Wavemaker UK has appointed Emmie Sergeant as its first Head of Operations and Delivery. In her role, Sergeant will oversee the Project Management team (PMO) to deliver complex multi-platform media, content, data and technology projects and have a broader operations remit to deliver strategic transformation projects across the agency. She will report to Katie Lee, Chief Operating Officer. Sergeant joins Wavemaker with 18 years of experience in media planning and client management. Her most recent role as Executive Director of Operations at OMD involved supporting over 450 employees across multiple locations. Sergeant was appointed for her deep experience in delivering results in organisational change and projects, and her demonstrable ability to lead, inspire and motivate multiple teams and stakeholders.
Specsavers has announced the appointment of Agi Varanyi as Head of Creative Business Partnership for its in-house agency Specsavers Creative. Varanyi will be responsible for nurturing the partnership with the Marketing teams across the business, a partnership which yields consistently great work. Formerly Managing Partner at Grey London, Varanyi brings over 20 plus years of comms agency experience to the role, working with global FMCG brands across multiple markets and disciplines, including Kellogg’s, The Coca-Cola Company, P&G, Diageo, and Vodafone. Her expertise includes leading brand development, multichannel-integrated campaign development, product and innovation development and cross-channel implementation, as well as running a department, talent development and D&I initiatives.
Precis, a data-driven digital marketing agency, has announced new leadership and its ambitions to expand its marketing science and technology offering. Following the acquisitions of Bannerboy and Booster Box earlier in the year, which took the agency to over 500 people worldwide spanning media, creative, data, and technology, Precis is restructuring its UK office to support its growing global presence. The most notable change is the appointment of Jess Dickenson, former COO, as Managing Director of Precis’ UK office. Dickenson replaces Rhys Cater, who is moving to a global role to lead and develop the agency’s offering in analytics, marketing science, and technology. At Precis, Dickenson will be responsible for leading the agency’s growth in the UK market and delivering innovative and integrated marketing solutions to clients. In his new role, Cater will focus on building a strong Analytics and Marketing Science team and investing heavily in tech development. The agency offers advanced data consulting services, delivers custom solutions for marketing data storage and activation through Google Cloud Platform, and develops its own tech platform to deliver marketing automation and data activation at scale.
NatureMetrics, the global nature intelligence provider, has announced the appointment of Dimple Patel as new chief executive. Patel will spearhead the company’s global growth and digital expansion, in response to the rapid demand for nature monitoring, following new nature reporting obligations such as CSRD and TNFD. Former CEO of global ecommerce brand, Trouva, Patel brings deep experience running and growing complex b2b and b2c businesses. Patel will be responsible for guiding NatureMetrics through the next important growth phase, following the launch of its Nature Intelligence Platform. This builds on the global opportunities emerging as the mandate for businesses to understand and reduce their impact on nature grows exponentially. Patel boasts diverse and cross-industry experience, as a former founder, CEO, COO and Fixed Income Trader. She spent time at Goldman Sachs before co-founding and scaling the highly successful coffee chain, Love Koffee. Patel then joined European scale-up Trouva as Director of Operations, focusing on building operational infrastructure for the company’s international expansion.
Channel Factory, the global brand suitability and contextual advertising platform, has appointed Sujoyee Chatterjee as Senior Director of Product Marketing. Bringing over a decade of ad-tech experience with her, Chatterjee will be continuing to expand on Channel Factory’s impressive growth across all regions whilst also developing and solidifying a consistent communication strategy for Channel Factory’s proposition. Over the past decade, Chatterjee has amassed invaluable experience across Product Strategy and Operations Management. With an impressive variety of roles across the advertising industry, including her most recent position at TikTok, as Global Product Strategy & Operations Manager for Brand Safety, Sustainability and Verification. This particular role will help enhance Channel Factory’s relationship with global brands and publishers, whilst allowing Chatterjee to quickly integrate and make her mark on Channel Factory’s core offering of Brand Suitability. Prior to TikTok, Chatterjee was a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Integral Ad Science where she specialized in verification. As a specialist in executing successful product marketing strategies, Chatterjee has launched go-to-market plans for some of the world’s leading technology companies. Her knowledge in this area is sure to bolster future product launches at Channel Factory.
ABBYY, a specialist in AI-powered intelligent automation, has appointed Brian Unruh as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and a member of the executive management team. Unruh brings 20 years of experience serving in executive management positions at public and private equity-backed software and platform-as-a-service companies, as well as 10 years of corporate value creation advisory in both public accounting and private equity roles. His decisive and goal-oriented approach has consistently resulted in double-digit recurring revenue growth, go-to-market readiness, and strong returns on investment. His track record includes transforming functional organisations, business processes, and systems for scale.
Zendesk has appointed Caroline Jessen as its Chief People and Diversity Officer. Based in San Francisco, Jessen will oversee Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, People Operations, Total Rewards, Talent & Organizational Development, Workforce & Workplace Strategy, and Talent Acquisition. Jessen assumes the role with more than 20 years of experience leading people teams in Europe and globally, at Cisco and IBM. Having recently celebrated two years at Zendesk, leading its people partners function, Jessen has played a vital role in honing the company’s focus on people as the foundation of its strategy.
Vanessa Walduck has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Caxton. Former Investment Director Walduck brings over 30 years of experience in private wealth investment most recently from leading investment management company Rathbones. Prior to Rathbones, Walduck spent nearly two decades at prominent discretionary investment management firm Quilter Cheviot. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Securities Institute and now serves as a Business Mentor at the Prince’s Trust and is a trustee at an arts charity. Vanessa joins Roger Alexander, Jane-Emma Peerless, Trevor Price and Rupert Lee-Browne as a member of the Board.
International Digital Marketing Partner, Incubeta, has announced the appointment of Victoria Webb as the new managing director of its MENA region. Backed by over 18 years of experience in both traditional and digital media marketing, Webb’s elevation to this leadership role is a testament to her skill, dedication, and outstanding contributions to the agency since she joined (then NMPi) in 2017. Having started as the Client Services Director for the SSA region, Webb had an immediate impact on the company and swiftly climbed the ranks, most recently holding the title of Regional Growth and Innovation Director at Incubeta MENA since 2022. Her tenure at the company boasts several notable achievements, such as spearheading growth in the SSA market while retaining tier 1 clients, driving regional expansion by leading winning pitches across the MENA region, and solidifying Incubeta’s key regional partnerships including with TikTok and Google. In her new role, Webb is committed to enhancing Incubeta’s position as the leading digital solutions partner in the MENA region, with a focus on delivering tangible business benefits to clients and partners through seamlessly integrated marketing strategies.
Commvault, a provider of data protection and cyber resilience solutions for hybrid cloud organisations, has announced that Melissa Hathaway will join Commvault as a strategic advisor and serve as the chairperson for Commvault’s newly formed Cyber Resilience Council. Under Hathaway’s leadership, the council will advise on emerging security trends and cyber threats as well as highlight best-practices in cyber resilience, all of which can play a key role in shaping product development, defining partnership opportunities, and guiding business strategies. Hathaway brings a unique combination of policy, technical expertise, and boardroom experience to Commvault. As President of Hathaway Global Strategies, she consults Fortune 500 companies on cybersecurity, enterprise risk management, and technology assessment. She advises clients regarding emerging cyber threats, policy initiatives, regulation, and other industry matters that may affect their current and future business.
