Kantar Media appoints Mike Walsh to Board of Directors, Toni Petra as Chief Operations and Technology Officer
Kantar Media has announced the appointment of Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional, to its Board of Directors. Walsh brings more than 30 years of experience – including overseeing the evolution of LexisNexis from legal research to delivering AI-powered analytics, decision tools and workflow solutions for customers – with him to the role.
Patrick Béhar, CEO of Kantar Media, said that, “As Kantar Media embarks on our own journey of transformation and AI, Mike’s experience … delivering generative and agentic AI solutions that simplify and automate next level work for legal professionals will be invaluable to us.”
Alongside Walsh’s addition to the Board of Directors, Kantar has also announced the appointment of Toni Petra to the role of Chief Operations and Technology Officer with effect from 1st April.
Petra is a global audience measurement executive with more than 30 years’ experience in operations, technology, strategy, and enterprise transformation. She has held multiple senior roles at Nielsen, where she shaped a wide array of strategic initiatives including new market launches, new business unit strategies and big data integrations.
Taboola Names ex-Amazon VP Krishan Bhatia as Chief Business Officer
Taboola has named the newest addition to its senior leadership team: Krishan Bhatia, who was formerly VP, Global Video Advertising and Partnerships at Amazon.
Prior to his role at Amazon, Bhatia served as President and Chief Business Officer of NBCUniversal’s Global Advertising and Partnerships division, and brings with him extensive experience in overseeing digital and streaming TV advertising businesses.
Bhatia will lead global sales and partnerships for Taboola, with a focus on driving revenue growth across Taboola’s entire product portfolio, including its Realize performance advertising platform, CTV performance advertising, generative AI products such as DeeperDive.ai, and more.
Adam Singolda, CEO of Taboola, said that Bhatia joins Taboola “at a pivotal moment in our journey. We are redefining performance advertising on the open web and beyond … The opportunity in front of us is massive.”
Incubeta appoints Adam Woods as Global Chief Product Officer
Adam Woods has joined global marketing agency Incubeta as its new Global Chief Product Officer, overseeing Incubeta’s end-to-end product ecosystem and connecting Incubeta’s technologies into a cohesive, globally scalable product suite.
Woods joins Incubeta with decades of experience building and transforming complex marketing and data platforms, having previously served as CTO of Wunderman Thompson Data (now part of VML), where he led the development of a global data architecture that later became Choreograph. Later, he joined omnichannel digital advertising platform Choozle as its CTO, before going on to serve as CCO and CEO.
Jacques van Niekerk, Global CEO at Incubeta, said that Woods brings “a rare combination of deep technical understanding and product vision” to the position, and understands “what it takes to turn product strategy into value delivery at scale.” His appointment reflects a shift by Incubeta towards delivering integrated intelligence across media, data, and creative rather than standalone tools.
SharkNinja promotes James Kitto to SVP, Managing Director of EMEA
Global product design and technology company SharkNinja, Inc., known for its range of home appliances including air fryers and robot vacuum cleaners, has announced the promotion of James Kitto to the role of Senior Vice President of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
In his new position, Kitto will be responsible for orchestrating SharkNinja’s commercial strategy and execution throughout EMEA, broadening his existing leadership role as Managing Director in the UK. He will lead and work with EMEA region’s country managers to unlock new market opportunities and drive a disciplined commercial execution.
“I am incredibly excited and energized by the opportunity to lead the talented SharkNinja team across the EMEA region,” Kitto says. “…By focusing and driving disciplined growth, strategic alignment and the empowerment of country teams, we will accelerate our ability to bring SharkNinja innovations to more households than ever before.”
The PHA Group appoints Paul McCaffrey to newly-created senior leadership role
Integrated PR, digital, social and crisis comms agency The PHA Group has appointed Paul McCaffrey to the newly-created senior leadership role of Executive Vice President, Integrated Campaigns.
McCaffrey will have the remit to grow the agency’s portfolio of integrated communications work through new and existing clients alike. McCaffrey brings more than 25 years’ PR experience to the role, having previously served in senior positions at SEC Newgate, Publicasity, and the PROI. He has worked on a wide range of award-winning campaigns for the likes of Coca-Cola, Morrisons, TK Maxx and Sony.
The appointment comes as PHA unveils a new agency proposition and brand identity designed to bring its earned-first integrated communications offer to life and deliver campaigns that deliver impact across all stages of the customer journey.
Michele Fino joins Versus as Head of Content Partnerships
Global creative and production studio Versus has appointed long-time branded entertainment executive Michele Fino to the new role of Head of Content Partnerships.
Fino will sit at the intersection of original IP and brand storytelling, where long-form and short-form content, distribution strategy, and partnership design converge. Her focus is on turning creative ambition into funded, culturally-relevant work by helping brands participate in entertainment in ways that feel intentional and not transactional.
Fino brings experience in branded entertainment across television and enterprise partnerships. She has worked on initiatives tied to American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and The Price Is Right, and has structured strategic content deals for organisations including The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (now Blood Cancer United) and Advance Auto Parts.
Research Clever celebrates 400% team growth with key senior appointments
London-based market research firm Research Clever is celebrating a four-fold expansion of its team with a suite of appointments to senior positions.
Payal Jani has joined the leadership team as Operations Director, supported by Frankie Slattery, who is joining in the role of Senior Business Development Manager. Kristian Barnard has been appointed to the role of Senior Account Manager and Wendy Phu joins as Senior Project Manager.
The team’s growth marks a significant milestone in the company’s second year of trading, alongside a 186% lift in revenue. Research Clever’s recent expansion has been supported by the securing of a new office space at Metal Box Factory in Borough, alongside client work for Opinium, C Space, and the University of Essex.
Award-winning creative director Iyesha Cheema-Bradshaw joins Untold Fable
Film production company Untold Fable has announced that award-winning Creative Director Iyesha Cheema-Bradshaw has joined the organisation in the role of Head of Creative and Editorial.
Cheema-Bradshaw brings more than a decade of experience in brand storytelling to the tech-powered production company, having worked with organisations including ITV Creative and ASOS, and on campaigns for global brands such as Crocs, Sky, Tinder, and Deliveroo. Her proven track record in leading teams, directing on set, and managing end-to-end campaigns will be pivotal in driving the next chapter of the company’s growth.
Cheema-Bradshaw recently served as Creative Director at Spring the Agency, in which capacity she led multiple brand campaigns and won Best Social Media Campaign (2025) for Crocs’ ‘Icon of the Year’ campaign. She was also Creative Campaigns Manager at ITV Creative and Creative Project Lead for ASOS, working on cross-platform campaigns, television commercials and out of home.
