Interviews, insight & analysis on digital media & marketing

Talent Tracker: ShowHeroes Group, Taxi Studio, Totalmobile and more

ShowHeroes Group, a global provider of digital video solutions for advertisers and publishers, has announced the appointment of former Teads executive Eric Shih as its global advisor and board member. Shih will give strategic direction to the company as it continues to expand its suite of video targeting and content products across global markets, including the US and Latin America. A well-known industry figure, Shih will draw on his 18 years of experience working on both the advertiser and publisher sides of the video ecosystem to provide client and partnership connections, as well as strategic product advice in his new role. During his eight-year stint as Chief Supply Officer at Teads, Shih led publisher acquisition across 30 countries for the global media platform and oversaw the company’s strategic partnerships such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Earlier in his career, Shih held senior business development positions at various leading US cable television programmers, including Scripps Networks (now Discovery Communications) and A&E Networks.

Taxi Studio, the brand expression agency, has made a series of appointments across the business, to fuel market and territorial growth. Ryan Wills will take the reins as agency CEO. Spencer Buck will continue to lead Taxi’s creative output as Chief Creative Officer. Alex Bane will head up Taxi’s client and new business generation teams as Chief Business Officer.

Totalmobile, a Field Service Management (FSM) software company, has announced the appointment of Chief People and Places Officer, Gillian Mahon, to the Board of Directors. After joining Totalmobile as HR Director and Recruitment Lead in March 2021, Mahon has spent the past 12 months enhancing the employee experience and building an organisational structure that supports the company and its people, as it grows through multiple acquisitions. In her present role of Chief People and Places Officer, Mahon’s responsibilities entail ensuring that all Totalmobile employees are supported to reach their potential in an inclusive environment that promotes wellbeing as a priority.

The 10 Group has appointed former BBC Business and Economics Unit senior producer Mantej Deol in an advisory role. Reporting to CEO and founder Elaine Stern, Deol will be responsible for helping grow The 10 Group’s broadcast newsroom function with a focus on corporate storytelling. She will be working with clients to help them create compelling stories for business news audiences. With a career spanning over three decades, Deol has worked across the BBC’s national newsroom as well as internationally, having run the Asia Business Bureau between 2002 and 2004 reporting across China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and other nations. She also served as a reporter and producer at BBC Westminster, reporting on national political stories and party conferences throughout John Major and Tony Blair’s years as Prime Minister.

Ascent, a European digital services business, has announced the appointment of technology, engineering and consulting heavyweight James Whitehouse as Group Chief Operating Officer. Following 11 years as Board Director at technology and business consulting firm BJSS, Whitehouse joins Ascent during a period of massive growth to lead its global operations and customer success teams. Working with Ascent CEO Stewart Smythe, he will help scale the business and shape innovation strategies that position Ascent firmly at the forefront of European technology and digital service delivery. Whitehouse brings more than 20 years of technology and consulting experience to his new role, starting out in banking before joining PwC Consulting and going on to found and sell a successful software engineering and technology business. As board director at BJSS, he grew the business from 100 people to a thriving 2000-strong operation, which makes him a perfect match for Ascent’s growth ambitions.

dxw, an employee-owned agency that designs, builds and runs digital public services has appointed Jonathan Flowers as a non-executive director. He joins the Executive Board from 1 March 2022 and will provide an influential and independent voice as the agency continues to implement its growth plan. In his role, Flowers will contribute to the development of strategy, drawing on his extensive industry experience. Flowers has held senior executive and non-executive roles in the public, private and voluntary sectors and now acts in an advisory capacity at board level. He brings significant experience of local government, having been a Director in a London Borough and Deputy Chief Executive in a County Council, and Independent Chair of the Improvement Board for Local Councils. 

Family-focused marketing agency Kids Industries (KI) has announced a raft of new appointments, including the hire of Dennis Publishing’s Research Manager, Carlene Wilson. Wilson joins from Dennis Publishing, where she held the position of Research Manager and was responsible for managing multiple projects in the UK and US. Her quantitative expertise contributed to the successful launches of The Week Junior in the UK and the US – a hugely popular magazine that introduces children aged 8-14 to current affairs in an accessible and engaging format. Georgina Katsiani joins as a Producer. A Digital Media graduate whose industrial year included a placement with Cartoon Network, producing web-games, apps and microsites within the digital entertainment team. Gina will focus on creating engaging content and building communities amongst Kids Industries clients by generating fresh and engaging content.

