Sam Hailstone has joined Brave Bison as Director of Organic Performance, reporting to Rebecca Brown. Hailstone boasts a background leading SEO teams both client and agency side at the likes of Net-A-Porter Group, OMD UK, and Razorfish.
Channel Factory, a brand suitability and contextual advertising platform, has appointed Luca Di Cesare to Head of Innovation EMEA. In this newly created role, he will spearhead AI-driven innovation. Di Cesare takes on this new role in addition to his existing responsibilities as Regional Director for Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
Havas has announced the appointment of two senior executives. Dan Hagen is promoted to a group-wide role as Global Chief Data and Technology Officer. In his new remit, Hagen is responsible for the development of Havas’ AI-powered Converged operating system, empowering the group’s 23,000 people to work smarter and deliver integrated solutions to clients. Hagen is succeeded by Jamie Seltzer who is elevated to Global Chief Data and Technology Officer for Havas Media Network. Both appointments are effective immediately.
BigCommerce, a provider of composable commerce solutions for B2C and B2B brands and retailers, has hired Andrew Norman as Senior Vice President and General Manager for EMEA. Norman will lead BigCommerce’s go-to-market strategy in EMEA, bringing 25 years experience executing international expansion plans for SaaS technology companies, including 15 years experience in the ecommerce market.
Publisher-powered agency Jungle Creations has announced the appointment of Thomas Mackinder as Director of Social. Mackinder joins from his previous role as Head of Instagram and TikTok at LadBible, where he founded and launched the LadBible Group’s presence on Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. He will lead the platform team within Jungle’s publishing division, Jungle Media Network, driving social strategy and audience growth across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Facebook for its 150 million-strong community.
Social media agency Born Social has announced the promotion of Emily Williams to Head of Strategy. Reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Callum McCahon, Williams will focus on scaling Born Social’s strategy department, nurturing the next generation of social strategists, and deepening strategic client partnerships. Since joining Born Social as a Strategist in 2020, Williams has played a pivotal role in shaping the agency’s strategic direction, leading on accounts such as Guinness, Smirnoff, and Captain Morgan, as well as spearheading new business efforts. Prior to joining Born Social, Williams worked across strategy, communications, and copywriting at agencies including Edmonds Elder, Three Whiskey, and Spark44.
Independent creative agency Neverland has made two appointments to its leadership team. Former Head of Production Amy Coomber is being promoted to the newly created role of Chief Creative Production Officer and Alex Cowley is stepping into the role of Head of Production from Executive Producer.
IDHL has announced the appointment of Sarah Dillon to the newly created role of Head of Strategy as the digital agency consolidates its strategy expertise into a single unified team. Joining from Wavemaker, Dillion is responsible for spearheading IDHL’s strategic planning capabilities across integrated accounts for new and existing clients.
Sports and entertainment agency Fuse, part of Omnicom Media Group, has announced Marius Ramdahl as Head of Fuse Nordics. The creation of the new regional role follows the recent expansion of Fuse into Sweden and Finland. The appointment will be an additional remit to Ramdahl’s existing role as Managing Director of Fuse Norway.
Customer and employee experience platform Medallia has announced Carrie Parker as Chief Marketing Officer. Parker brings over 25 years of experience driving revenue growth for technology and SaaS companies. Most recently, Parker served as Chief Marketing Officer at Cision, leading the global marketing team to accelerate demand generation and elevate portfolio brands, including Brandwatch and CisionOne.
Leeds based strategic marketing agency, Fantastic, has made three new appointments. Sarah Shuck joins Fantastic from integrated marketing agency ThinkOTB as Account Director, bringing over 15 years of experience in B2B and B2C marketing. Hannah Ashley has been appointed as PR Account Manager, joining from Birmingham-based marketing agency, Liquid. Joining as Account Executive is Niamh Raven, following the completion of her post-graduate masters’ qualification in Public Relations and Strategic Communications from the University of Stirling.
