Social media agency Born Social has announced the promotion of Head of Operations, Kate Higham, to the newly created role of UK Joint Managing Director. In her new role, Higham will be responsible for the strategic commercial, operational, and cultural leadership of Born Social in the UK. She will join the senior leadership team and work closely with the CEO Ben Tyson, Chief Operating Officer Charlotte Hamill, Chief Client Officer Abbey Mills, Chief Creative Officer Paddy Smith, Chief Strategy Officer Callum McCahon, and Executive Finance Director Dan Jarrett. A second Joint Managing Director will be appointed later this year to focus on driving UK growth. Higham joined Born Social in 2019 as Senior Operations Manager and was promoted to Head of Operations the following year. Before joining Born Social, Higham spent more than six years at post-production company Splice.
Digital agency Dept has announced the appointment of Helga Sásdi as Executive Vice President (EVP) of EMEA. Working closely with the broader EMEA leadership team, led by EMEA CEO Joanna Trippett, Sásdi will be responsible for the company’s client growth strategy across its marketing and technology services in the region. Sásdi joins from Publicis Groupe Hungary. She has several years of experience in senior agency positions in New York and London.
Tom Hamilton has joined social-first creative agency Formidable as Creative Director. Formerly Creative Director EMEA at Dept, Hamilton brings nine years’ experience in digital and paid social media campaigns for consumer brands including Just Eat, Spotify, and eBay. In addition to enhancing Formidable’s creative capabilities, his role will focus on new business responses and growing existing client relationships.
KOMI Group, a Manchester-based digital media business, has announced the appointment of Nick Jennings as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Special Projects. Jennings will drive the content strategy across platforms and identify new monetisation opportunities to maximise value for KOMI and its influencer talent. Also playing a key role in M&A for the firm, he will guide KOMI’s strategic acquisitions of social media pages. Jennings most recently led the YouTube strategy for top-performing channels at Jellysmack. He’s also previously held roles at the New York Times and Collab.
Corporate trade company Active International, part of media solutions company AMS (Active Media Services), has announced the appointment of former Sky Media executive Ruth Cartwright as its new Managing Director. After serving as managing director of Active International’s UK team for four years, the company also promoted its current Managing Director, Cameron Swan, to a newly created CEO position. Cartwright will spearhead UK operations and lead the company’s day-to-day operations from September, with a particular focus on strengthening digital partnerships, automation capabilities, and future-facing solutions. While at Sky Media, she played a key role in shaping the company’s investment strategy and commercial positioning. She joined Sky Media from Dentsu Aegis Network, where she was Managing Partner, Delivery. Prior to that, she held the position of Broadcast Director at Maxus. Meanwhile, in his move into the CEO role, Swan will lead on growth and digital innovation across new markets.
Creatopy, an ad campaign platform, has appointed Ovidiu Gavril as Chief Technology Officer. As CTO, Gavril will lead the company’s engineering and technology strategy, drive innovation, and expand the platform’s capabilities. Gavril brings a wealth of tech leadership experience from companies including Raft, Picsart, Trilogy, Jive Software, Crossover for Work, Optivia, and Wave Motion Labs.
Marketing transformation company Miroma Group has appointed Jean-Philippe Amos as Chief Growth Officer for EMEA. Reporting to COO Paul Summers, Amos – who joins from Mediabridge, where he was Global Head of Brand Partnerships – will identify new and organic growth opportunities that speak to Miroma’s expertise, particularly for clients across the sports, entertainment, and luxury sectors. In his more than two decades of industry experience, Amos has also been of Founder of CSE Networks, SVP Strategic Partnerships EMEA at WME IMG, and VP at Fox International Channels in France.
Catalyst Marketing Agency, a Birmingham-based creative and strategic digital marketing agency, has announced the appointment of Lee Jones as Head of Brand. Jones brings experience in brand development, strategic storytelling, and integrated marketing, having led brand programmes for both corporate and consumer clients.
