Spark Foundry UK today announces the appointment of Venya Wijegoonewardene as its new Chief Strategy Officer. Reporting directly into Spark Foundry UK CEO, Emil Bielski, Wijegoonewardene will lead the agency’s strategic proposition to solve brand challenges through disruptively effective media strategies. As part of this, Wijegoonewardene will bring the agency’s new ‘Accelerated Intelligence, Human Connections’ proposition to client media strategy, drawing on Publicis’ wide-ranging data and tech capabilities to be better connected, more agile and more inclusive. Wijegoonewardene joins Spark Foundry from Brainlabs where she was SVP of Strategy and Planning and a key driver of agency transformation: where she built the strategy and planning offering and delivered programmes to upskill teams’ strategy skills. As a creatively minded and respected strategic leader, she brings a wealth of experience from her previous high-profile roles. These include 5+ years as Strategy Partner at Carat UK and her impressive portfolio includes work with brands such as Diageo, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Estee Lauder, Mars Wrigley and O2. She was named one of ‘Campaign’s Faces to Watch’ in 2019 and holds four IPA Effectiveness awards for her work. Wijegoonewardene returns to Publicis Media after previously working for Zenith from 2010-2015.
Frontify, the brand management platform, has announced the hiring of James Fooks-Bale as the new Director of Brand Marketing. Fooks-Bale brings over 20 years of creative strategy to Frontify’s team, where he will collaborate and lead on furthering Frontify’s brand vision. Fooks-Bale joins Frontify from Monotype, where he worked as Creative Director, amongst other positions for just over 13 years, overseeing the development of the company’s global brand. Previously, Fooks-Bale spent a decade working in the design studios of Burberry, Alexander McQueen, and Stella McCartney. As Frontify’s Director of Brand Marketing, Fooks-Bale will lead on overseeing and developing Frontify’s brand marketing and the businesses unique position in the market.Based in the UK, he will report to Digge Zetterberg Odh, VP of Marketing, and will spend the next few months prioritising Frontify’s brand marketing position.
Coupa, the margin multiplier company, today announced that João Paulo da Silva has joined the company as Regional President, EMEA & APAC. Da Silva has dedicated his career to scaling software and technology businesses, with an exceptional track record building and leading diverse, high-performing teams into emerging markets. Before joining Coupa, da Silva was an advisor to private equity firms and served as a senior advisor with KPMG. Prior to that, he held multiple leadership roles with SAP throughout EMEA for more than two decades. His executive tenure culminated as the leader of SAP’s Southern Europe region, where he unlocked exponential growth across many countries in the region. Da Silva has experience in marketing, partners, and sales executive leadership, across EMEA and emerging market regions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science, a postgraduate in marketing and business management, and has continued his executive education at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, and IMD. Da Silva speaks four languages fluently.
ustwo, the innovative employee-owned digital product studio, shares the exciting appointment of their new CEO, Nicki Sprinz as they enter into their twentieth year of business. With a decade of experience across her tenure at ustwo to date, and previously holding the roles of Group Managing Director and Commercial Director, CEO Sprinz will continue to grow the business within its key sector categories of healthcare, financial services, tech, auto and mobility alongside running a values-driven and responsible B-Corp that commits to having a positive impact on the planet. As CEO, Sprinz is focused on creating products with a positive impact, doing so in an accessible and meaningful way for the general public. In the acceleration of new technologies like AI advancements, Sprinz and her team at ustwo are committed to leveraging these in ways that are sustainable, powerful, empathetic and ethical.
Nottingham Building Society announces the appointment of Holly Marshall as its first ever Chief Communications & Marketing Officer. Marshall will lead a wide-ranging brand transformation programme as well as ongoing leadership of its marketing, communications and PR strategy, spearheading marketing innovation and championing the drive to even greater customer centricity. She will attend the Society’s Executive Committee and report directly to CEO, Sue Hayes. Marshall brings 20 years of experience to the organisation, with notable previous roles including Director of Corporate Affairs & Marketing at one of the first wave of ‘challengers’ to the banking establishment. she was part of the management team which took the organisation from a start-up through an IPO, life as a listed company in the FTSE 250 and through a takeover by an international Bank – a transaction worth c. £1bn. Prior to this, she held senior marketing and communications roles at UBS and Europe Arab Bank. Prior to joining Nottingham Building Society Marshall led a successful consultancy firm supporting three new entrants get to market. She trained as a Broadcast Journalist at Cardiff University and is an alumni of the Corporate Affairs Academy at Oxford University.
Creative agency Born Ugly has appointed of Neil Lockwood as Chief Growth Officer. Lockwood, a seasoned industry leader with extensive experience across digital transformation, brand strategy and business growth, joins the agency to steer its business development, innovation offer and expand its presence in the rapidly evolving AI and digital landscape. He steps into the role following a successful tenure as Chief Client Officer at Create Future, where he worked with major clients such as Sky Bet and Yorkshire Building Society. Known for his impact-driven approach, Lockwood has consistently prioritised meaningful client outcomes and significant business growth, from the digital transformation of a leading bank to retaining educators in the teaching profession for the Department for Education.
Multi-category app Glovo has announced the appointment of Shiro Theuri to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Since 2022, she has held the position of Senior Director of Engineering. Her primary objective is to further strengthen Glovo’s global tech and innovation capabilities to build a platform with the best experience for customers, couriers, and partners. Before her move from Nairobi, Kenya to Barcelona, Spain to join Glovo in 2022, she held multiple senior engineering roles across a range of startups and small businesses in Kenya, including as VP of Engineering of the end-to-end fulfilment platform Sendy, and CTO of the mobile campaign messaging service FrontlineSMS. In her new role as Glovo CTO, Theuri is responsible for leading the development of new solutions that optimise the user experience for all of Glovo’s stakeholders across the 23 markets where the platform is available. Shiro’s appointment marks a new era in Glovo’s journey as a technology leader in the delivery industry. Using her new position as a catalyst, Theuri will champion promoting a more data-driven culture to influence product development and scalability across markets. Also, she brings her passion for innovation, diversity and mentorship to Glovo’s core.