Frankie Stevens joins as a Designer. As a recent graduate from Loughborough University, Stevens brings strong story-telling skills to the agency with experience in freelance illustration, and social campaigns for mental health awareness. Her work at Kids Industries will involve designing assets for client projects as well as elevating pitch documents with design to help achieve optimal outcomes. Courtney Joseph joins as Research Executive. Joseph is a recent Masters graduate with specialisms in Positive Psychology and Art Education. She has a keen interest in neuroaesthetics, a passion for user experience and a history of working with children and within SEN. At Kids Industries she will work within the strategy and insights team, providing support on research projects.

Creative technology and content production studio Happy Finish has announced the appointment of Lyndon Greenlees as its new Director of Strategic Partnerships. Lyndon is tasked with managing key accounts across HF’s content and immersive offer. He will be responsible for ensuring these brands and agencies’ needs connect with HF’s DNA of compelling, authentic storytelling, asset creation and experiences in ways that add value and deliver engagement across multiple channels and platforms. Coming from Group Nine Media, where he was Director of Global Partnerships, Greenlees has experience working with big brand names including Apple, Nike, Diageo, Unilever and Adidas, adding further brand expertise to the HF commercial team.

Publicis Sapient, the digital business transformation company, has announced the appointment of Abby Godee as Chief Experience Officer, effective March 1, 2022.  She will join the Publicis Sapient Global Leadership Team and, as such, report to Global Chief Delivery Officer Bob Van Beber. Godee joins Publicis Sapient from Deloitte Consulting, where she was a Partner, driving growth of a human centric-innovation and design strategy practice. Previously, she was Chief Design Officer at Philips Consumer Lifestyle and later led the design of Philips’ healthcare software experiences. She also held leadership roles at frog design in the US and Europe and was a partner with Smart Design LLC in New York and San Francisco.

Website design and development agency Kitty has appointed a new Technical Director, Craig Dodd. His previous roles have included Creative Technology Director at Space66 and Head of  Development at Addictive Pixel, an independent agency embedded within Bartle Bogle Hegarty. Dodd joins to assist Rob Knight, Managing Director at Kitty, in the growth of the agency with a focus on a recruitment drive to double the agency headcount by end of 2022. Dodd will also be instrumental in increasing the technical offering to clients by expanding the platforms and applications offered by Kitty. This wealth of knowledge comes from Dodd’s experience at Space66, which he joined in 2014 as Creative Technology Director overseeing all aspects of strategic planning and leveraging current and emerging technologies for clients including Lynx, Audi and Virgin Media.

Global channel agency Sherpa has announced the appointment of Bradley Forsdick as Channel Platforms Manager. Reporting into Sherpa’s Business Director Pascale Smith, Bradley will be utilising his skills and experience to help increase adoption and engagement for Sherpa’s clients, as well as helping to deliver on the agency’s, new business, and growth plans. He will be working on the development roadmap, go to market strategy as well as driving key partnerships with Sherpa’s PRM partners. Coming from Propeller Studios, where he was a Product Manager Bradley brings four years of solid SaaS experience to Sherpa, which will be critical in taking the platform out to customers.

Travis Meidell is joining Shutterstock Studios as Global Executive Creative Director. Prior to Shutterstock, Meidell was at Amazon for eight years where he led creative for all forms of advertising at AWS. In his new role, Meidell will lead all creative development, ideation and strategy, including developing advertising brand concepts for TV, OTT, Social, OOH, Virtual and anywhere else content lives today and tomorrow.

Sister companies FeastBox and Red Rickshaw  have promoted Liam Howard-Jones (previously Head of Growth) to Chief Marketing Officer and a position on the Board, his new role will lead the progressive plans in place to significantly scale both businesses. The Board position will see Howard-Jones become a key decision-maker within the business, supporting on strategic direction and the future of both companies.

Retail Marketing Group (RMG), the multichannel marketing agency, has announced the appointments of a new Commercial Director and Head of People, to strengthen its senior leadership team. Victoria Phillips and Justin Rigden have joined RMG as Commercial Director and Head of People respectively, at a time of rapid growth for the company, as it works alongside sister company Storey to provide end-to-end retail solutions. Previously Group Account Director of Brand and Retail Experience at Stellar Global, Phillips brings strong experience with securing new business and developing growth strategies. Phillips has worked with a wide range of high-profile brands that include Nike, Peloton, Beats by Dre, Genesis, and Samsung. With over two decades of experience in field marketing, Rigden was previously Group Operations Director at Acosta and has worked across commercial, operational, and people functions.