180heartbeats + Jung v Matt welcomes three new creatives
180heartbeats + Jung v Matt is expanding its creative team with three new hires. Artur Karwala has taken on the role of Associate Creative Director, Agata Bieć joins as Senior Art Director, and Joanna Mateja as Junior Creative. The new team members bring experience spanning both commercial campaigns and purpose-driven projects.
Artur Karwala has spent more than a decade in advertising. Before joining 180heartbeats + Jung v Matt, he was Associate Creative Director at Agencja Nie Do Ogarnięcia, where he led the creative department. Prior to that, he spent six years as Senior Copywriter at GONG. He has worked on campaigns for Netflix, ING Bank Śląski, PlayStation, Huawei, Prymat, Łomża and Komputronik.
Agata Bieć has more than 14 years of experience in the creative industry, with expertise spanning art direction, graphic design and creative concept development. Before joining 180heartbeats + Jung v Matt, she worked at agencies including Isobar Poland and dentsu creative Polska, creating work for brands such as McDonald’s, Škoda, mBank, Zalando, Ferrero, Answear, Powerade and Acuvue.
Joanna Mateja graduated in Design, specialising in Fashion Design, from the School of Form at SWPS University, and in Polish Philology from the University of Wrocław. She also works in costume design and develops socially engaged projects. Her work combines a strong aesthetic sensibility with language expertise, with a particular focus on empathy-led design.
The Digital Lighthouse appoints Julian Leighton as non-executive director
Newcastle performance marketing agency The Digital Lighthouse has appointed Julian Leighton as non-executive director to support its continued expansion. Leighton will work with founders Tom Chandler and Leigh Gammons on growing the agency’s services and putting the structure in place to support its next phase of growth.
Launched in 2024 by Chandler and Gammons, The Digital Lighthouse specialises in paid social, paid search and digital analytics, with Chandler leading a growing team of 15.
Leighton co-founded Orange Bus in 2006, a digital agency that was acquired in 2016 by Capita plc, with Leighton finally stepping away from the business in 2020.
The Digital Lighthouse works with a range of leading brands, including Guinness World Records and Healf. It has also earned industry and business recognition, including a place among Prolific North’s Agencies To Watch and BusinessLive’s North East Start Up of the Year award for 2025.
Appier appoints Sanam Lou as VP of Global Marketing
Adtech and martech company Appier Group has announced the appointment of Sanam Lou as Vice President of Global Marketing. Bringing extensive experience across technology, strategy and growth, Lou will lead Appier’s global marketing organization across EMEA, APAC and the US, strengthening the company’s positioning and differentiation in the increasingly competitive AI-powered advertising and marketing landscape.
Lou brings more than 25 years of experience building and leading marketing functions across the technology sector. Most recently, she served as Fractional CMO and Executive Coach at Beyond Founding, advising leadership teams on growth and go-to-market strategy. Previously, she led EMEA marketing at machine-learning advertising platform Moloco and served as VP of Corporate Marketing at gaming technology company Aristocrat Digital.
Her appointment comes as Appier continues to expand its international presence, with EMEA and the US representing important areas of long-term opportunity. At Appier, Lou will focus on sharpening the company’s global market presence, expanding engagement and aligning marketing strategy with sustainable commercial growth.
LOLA Madrid appoints new Head of Art and Design alongside four new senior creatives
LOLA Madrid has appointed Rafael Ochoa as Head of Art and Design, alongside four senior creative appointments, bringing together talent from across Latin America and Europe.
Ochoa joins from working as an independent visual designer, with a career spanning Brazil, Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain. He has held Senior Art Director roles at DAVID Madrid and Isobar São Paulo, alongside freelance work with INGO Amsterdam and Africa São Paulo. His brand experience includes work for Activision, Coca-Cola, Google, Netflix and Nike. Reporting directly to Tomás Ostiglia, Chief Creative Officer at LOLA Madrid, Ochoa will lead the agency’s art and design offering, with a focus on strengthening creative craft across its client portfolio.
Manuel Fernández De Luca and Diego Melfi join as Senior Art Director and Senior Copywriter respectively, alongside Carlos Hildebrandt as Senior Art Director and Tomás Alzamora Lostaunau as Senior Copywriter.
Fernández De Luca and Melfi join from GUT Buenos Aires, where both were Creative Directors and previously worked at The Community and BBDO. Their experience includes work for Coca-Cola, Volkswagen, AB InBev, PepsiCo and Mercado Libre, with accolades including Cannes Lions and D&AD, as well as a Grand Prix at El Sol. The duo will work on Axe/Lynx, Magnum and Cornetto, reporting to Jorge Zacher and Dante Zamboni, Executive Creative Director and Global Creative Director at LOLA Madrid respectively.
Hildebrandt brings experience as a Senior Art Director at Fahrenheit DDB and DAVID Bogotá, working on brands including Budweiser, Popeyes, BBVA and Papa Johns. Alzamora Lostaunau joins from Conill, where he was a Senior Copywriter, following Creative Director roles at VML Lima and Fahrenheit DDB. He has worked on Burger King, Plaza Vea, Gatorade and Movistar, with awards including Silver and Bronze Cannes Lions and a Grand Prix at El Ojo de Iberoamérica. Hildebrandt and Alzamora Lostaunau will work together on Rexona and De’Longhi, reporting to Munia Bilbao and Andrea Alfetra, Global Creative Directors at LOLA Madrid.
