Sally Laycock has been appointed as the new CEO of Incubeta UK, the independent digital marketing services group. Laycock will succeed Luke Judge, who has headed up the company as US and UK Group CEO for the past 5 years. John Cawdery who was appointed as US CEO in September last year will continue to lead Incubeta in North America. Laycock joined Incubeta in 2008 as Financial Controller and became Chief Financial Officer UK and US in 2017 overseeing all financial and business operations. Working alongside Judge, her operational expertise and intimate knowledge of the business has been instrumental to Incubeta’s success and growth. Judge will now be handing the torch of UK CEO over to Laycock who will be tasked with continuing to drive Incubeta’s growth trajectory through the innovation of services and products. Laycock will also join the global Incubeta steering committee to provide active input for the group direction.
Searchmetrics has announced that founder Marcus Tober will, with immediate effect, take up the position of Founder and Chief Evangelist with the company. Tober founded Searchmetrics in 2005 and was in the vanguard of creating SEO as a marketing discipline. With his deep SEO knowledge and experience, Tober 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. He will also consult with the development and product teams to help drive innovation in Searchmetrics’ product suite as it evolves to meet the future needs of customers within the rapidly evolving search landscape.
Felipe Polo, co-chairman and founder of leading software development company, GuideSmiths, has been appointed to the Board of the corporate consulting, accounting and legal services provider, Afianza, as a Non-Executive Director, to advise the firm on implementing technology to accelerate its growth. Polo brings 15 years’ experience in driving high-performance teams to Afianza’s Board, following his integral role in the set-up and launch of GuideSmiths’ Madrid office after heading up large-scale migrations, continuous integration/deployment platforms and microservices builds with the consultancy in the UK.
Engine B, a next generation AI-driven audit technology company, has announced the appointment of Franki Hackett as Head of Audit and Ethics. Hackett brings a wealth of experience gained designing and implementing next-generation data technologies into audit and assurance, as well as an academic background in critical accounting, audit ethics and tax transparency. Hackett joins Engine B from the UK National Audit Office, where she was Head of Financial Audit Analytics, managing the data analytics team for the financial audit side of the business. At Engine B, Hackett will be responsible for maintaining ethical standards internally, keeping the company on track to drive futureproof and ethical change in the audit market, and ensuring its tools meet the rigorous standards of compliance needed to deliver assurance and trust. She will also oversee a programme of research into experimental technologies, making sure Engine B continues pushing the boundary of what’s possible in audit.
The Technology Business Management (TBM) Council, a non-profit organization that promotes technology business management standards and practices to empower collaboration between technology leaders and business partners, introduced two members to its board of directors, including a new Council chair. Phil Armstrong, Global CIO of Great-West Lifeco, and Nicole Holmes, Technology CFO for Wells Fargo, Assume Board Positions as the Council Helps CIOs and CFOs Navigate Post-Pandemic Strategy and Education. As Council chair, Phil Armstrong serves as a conduit between the board and other executive members of the TBM Council and TBM Council management. He is the driving force behind key Council initiatives, including evolving the TBM Council as members emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, providing them with new and better ways to engage, learn, and contribute. As the current Executive Vice President and Global CIO of Great-West Lifeco, Armstrong has more than 40 years of progressive global technology experience as a CIO, senior technology advisor, and technology consulting strategist. As the current Chief Financial Officer for Wells Fargo Technology, Holmes provides dedicated financial support to the Technology organization, helping leaders manage technology costs by delivering data-driven insights and transparency. Holmes has more than 27 years of experience in the financial services industry, having held leadership positions with companies like JPMorgan Chase.
CCS Insight has appointed Geoff Blaber as CEO to lead its ever-growing team and portfolio of services. Geoff Blaber recently returned to the UK after several years developing CCS Insight’s North American division in California. He will lead the company from CCS Insight’s offices in London. Blaber will be supported by the existing leadership team, comprising Ben Wood, who becomes Chief Analyst and CMO; Martin Garner, Chief Operating Officer; and Paul Campbell, Chief Commercial Officer. Michael Walker continues his role as a non-executive director.
Cambridge Broadband Networks Group (CBNG) has welcomed its new Chief Technology Officer William Webb. With more than 30 years of experience, Webb was previously the President of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, becoming the youngest President in a century. In his time within the telecoms industry, he was also Director of Technology Resources at the UK regulator, Ofcom for over seven years and Director of Corporate Strategy at Motorola. Webb will be responsible for leading the company’s technology vision and strategy, defining the future direction of CBNG’s solutions to ensure they meet the challenges that modern connectivity presents.
Ruby Mellor has joined TIPi Group’s digital performance arm, Roast, as CX director to solidify the agency’s end-to-end customer lifecycle offering. Mellor has delivered creative and technical CX solutions for leading brands such as Photobox, Office and Rated People. With over 15 years in the field, Mellor brings to Roast a wealth of CX experience covering multiple industries and disciplines, helping business at all stages of maturity – whether scaling up in growth phase or enhancing already established operations.
