IDHL welcomes new Chief Operating Officer
UK and US digital marketing specialist IDHL has appointed Dan Paget as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). In the new role, Paget is set to focus on bringing IDHL’s capabilities closer together through a more unified operating model, stronger cross-agency collaboration, and the continued integration of recent acquisitions.
Altogether, Paget will bring more than 15 years of experience in senior leadership roles to his position at IDHL. Paget joins the organisation from Brainlabs, where he had been for more than two years, first as Chief Solutions Officer – Global Operations and then as UK COO. Prior to this, Paget spent more than a decade at Jellyfish in a number of roles, culminating in the role of Chief Solutions Officer – Operations from 2018 to 2023.
ArvatoConnect makes strategic appoints to leadership team
Customer service solutions specialist ArvatoConnect has made two key appointments to its senior leadership team.
Richard Maynard joins the company as Chief Operating Officer, while Amjad Khan has been appointed Director of Operations. Maynard joins the organisation from Onecom, where he previously held the role of Group Director of Operations and Billing. Prior to his time at OneCom, Maynard spent more than 22 years at Vodafone, including serving as Director of Business Customer Care, Billing & Collections between 2018 and 2024.
As Director of Operations, Khan will lead CX and BPO delivery across ArvatoConnect’s UK sites, helping clients embed regulatory requirements into everyday operations. Khan previously served on the Board of Directors at Customer Institute and also served in senior customer-focused roles at HSBC and Notting Hill Genesis.
Barb promotes senior individuals to leadership team
Barb, the organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom, has promoted two senior individuals to its leadership team. Khaled El Serafy has been appointed to the role of Director of Data and Technology, while Luca Vannini is taking up the role of Director of Partnerships and Communications.
Khaled El Serafy joined Barb in March 2023 in the newly created role of Head of Data Science and has been responsible for steering Barb’s new data-distribution strategy. El Serafy is also managing the development of Barb Panel Plus prototypes, designed to extend Barb’s use of big datasets and integrate them with high-quality panel data.
Luca Vannini joined Barb in February 2024 as Head of Campaign Audiences, leading the development and delivery of total campaign reporting across linear and VOD services. In his new role, he will lead Barb’s partnerships with stakeholders and clients, as well as Barb’s external communications strategy.
The two promotions come at the same time as Caroline Davey takes up the helm as Chief Executive, having been appointed to the role in March. Davey joined Barb in 2022 and was promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer in 2024, before moving to the role of Chief Executive this year.
Manchester-based independent SEO agency Search Theory announces trio of new hires
Manchester-based independent SEO agency Search Theory has announced three new additions to its team.
Launched by David Vernon and Sara Kavanagh in April 2026, the agency has now appointed Samantha Cobden as Head of Digital PR, Travis Robbins as SEO and Experiences Manager and Henry Reeves as an apprentice Junior Marketing Executive.
Cobden has more than 9 years of experience working in PR roles at organisations including EssentialSkillz, Dark Horse, and Candidsky. Robbins will be drawing on his experiences in technical SEO and UI/UX design, having previously worked in SEO roles at Add People and Candidsky. Reeves has previously completed a 5-month digital marketing apprenticeship and held roles in sports and the restaurant sector.
