The Ogilvy Group UK appoints Jai Kotecha as President of Social
The Ogilvy Group UK has appointed Jai Kotecha as President of Social, a newly created role covering social strategy across Ogilvy, Grey and New Commercial Arts.
Kotecha will bring together and develop the group’s existing social capabilities and make a number of senior-level hires to its social team. He will report to James Murphy, CEO of The Ogilvy Group UK, and work closely with Nicola Dodd, EMEA president of PR and UK managing director of PR, Social & Influence at Ogilvy.
Kotecha will continue as CEO of Grey, a position he took up in January. He previously led social, digital, content and influence for Ogilvy UK, before serving as CEO of Ogilvy Netherlands and EMEA Managing Director at Ogilvy. He has more than 20 years’ industry experience.
Brandtech Group appoints Chris Garbutt as Global Chief Creative Officer
Brandtech Group has appointed Chris Garbutt as Global Chief Creative Officer, where he will oversee creativity and craft across its generative AI activity.
Garbutt joins from Vice Media Group, where he was Chief Creative Officer and Co-President of Virtue. He previously spent five years as Global Chief Creative Officer at TBWA\Worldwide and eight years as Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy Paris and New York.
His career has included work on campaigns and platforms for brands including Apple, Google, IBM, Coca-Cola, Louis Vuitton, Dove, adidas and Airbnb. His new role starts immediately.
Audion appoints Mike Villalobos as Chief Revenue Officer
Audion has appointed Mike Villalobos as its first Chief Revenue Officer, with responsibility for revenue strategy and the commercial organisation as the company expands its US operation.
Villalobos joins from Seedtag, where he was SVP, global go-to-market and commercial operations, overseeing demand and supply revenue, commercial operations, analytics, measurement and client services across 17 markets. He previously ran Seedtag’s North American business.
Earlier roles included positions at PubMatic and #Paid, leading new business for Teads’ performance advertising division, and serving as a founding member and SVP of sales at FuelX, where he built the sales organisation and opened several offices.
At Audion, Villalobos will own revenue across the demand and supply business and report to co-founder and co-CEO Arthur Larrey. His initial focus will be the US, alongside responsibility for the company’s global commercial organisation.
EACA names Patou Nuytemans as Ambassador for Agency Value
The European Association of Communications Agencies has appointed Patou Nuytemans, who left Ogilvy in August after 30 years, latterly as Chief Executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, to make the case for a new agency model and the value that agencies deliver for clients.
The appointment follows the recent EACA and VoxComm report Redesigning the Agency Value Model, which set out the challenges that AI is creating for the current time-and-people business model and urged agencies to package and price their expertise as defined solutions rather than as time.
Nuytemans’ brief builds on the VoxComm/EACA paper and goes beyond it – into where agency growth comes from next, the shapes a creative business can take, and whether the industry can still fund the talent it depends on. She will be making the case for change on key marketing and agency podcasts around Europe.
PebblePost names Adam Soroca as CEO
PebblePost has appointed Adam Soroca as Chief Executive Officer as the company expands its offering beyond programmatic direct mail into CTV.
Soroca is an ad tech executive who has built, scaled and sold several companies, including mobile advertising platform Jumptap and programmatic infrastructure company nToggle. Most recently, he was Chief Product Officer at Magnite, where he led global product strategy and worked on its CTV and omnichannel capabilities.
His appointment is part of a series of leadership changes at PebblePost, including the appointment of Melanie Samson as Chief Marketing Officer. Samson joins from Acxiom, where she was Vice President of Growth Marketing.
Soroca will lead PebblePost as it develops its CTV and broader commerce marketing offering, using first-party purchase data across online and offline channels.
StackAdapt appoints Shopify president Harley Finkelstein as strategic advisor
StackAdapt has appointed Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, as a strategic advisor.
Finkelstein will work with StackAdapt’s leadership team as the company expands globally and develops its technology beyond programmatic advertising. His remit will include strategic counsel on global growth, company building, product strategy and the role of technology in business growth.
He joined Shopify in 2010 and previously served as its Chief Operating Officer. He is also an entrepreneur who has founded several startups and ecommerce businesses, and holds advisory and board positions across the technology, retail and nonprofit sectors.
