Lars Lehne has been appointed Group CEO of Incubeta, the independent digital marketing services group. The former SYZYGY AG CEO will be taking over from the founder Alan Lipschitz, whose company Interface made the reverse acquisition of IncuBeta Holdings in 2011. Alan will be moving into the role of Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Incubeta.
Prior to Incubeta Lehne spent four years as Global CEO at SYZYGY, a publicly listed WPP company. Before that, he spent seven years at Google as Country Director Agency DACH and also held various senior management positions in agencies including Maxus, GroupM, Carat and MEC.
Alan Lipschitz, Founder and Chairperson of the Board, comments: “Having started a small South African business many years ago, I am so very proud of how far the company has come. By building a fantastic team around me and adding inspirational businesses from around the world, Incubeta has grown into a leading player in digital marketing services. The company is in a great place, yet I believe in order to accelerate pace and to meet the challenges of the future we need a different type of leader.
“I have the utmost faith Lars is the leader the company needs to take Incubeta forward. He has the expertise to bring the team further together, drive clear strategy, and build on the fantastic foundation I have been able to create with my wonderful team. So it is with great pride and pleasure that I hand the mantle of Chief Executive Officer of the Incubeta Group to Lars Lehne.”
Lars Lehne comments: “I’m thrilled and honoured to be joining such a forward-thinking and innovative company. Incubeta has continued to grow during one of the most challenging years for the industry which is a testament to the quality and hard work of every team member across the globe. The company has flourished under Alan’s leadership and it’s a great privilege that he’s trusting me to take his dream forward.
“As marketing continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it’s harder now than ever before for brands to connect with their customers. By integrating Media, Technology, and Creative in a seamless way Incubeta has developed the right services and products to help clients grow in a digital world. Incubeta puts the ownership of the customer experience back into the hands of its clients. I can’t wait to see what the next chapter for Incubeta looks like.”
Luke Judge, CEO of Incubeta UK and US Group, comments: “It’s fantastic to see the growth and achievements of Incubeta since it’s conception and subsequent acquisitions. It has been a pleasure and honour to be a part of this journey and I’m excited to see the growth accelerate with Lars in place.
Incubeta operates across 14 countries with offices in cities including London, New York, Los Angeles, Madrid, Sydney and Cape Town. In 2013 Net Media Planet (NMPi) was acquired, which established significant growth for Incubeta as it boosted its advertising offerings. The subsequent acquisition in 2016 of marketing technology specialist DQ&A, extended the company’s geographical and product growth. This was followed by the acquisition of market-leading creative specialist, Joystick, in 2018.
In the last twelve months, Incubeta has launched several new platforms. This has included the proprietary Seamless technology, including Seamless Search – which measures the incrementality of paid and organic SEO keywords – and Seamless Creative – which unifies media activity and creative assembly at scale. The company has also made a series of new appointments including senior hire John Cawdery as US CEO.
