developing and leading the agency's growth strategy. Previously, she held a number of client services roles, and also established and ran the sub-agency H4B Manchester and led the development of Havas Lynx Group’s DE&I strategy.
She said: “I truly believe that healthcare marketing is an area ripe with opportunity for people to do a job they love, think and work creatively and find fulfilment in helping others. I’ve watched Iris lead the evolution of the category so I knew they understood the opportunities within healthcare communications. I’m really looking forward to bringing the best talent into this area of marketing, creating more world firsts with Iris, and doing it on a global scale.”
Adam&EveDDB promotes four
Adam&EveDDB has announced a series of senior promotions within its account management leadership team. Adam Patel and Fay Taylor have been named Joint Heads of Account Management, while Jo Lorimer has been promoted to Client Experience Director and Loella Collier promoted to Account Management Development Director. All four previously held the role of Deputy Heads of Account Management since January 2022.
Taylor joined Adam&EveDDB in 2017 and has led a number of the agency’s cornerstone clients, including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Great Western Railway, Virgin Media, Camelot. Last year, she was a driving force behind The National Lottery’s Christmas campaign, which went on to be named Campaign’s No.1 Film Ad of the Year.
Patel joined the agency in 2017 as Account Manager, rising to Head of New Business in 2021. He has been instrumental in the creation of award-winning campaigns for clients including Mars Petcare and PlayStation, working on the launch of PS5. He also led ‘Project 84’ for Campaign Against Living Miserably that led to the appointment of the world’s first Minister for Suicide Prevention.
In their new roles, they will be responsible for shaping and leading the department to best serve clients’ evolving and diversifying needs.
Lorimer has worked at Adam&EveDDB for over nine years. She has been at the heart of numerous award-winning campaigns for clients including H&M, Mars Petcare, and Great Ormond Street. She has also played a significant role across the John Lewis account, including various Christmas and brand campaigns, and has been instrumental in several new business wins.
Collier has been with the agency for more than seven years, working across key accounts including Waitrose, where she launched the new Brand Platform ‘Food To Feel Good About’ and the recent Christmas campaign, as well as award-winning campaigns for Mars Petcare, Camelot and VW. In her new role as Account Management Development Director, she will be responsible for implementing a new learning and development programme to equip the department for future growth and success.
“Adam, Fay, Jo and Loella have been superstars at the agency since they joined,” said Miranda Hipwell, Adam&EveDDB Chief Client Officer. “They all bring something different and have contributed so much to our success over the years. I’m delighted to recognise their hard work and talent with these promotions.”
Williamson to head up Paid Media at Organic
Digital agency, Organic, has hired Andy Williamson as its new Head of Paid Media.
He brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously been Performance Integration Director at OM, where he worked on high-profile brands, including McDonald’s. Prior to this he was a Paid Social Account Director and Performance Marketing Director at Mindshare, working with key clients such as Unilever and Ford.
At Organic, Williamson will oversee the Paid Media team, leading the strategy and execution for clients including Improve International, Foundry, Arlo, and Software of Excellence. In addition, he will be closely collaborating with Organic’s specialist teams (notably SEO, UX and Development) in delivering a connected approach to drive the best possible result for their clients.
He said: “Organic’s ability to develop truly collaborative partnerships with clients by connecting brands and customers via meaningful digital experiences places them in a unique position as an agency. I’m delighted to start working with the team and help accelerate growth for the agency’s clients through paid media.”
Mayville to Director of Social Advertising Sales at BBC Studios
BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC, has appointed Julie Mayville as Director of Social Advertising Sales. Based out of New York, Mayville will be responsible for creating and implementing the commercial strategy and go-to-market launch for the company’s social advertising sales function for North America and Latin America.
In this new role for the company, Mayville will focus on attracting new advertisers and brands who want to align with BBC Studios’ more than 90 premium social channels, which combine to reach over 4.7 billion views globally in 2022. She will report into Vice President, Digital Ad Sales, Jacqueline Greichen.
Mayville joins BBC Studios from Twitter, where she served as Lead Global Client Partner in Technology, Telecoms and Entertainment, heading up global partnerships for Twitter’s most valuable global advertisers. Prior to Twitter, she held sales roles at Vevo and Microsoft and was responsible for working with clients to bring video and digital experiences on owned and operated platforms, CTV and YouTube to wide audiences.
She said: “I’m excited to join a company with such a strong portfolio of globally recognized brands as BBC Studios. From Bluey to Doctor Who, to BBC Earth, the breadth and depth of the company’s content is unmatched in the marketplace. I look forward to working with our partners to tap into our world-class, brand safe channels to create premium content that captivates global audiences and drives long lasting growth for new and existing advertisers.”
Wasserman taps Decathlon Partnership Director for Belgium and Netherlands role
Sports, music, entertainment and culture firm, Wasserman, has appointed Decathlon Partnership Director, Wim Mathues, as SVP of Brands and Properties in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Mathues will report into Broderick Hicks, Managing Director, Brands & Properties, Wasserman EMEA. His remit includes growing Wasserman’s footprint in the Netherlands, with the opening of a new office in Amsterdam, and amplifying the agency’s integrated capabilities of consulting, creative and experience across Europe, with a particular focus on sport. Wasserman’s clients include Formula 1, NFL, Coca-Cola and BMW Group, Lenovo and LEGO. He joins Wasserman after three and a half years at Decathlon, and he has more than a decade of experience in marketing, specialising in sports marketing, FMCG, digital commerce, entertainment and technology.
He said: “Wasserman is a giant of the industry, and the fact it sees Europe – and in particular Belgium and the Netherlands – as a key area of growth made this move a no-brainer. Broderick and his team are extremely ambitious, and the chance to be part of this exciting journey and help shape the future of Wasserman was irresistible. I’ve seen the amazing work the team here has done for the likes of NFL and BMW, and I'm looking forward to working with more leading brands and properties across sports, music, entertainment and culture in the region."