All-In Global appoints Martin Calvert as Marketing Director
All-In Global has appointed Martin Calvert as Marketing Director. He joins from Leeds-based ICS-digital, where he led marketing for seven years.
Calvert has more than a decade’s experience in SEO-focused digital agencies, with international marketing experience across iGaming, finance, ecommerce, travel and manufacturing. He has also contributed to the UK Department for Business and Trade’s Digital Edge programme for exporters.
At All-In Global, Calvert will lead marketing while working across partnerships, new-market development and the continued adoption of CRAIG, the company’s AI translation and localisation platform.
Pubstack appoints Yann Stadnicki as Chief Technology Officer
Pubstack has appointed Yann Stadnicki as Chief Technology Officer.
Stadnicki has a PhD in Mathematics and has worked across artificial intelligence, data and technology. He spent more than six years at Criteo, initially as a machine learning specialist before moving into engineering leadership, where he managed distributed teams and large-scale systems.
He subsequently joined Microsoft Research in New York, working on applied machine learning and the development of AI research into products. More recently, he worked at Adeo on data and technology initiatives.
At Pubstack, Stadnicki will initially focus on scaling the technology behind Spark, expanding connectivity across the advertising ecosystem, and using data and machine learning to strengthen decision-making for publishers.
onepointfive appoints Matt Gully as Client Partner
Independent brand experience agency onepointfive has appointed Matt Gully as Client Partner.
Gully joins from VCCP, where he was Managing Partner, leading integrated accounts and teams across advertising, digital, brand strategy and social activation. He previously spent 17 years at Iris in the UK and US, working across brands including Visa, Sage, SSE and Barclays.
Reporting to co-founders Joel Barsch and Rob Pryce, Gully will work with the client service team across Europe and the Middle East. His responsibilities will include client relationships, business development and team growth, with a focus on connecting brand experience with the wider customer journey.
His appointment follows the recent arrival of Simon Walsh as Global Executive Creative Director and comes as onepointfive expands its international operation, including the launch of its Middle East business.
Clarity Global appoints Sarah Tyers and promotes Louise Kitchingham
Clarity Global has strengthened its health practice with the appointment of Sarah Tyers as a senior health advisor and the promotion of Louise Kitchingham to EVP, Policy Communications and Health Lead.
Tyers joins after almost 30 years at NHS England, most recently working on the adoption of national-priority health technology. Her experience covers policy development and the adoption of new technologies within the NHS.
Kitchingham leads Clarity’s health practice and will continue working with Nick Lansman and the wider specialist team, with a focus on policy and market access work across global markets.
The changes come as Clarity continues to expand its health and life sciences work across healthtech, medtech and healthcare policy.
Awin appoints Varun Aggarwal as Chief Product & Technology Officer
Awin has appointed Varun Aggarwal as Chief Product & Technology Officer, bringing its product, technology and AI functions under a single leadership role.
Aggarwal has more than 20 years’ experience in global commerce and technology products. At Amazon, he led product teams covering its Buy Now Pay Later and European B2B businesses, while at Checkout.com he worked on product strategy and international expansion for the platform business.
As CPTO, Aggarwal will lead Awin’s Product & Technology team and oversee the development of its platform strategy, including technology designed to help brands understand, measure and reward influence across customer journeys.
The appointment follows recent developments including Awin’s partnership with YouTube and the launch of platform capabilities including AI Visibility and Smart Search.
M+C Saatchi Consulting appoints Sammi Marwan to lead EMEA
M+C Saatchi Consulting has appointed Sammi Marwan as Managing Director, Consulting – EMEA.
Marwan joins from sports and entertainment technology platform Greenfly, where he was Chief Operating Officer. He previously founded RLO Consulting and held senior roles at Endeavor, including leading corporate strategy and development at cultural marketing agency 160over90. He also led strategy and consulting at IMG, advising clients including UEFA, the Football Association, Wimbledon and the R&A.
At M+C Saatchi Consulting, Marwan will lead the 50-strong EMEA team and have responsibility for regional P&L, revenue, profitability, new business and client retention. He will also set the regional strategy and work across the group’s creative, experience, media, performance, data, digital and strategy capabilities.
A key part of his remit will be developing and commercialising Return on Cultural Power, the consultancy’s framework developed with Oxford Saïd Business School. He will also oversee talent and culture across the EMEA team.