Together, the five appointments bring global experience, adding a mix of Latin American and European creative experience to LOLA Madrid’s team.
NewGen appoints Jordan Carroll as Chief AI Officer
Social-first creator agency NewGen has announced the appointment of Jordan Carroll as Chief AI Officer alongside the launch of a new service, Social AI Studio, within its bespoke social, creator and creative intelligence platform Multiple. (Refer to New Digital Age‘s Agency News roundup for more on this news).
Jordan Carroll, founder of Innovative Social, an AI studio developing marketing tools and consumer applications, will now lead NewGen’s AI and technology offering and join the agency’s leadership team full-time, with divisional P&L responsibility. Prior to founding Innovative Social, Carroll was Global Innovation Director at The Fifth, Innovation Director at Kairos Group, and Head of Innovation and Development at Engage Hub.
Former HSBC, Credit Suisse and KPMG executive Janet Hotz joins Navigator as Group COO
Commerce media company Navigator has announced the appointment of Janet Hotz as Group Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Hotz brings three decades of experience in senior business strategy, operational transformation and company growth gained within the financial services, management consulting, technology and education sectors. She has held senior leadership positions at global institutions including HSBC, Credit Suisse, UBS and KPMG Consulting, as well as executive roles within high-growth technology ventures.
Throughout her career, Hotz has managed operational budgets exceeding $1.5bn and led global teams of over 500 people, spanning departments within data and analytics, technology, compliance and client services. Her extensive skillset in leading businesses through rapid organisational growth and complex international execution will support Navigator’s operational scaling as the business extends its footprint internationally.
Hotz’s appointment follows other major developments this year for Navigator, including opening an office in Singapore. It also follows Paul Wright joining the business, who brings significant expertise gained in senior roles at Uber, Amazon, Apple, Sky and AOL to his role of advisor to the board.
Spin appoints Kate Higham as Group CEO as co-founder Alex Bodini leads expansion into the Middle East
Kate Higham, the current Managing Director of Born Social, has been appointed Group CEO of Spin, effective from November. Co-founder and outgoing Group CEO Alex Bodini will relocate to Dubai to lead the group’s expansion into the Middle East, taking on the role of Co-Founder and MENA Director.
Spin Group has grown into a group of three specialist businesses: Spin, its social agency; Be A Bear, its YouTube agency; and Tiny Studios, its production agency. Together, the businesses bring strategy, creators, content and production under one group, working with clients including Diageo, Paramount, Google, Five Guys and Fortnum & Mason.
Higham joins Spin after seven years at Born Social, where she helped grow the agency from 25 to 180 people. At Spin Group, she will lead all three businesses, focusing on bringing their complementary capabilities closer together and creating a more integrated offering for clients.
Bodini will move to Dubai to establish Spin’s presence in the Middle East, exploring opportunities with both global client expansion and local market acquisitions for the group looking to grow in the region. The move follows Spin’s recent expansion into APAC and forms part of the group’s plans to build its international footprint.
Mongoose announces leadership moves to support international expansion
Integrated sports, lifestyle, and experience agency Mongoose has announced a repositioning of its leadership to respond to client needs and ready the agency for a new phase of global growth. The changes cover the new teams and capabilities at the expanded agency following its recent merger with Bray Leino Events.
As part of the changes, Neel Chhaya has been appointed Managing Director, Asia. Chhaya will lead the Mongoose team in Singapore, focused on expanding the agency’s sports and experiences offering across Asia. He joins from DDB Asia and brings more than 18 years of experience designing and delivering integrated marketing solutions across APAC, working with brands like Audi, Google, McDonald’s, Disney, LVMH, Unilever, and Coca-Cola.
Alistair Watkins becomes President for North America at Mongoose and moves to New York to lead the agency’s US presence. His focus is on increasing the agency’s partnerships business in the region along with expanding its experiences and major event services into new sectors, specifically from finance and corporate into sports and entertainment.
In addition to these changes, Charlotte Birley will take on the role of Managing Director, Experiences and lead delivery of experiential, live events, and exhibitions across the business. Previously Managing Director, Marketing, her remit has expanded to now include leadership of the newly enlarged experience arm of the business. Will Dineen, previously Group Business Development Director, now becomes Managing Director, Partnerships. Dineen will oversee the Partnerships Division, including rights holder representation, partnerships sales, and brand & rights holder consulting. Grace Mennem now also takes on the role of Managing Director, Communications, for Mongoose. She will oversee the Communications and PR department, with specific responsibility for luxury clients in sport.
Caroline Tsay joins StackAdapt Board of Directors
AI advertising and orchestration platform StackAdapt has welcomed Caroline Tsay to its board of directors. Tsay brings to the position extensive experience leading AI and enterprise software businesses, scaling product organizations, and serving on public company boards.
Most recently, she co-founded and served as CEO of Compute Software, an AI cloud optimization company helping enterprises maximize value from workloads running on Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Previously, she was Vice President and General Manager of Software at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, leading digital go-to-market strategy for SaaS offerings within its multibillion-dollar software portfolio. Earlier in her career at Yahoo!, Tsay led product management for Search, AI and Ecommerce, supporting more than 500 million daily users and $3.5 billion in revenue.
In addition to her executive leadership experience, Tsay currently serves on the boards of The Coca-Cola Company, Morningstar and NiCE, and previously served on the boards of Semrush, Travelzoo and Rosetta Stone. She also advises venture-backed AI companies on product strategy and go-to-market execution.