Other moves:
Out-of-home (OOH) media agency, Talon, has promoted Luke Willbourn to the role of Managing Director, UK. In his new position, Willbourn will be responsible for the UK business, overseeing client and agency relationships, driving new business opportunities, and leading OOH growth initiatives. He has worked at Talon for over nine years, and was promoted to Chief Client Officer in 2019. His promotion comes alongside the decision of James Copley to step down from his position as UK CEO and transition to a Founder role. In this position as Copley will support Willbourn and the wider leadership team to drive OOH growth in the UK market and beyond.
Wunderman Thompson UK has appointed Ben Worden as its Head of Planning. He joins from Adam&EveDDB, where he was Group Planning Partner for brands including Lloyds Banking Group, McCain, Save the Children and Diageo. In his new role, he will take responsibility for leading Wunderman Thompson’s planning department. He will also be the strategy partner on Wunderman Thompson’s HSBC account, one of the agency’s most awarded clients for creativity and effectiveness, winning over 60 awards in the past two years.
HubSpot, the CRM platform for scaling companies, has hired Mark Barry as Vice President of Sales & Managing Director for the EMEA region. In his new role, he will spearhead the company's growth initiatives, working closely with HubSpot's EMEA leadership in marketing, sales, and services. He will also take charge of leading HubSpot's Sales organisation in the region, playing a pivotal role in empowering thousands of organisations across Europe, Middle East, and Africa to achieve exceptional growth. He brings over 25 years’ experience in sales, marketing and leadership to HubSpot. He joins the company from Stripe, where he spent the last seven years heading up various functions in sales and strategy across EMEA. Prior to that he was at Google.
Performance brand agency, Journey Further, has appointed Linda Warnock as SVP Head of Global Marketing, and Michelle Argan as VP of Paid Media in the US. Warnock will oversee the strategic direction of the agency’s marketing across both UK and US markets. A former Vice President of Marketing at Dept, she brings over 25 years’ experience to the role. Argan will be responsible for leading the planning and activation of paid media for the agency’s clients, and developing and growing a new team. She joins from Merkle, where she led numerous clients’ integrated media accounts across multiple categories, while also building out Merkle’s retail media proposition. Since launching in the UK in 2017 and opening its New York office in 2022, Journey Further has grown from 3 to 180 people, working with the likes of Sizzler and PrettyLittleThing in the US.
Grey London has appointed Liam Thomas as Head of Design to lead its team of designers, animators and artworkers. Thomas joins from Dept, where he was Head of Design. In his new role, Thomas will work across all Grey London clients reporting to Executive Creative Director David Wigglesworth. In previous roles, Thomas has worked on major accounts including Nike, Tinder, Under Armour and Twitch and worked as Senior Designer at Manifesto Studios and Made Thought & AnalogFolk before joining Dept in May 2022.
Performance marketing agency, M&C Saatchi Performance, has promoted Kabeer Chaudhary, currently the Managing Director for APAC, to the role of Global Chief Executive Officer. Chaudhary takes over the reins from James Hilton, the CEO and Founder of M&C Saatchi Performance, who will continue his role as Chairman. Chaudhary has been with the agency since 2015 and has served in the role of Managing Director APAC for the past two years. In his new remit, he will continue to be based out of Singapore and will be responsible for managing the agency’s operations across APAC, Middle East, Europe and US working closely with the global leadership and the country heads to evolve the agency’s global proposition.
AI-powered tech services company, Turing, has appointed Phil Walsh as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Walsh brings more than two decades of strategic marketing and sales expertise for global technology companies, including his most recent role as CMO of Akasa, the leading developer of AI for healthcare operations. Prior to Akasa, he served in several executive marketing roles at global IT services company, Cognizant. Prior to that, he was CMO of Trizetto, Cognizant’s healthcare products division focused on software solutions for the patient care experience. Walsh will report to Turing’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-founder, Jonathan Siddharth, and serve as a member of the company’s executive leadership team.
Spark Foundry has promoted Kudzai Mubaiwa to Head of Performance. In her new role, she will be managing the agency’s Performance department – Performics @ Spark Foundry – alongside Tom Wigley, Spark Foundry’s Chief Digital, Data & Technology Officer. She will oversee the team of 140 people and guide the agency’s overall Performance product. She has been with Publicis Media for almost a decade, first at Blue 449 before the brand became part of Spark Foundry, and most recently, she held the role of Head of Performance Media and has been instrumental in growing and developing the agency’s PPC team. Prior to working at Spark Foundry, Kudzai was in Australia, where she worked at InsureandGo Australia, Blackglass and Found Agency in various search and digital marketing roles.
Rail technology company, SilverRail, has appointed Brett Ring as Vice President (VP) of Commercial. Ring is the former Trainline Global Sales Director, and boasts well over a decade’s experience within the travel technology sector. At SilverRail, he will be responsible for driving industry relationships and supporting partners in their efforts to optimise and improve the efficiency of selling rail services. SilverRail Handles more than 1 billion online rail searches each year, process more than 30m bookings, and distributes tickets for more than 35 providers and carriers.
Digital agency, Flight Story, has appointed Tom Lindfalk as Managing Director of Consulting. Prior to working at Flight Story, Lindfalk was a Senior Consultant at PwC Consulting, with extensive experience of helping global organisations navigate technology transformation. He led some of PwC’s most complex, multi-year transformation programmes across brands such as Natwest Group, LSEG, Sainsbury’s and Phoenix Group. In his new position, he will be responsible for Flight Story’s growth and profitability, implementation of strategy, oversight of client and company relationships, drive for new business opportunities and management of operational process and policy developments.