The Access Group has announced the appointment of Charles Butterworth as Managing Director of its Access People division. Butterworth is a senior business executive with over 24 years’ experience in the technology, telecommunications and investment banking sectors, including 13 years’ experience at MD and CEO level. As MD of Access People, he will lead the Access Group’s human resources, payroll, learning & development and compliance teams and solutions. Butterworth’s role will include further integration of recent company acquisitions into the Access People business for the benefit of customers, partners and employees. In his most recent executive role, Butterworth was managing director, Experian UK & Ireland and EMEA. His responsibilities extended across all the data, analytics and software business of Experian in this region.
Perfect Channel Limited has appointed John Lee as its new Chief Information Officer (CIO) and a member of the company’s Management Committee. Lee has previously held roles as CIO at PayPoint PLC, Director of Systems Development at NYSE Euronext Market Solutions, and Group CTO at the London Metal Exchange. More recently, Lee has been acting as a consultant for Airbus Industries to help it launch SKYTRA, designed to help the air travel industry manage the financial risks of volatile revenue streams. His experience covers the management of a wide range of IT projects and systems, utilising new technologies and globally distributed platforms.
Mike Pearce has also joined Perfect Channel from Jacobs, as Head of Delivery, a role responsible for ensuring high-quality software and services are delivered to multiple sites and across multiple teams. Pearce has considerable experience as a software engineer, scrum master and agile coach, as well as being a project and programme manager and technical director. At Perfect Channel, Pearce will focus on creating and managing a project delivery framework to ensure consistent delivery in response to an increased demand for its services.
Strategic and creative healthcare agency, CreateHealth, has welcomed new marketing manager, Carrie Fick, to the team this January. Fick brings with her 12 years of experience, both agency and client-side, working for brand leaders Nokia and Samsung. There she worked in European Partnerships and branded events on the likes of the Olympics, Nokia Snowboard and Nokia Trends Lab, and then subsequently worked for branding and advertising agencies in Bristol on the likes of OralB (P&G, Geneva).
Gigamon has appointed Michael Dickman as its new Chief Product Officer (CPO). Dickman will lead product innovation management and marketing across the company’s portfolio of hybrid cloud, 5G and security solutions. Prior to Gigamon, Dickman served as Senior Vice President for Product Management and Technical Marketing at Aruba Networks (an HPE company). Additionally, he held multiple product and strategy leadership roles in Enterprise Networking at Cisco Systems including early work on SD-WAN for hybrid cloud.
R/GA has named Ashish Prashar as its Global Chief Marketing Officer. As Global Chief Marketing Officer, Prashar will oversee the global marketing function for R/GA with responsibility for market strategy, brand, and corporate communications. With over 15 years of experience, Ashish brings deep experience at the intersection of marketing and communications in building global brands. He joins R/GA from Publicis Sapient, the digital business transformation hub of Publicis. With a long and successful track record of leadership, he is a political communications strategist, most recently working with the Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee for Joe Biden’s 2020 Presidential Election and served as a campaign press secretary to former Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
Automation platform Ivanti, Inc. has announced the appointment of Erik Randles, the company’s new Senior Vice President of Global Channels and Alliances. With over 20 years of experience leading global business development, alliances and channel partner sales programs at both public and private companies, Randles brings with him a distinguished skillset to expand Ivanti’s global partner network. Randles joins Ivanti from VMware, where he led global business development and alliances for VMware’s cloud management SaaS business. Prior to VMware, Randles led partner organizations at several large public and hyper-growth private companies, including Hewlett-Packard Enterprise SimpliVity, Symantec and Veritas.
Adverty AB (publ) has announced the promotion of Tobias Knutsson to CEO, alongside the appointment of Thorbjörn Warin as Chief Supply Officer, with founder Niklas Bakos to focus on product strategy and development. Tobias Knutsson, currently Chief Commercial Officer, brings years of leadership, strategic sales and extensive business development experience to the role as CEO of Adverty. Knutsson was previously Chief Commercial Officer at DanAds, and CEO at Strossle, where he was responsible for revenue optimisation at the fast-growing media tech company. To accelerate further growth of its games portfolio, Adverty is hiring Thorbjörn Warin as Chief Supply Officer. Based in Finland, Warin was previously VP of Publishing EMEA at US based adtech company AdColony, where he worked closely with game publishers in the region. He served as CMO of Helsinki-based game developer Grand Cru, and, prior to that, as Head of Marketing at Berlin-based game studio, Wooga.
Zylpha has appointed Miranda Evans as Marketing Manager. Prior to joining Zylpha, Evans had a number of senior online digital marketing management roles. Most recently, she was Global Online Marketing Manager for the world’s leading manufacturer of silicone prosthetics Amoena, where she devised and deployed digital marketing strategies and content for roll out globally across the group’s multiple websites, social media channels and e-newsletters.
