Illuma, the artificial intelligence company at the forefront of Contextual-AI, has appointed Ryan McBride to lead global strategy and business development from the United States. McBride formerly led business development at Grapeshot and went on to be VP of Product Strategy at Oracle, post-acquisition. He will work alongside Illuma CEO Peter Mason, helping to set strategic direction and oversee key partnerships.
Sitecore®, a specialist in digital experience management software, has named Kathie Johnson its new chief marketing officer (CMO), effective immediately. Johnson will lead Sitecore’s marketing function based out of the firm’s San Francisco headquarters. With over 25 years of experience building brands that customers love in the B2B technology sector, Johnson most recently was the chief marketing officer for Talkdesk, a leading global contact center platform provider. During her time at Talkdesk, Johnson led the firm’s marketing organization through a transformative growth period, taking the company from #66 in the Forbes Cloud100 list in 2019 to #8 in 2022 and 2023. As Talkdesk’s first CMO, Kathie helped the organization create and launch a vertical approach, expand into new countries in EMEA, APAC and Latam, and extend the product portfolio.
Audiencerate, the identity hub for data-driven advertising campaigns, has announced the appointment of Marco Del Tongo as CEO of Audiencerate Ltd and the opening of a new office in Italy. With more than 20 years experience working in the technology industry, Del Tongo previously held CTO roles in a variety of industries at both Italian and international companies including Hachette Rusconi, Desdoo, Game Network, Illiar. Del Tongo brings visionary leadership, solid technological know-how, strategic insights and business development skills to Audiencerate and is tasked with growing the business and scaling proprietary data solutions. Audiencerate has also announced its consolidated presence in Italy with the opening of a new office in Milan that will become the research and development centre. It will be dedicated to customer data management, especially across privacy and GDPR compliance, as well as harnessing Artificial Intelligence.
Global B2B technology marketing specialist, Fox Agency, has appointed experienced agency leader, Paul O’Malley, to establish its first US-based office in New York and lead the agency’s growth in the US market. O’Malley joins the agency as its new Chief Operating Officer – North America, bringing over 15 years of B2B experience to the role. Prior to joining Fox Agency, O’Malley was responsible for Kingpin Communication’s expansion into the US. Over a period of five years, he built the business from the ground up to over $50m in revenue with a 90% employee retention rate, at which point the agency was sold to The Marketing Practice.
Secret Sales has announced the appointment of Chris Lacey as Chief Digital Officer (CDO). The exciting new leadership expansion marks a new chapter of growth for the business as it aggressively accelerates its European expansion strategy. As Chief Digital Officer, Chris Lacey is responsible for driving Secret Sales’ platform growth and international expansion. He will be working closely with all departments to optimise the ecommerce platform to drive digital revenue, enhance the customer experience and advance operations, including marketing and technology as the business accelerates further on its international expansion, including its merger and acquisition strategy. Chris Lacey will report into CEO Chris Griffin. Lacey joins from Matalan, where he successfully delivered a large-scale digital transformation programme as Director of Ecommerce. Prior to this, he served as Digital Director and part of the executive team at Superdry. Over a 9-year period, Lacey built Superdry’s entire ecommerce platform and operation and played a pivotal role in growing its online proposition across North America, Europe and Asia, including China.
GOA Marketing has bolstered its senior leadership team with the appointment of The Fulcrum Initiative, which will see industry veteran, and Fulcrum’s Founder, Andy Stevens step into the newly created role of Executive Chairman for GOA. He will work alongside GOA’s Co-Founders, Dan Chorlton and Lewis Clayton. Stevens, known for his visionary approach and ability to drive organisational growth, is poised to lead GOA Marketing into a new era of innovation and market prominence. By working closely with GOA’s operational teams, as well as GOA’s clients, he will be responsible for unlocking opportunities to drive high-level business growth. Stevens’s remit will also include helping GOA to build further awareness of the untold benefits efficient, effective Paid Search Advertising can offer advertisers and brands, such as driving profitability and unlocking return on investment. Stevens is a highly respected industry stalwart and senior advisor with over 25 years of experience in the world of media and marketing. He founded The Fulcrum Initiative in 2018, and has held a number of senior strategic roles. Most recently this includes an eight year tenure as President and Chief Operating Officer at Syzygy Group. Prior to this, Stevens was founder of Unique Digital Marketing Ltd.
GTT Communications, Inc., a global provider of managed network and security services to multinational organisations, has announced two new members of its senior leadership team — with Fletcher Keister joining GTT as the company’s first chief product and technology officer and Valerie Green joining GTT as the company’s general counsel. GTT is also appointing George Kuzmanovski as the company’s chief operating officer, a role he has held on an interim basis over the past 12 months. This follows the announcement of Ed Morche as GTT’s new CEO last month. Mr. Keister will lead GTT’s technology strategy and innovation across product, systems, information technology and security. He brings a wealth of global knowledge and years of industry experience to this role, including more than 20 years at companies such as MCI, Level 3, CenturyLink and Lumen. Prior to joining GTT, Mr. Keister held a variety of leadership roles in commercial operations, finance and business transformation. Ms. Green will lead GTT’s legal, regulatory and compliance matters, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices across the organisation. Prior to joining GTT, Ms. Green served as the executive vice president and chief legal officer at Ligado Networks. Previously, Ms. Green practiced law at several firms and served at the White House, where she advised the president, cabinet members and other senior U.S. government officials in her roles, which included assistant to the president, director of presidential personnel, deputy special counsel to the president and special assistant to the president. Mr. Kuzmanovski will lead GTT’s global provisioning, engineering, service delivery, field operations, access management and service assurance teams to achieve operational excellence with best-in-class, simple and efficient processes. Prior to taking on this role at GTT, Mr. Kuzmanovski served as the company’s senior vice president for Global Service Delivery. He brings more than 25 years of telecom experience, with a diverse background leading organisations in roles covering strategy, operations, construction and IT.
Independent creative agency, The Corner has announced that it has hired Gaby Booker into the role of MD of Talent & Influencer, replacing Craig Knox who has moved into a global client role. The appointment comes at a time when The Corner’s influencer division is going from strength to strength, now managing a roster of over 20 talent, as well as developing influencer marketing campaigns for clients such as Toyota and Peroni. Booker has significant experience in Influencer Marketing and Social Media, most recently she was MD of Wildfire and Co-Founder of Platform Media. She will be reporting into Founder and CEO Neil Simpson in her new position.
Kinly, the global provider of AV integration and collaboration services and support, has announced that Andy Nicholls has been appointed the company’s Head of Talent Acquisition. Based in the UK, he will report to Global People Director, Katy Thorpe. Nicholls brings more than 25 years of recruitment expertise to the role, which he will use to grow Kinly’s team of specialists and industry experts as well as ensuring the company retains its existing talent. During his career, Nicholls has led teams at some of the world’s leading recruitment specialists – including RAC, Rioch and SCC. Calling on these experiences, he plans to boost Kinly’s talent acquisition, creating a home for prominent industry experts in AV and workplace transformation. Kinly is on a trajectory of significant growth and expansion, having opened new offices in both Germany and Switzerland this year. As Global Head of Talent Acquisition, Nicholls will play a fundamental part in continuing this growth into 2024. Within his new role, Nicholls will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of talent acquisition, including the creation and execution of global recruitment strategies while driving clear career paths for employees. This will involve collaborating closely with Kinly’s company leaders to identify hiring and development needs, craft comprehensive plans, and ensure a steady pipeline of diverse talent.
Pipedrive, the easy and effective sales CRM for small businesses, has announced the appointment of Phillip Mellet as its new General Counsel. With more than 15 years of experience in corporate, transactional and litigation roles, Mellet will be responsible for overseeing the company’s legal, governance, compliance and audit functions. In his role, Mellet will be advising the leadership team on strategy and solutions regarding laws and regulations affecting Pipedrive’s business environment, customers and employees. As a leader of the global Legal team and outside counsel, he will be overseeing internal programs and processes such as governance, risk management, compliance, contracts, employee matters, third-party litigation and registrations.