Katy Cain has joined smart health tech provider Alcidion as a Clinical Consultant. Katy Cain joins Alcidion from East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, where she held a wide range of posts in clinical roles, most recently as a modern matron for the trust’s cardiology directorate. Cain, who also actively supported the adoption of new technologies in her nursing positions, will maintain close relationships with clinicians in NHS hospitals, to ensure frontline requirements in the UK are proactively fed into Alcidion’s product roadmaps. She will also continue to cover shifts part-time as a nurse to support colleagues through the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
Independent creative agency Waste has announced the appointment of Brett Phipps to the newly created role of Senior Editor, as it seeks to build a newsroom function for entertainment clients as part of its fan-first offering. Phipps joins from We Are Social, where he spent nearly three years as Senior Editor, leading the social media editorial vision for two of Activision’s biggest gaming franchises, Call of Duty and Destiny, across 12 international markets. In his new role at Waste, Phipps will build a newsroom function in order to help clients better understand and react to conversations about their brands online, with an initial focus on the Supercell account. The new function will enable brands to spot and act on real-time opportunities to join the conversations that matter to their target audiences.
Two key members of the team at Derbyshire based full service digital marketing agency Purpose Media have been promoted. The two promotions are Liam Brown who will now be Head of Business Development and Rachel Gascoigne who has become Head of Copy. Brown joined Purpose Media in 2018 from consumer credit giant Experian. His role involves identifying opportunities with businesses that are looking to improve their on-line marketing performance by developing their website SEO, improving their brand messaging and by using tools such as social media, email marketing and other digital platforms such as pay per click. Gascoigne joined Purpose Media in 2017 from marketing agency StrawberryToo where she was a copywriter. She also has previous experience from companies such as Lad Bible which owned Pretty52. Gascoigne’s new role means she will be leading a team which creates engaging content that maximises the chances of it being found when people search for solutions on the internet and motivates customers to take action.
Tanium has announced that Matt Thompson has joined the company’s Board of Directors as an independent director. Thompson was most recently the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations at Adobe, overseeing global sales, partnerships, ecommerce, consulting and services, and customer success operations. Thompson joined Adobe in 2007 and during his tenure he led the growth of the company from $2 billion in sales to now over $12 billion, scaling the field organization to over 10,000 people. Prior to Adobe, Thompson held a number of sales and field operation leadership roles in the software space, including as a member of the executive team for Borland Software (acquired by Micro Focus), Marimba (acquired by BMC Software), Calico Commerce (acquired by PeopleSoft) and Cadence Design Systems. He began his career at Electronic Data Systems. Currently, Thompson sits on the Board of NCR and Ellucian and previously held a board role with Appirio (acquired by Wipro).
Commvault has appointed Isabelle Guis as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Guis will use her deep experience in marketing industry-leading cloud and SaaS-based solutions to take the reins of Commvault’s global marketing efforts. Guis brings two decades of experience in B2B technology marketing and has knowledge of multiple go-to-market motions, including SaaS, direct and through channel partners. She also brings expertise in product marketing and management across the IT industry. Most recently, she was vice president of sales cloud product marketing at Salesforce, where she oversaw product messaging, launches, and innovation for the Sales Cloud portfolio.
Growth marketing agency, ClickThrough Marketing, have appointed Nikki Gatenby to the Board of Directors, along with assigning Lindsay Macintyre to the role of Head of New Business. Gatenby is joining the agency as a non-executive director, as part of ClickThrough’s high-level strategic board development. Nikki Gatenby will be overseeing and advising on all areas of business development, particularly in line with developing ClickThrough’s cultural strategy to enhance the service the agency provides to clients. Her strategy of transforming business performance by putting people and purpose first was proven through her amplification of Brighton based agency Propellernet to a global level, as documented in her book ‘Super Engaged’. Lindsay Macintyre was appointed after a thorough process to identify a Head of New Business with the capability to transform ClickThrough’s approach to new business and identifying compatible brands specifically looking to grow through marketing. Macintyre’s talent and experience in identifying strong growth partnerships will enable ClickThrough to cement their presence as a specialist growth partner that achieves significant results across all sectors.
marketplace amp has announced the appointment of Senior Client Services Executive, Amanda Smith. With 20 years of experience as Senior Buyer for Ann Summers, Peacocks, Myla, and Exertis Unlimited, Smith comes with a wealth of knowledge in buying and marketing a range of products both online and in stores. Formerly the Head of Buying at Bondara, Smith was responsible for managing and developing a buying team of six people to deliver profitable, creative and innovative products for a dynamic e-commerce business, which she grew from strength to strength. She worked on the design, development and launch of products before moving to Expertise Unlimited where she focused her skills to working with vendors to sell on the world’s marketplaces, such as eBay, Amazon, Curries and John Lewis.
JDO has appointed Ed Silk to the role of Global Head of Strategy. Silk joins JDO at a time of sustained growth for the award-winning agency – that has built an enviable reputation for delivering world class strategic creativity to a roster of global brands including: Shell, Pepsi and Dove. Prior to joining JDO, Silk was Head of Strategy at Bulletproof London where his clients, amongst others, included: Bayer, P&G, Heineken and Mondelez. He also helped create the hard seltzer brand, White Claw, that has been a huge success with a 60% category share by the end of 2019. Before Bulletproof, Silk was Planning Partner at Coley Porter Bell.
