Jay Lee joins Five9 as Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, joining up global marketing with revenue strategy
Cloud-based contact centre as a service (CCaaS) software provider Five9, Inc. has announced the appointment of Jay Lee to the new role of Chief Marketing and Growth Officer.
The newly-created role unites global marketing with revenue strategy and operations. Lee brings to the role extensive experience driving business transformation, growth, and measurable financial outcomes across enterprise technology and payments industries.
Lee joins Five9 from Icertis, where he held the role of Chief Marketing Officer for more than two years. Prior to Icertis, he served as Chief Marketing Officer at Avalara, and he has also held senior leadership roles across B2B and B2C organizations, including Swift Financial, GE Capital, American Express, and PayPal.
AND Digital continues US expansion by appointing Chris Hardy as Chief for Strategy & Operations
AND Digital has appointed Chris Hardy as Chief for Strategy & Operations as part of the company’s continued expansion into the United States.
Hardy will oversee operations, growth, commercial and client support services across the US business, setting the company’s business strategy in the region. In the role, Hardy also joins the global Pioneer Group, acting as a steward for AND Digital’s culture and the future success of the company as it scales.
Hardy previously served as Vice President for AND Digital US, helping to shape the company’s market vision and delivery across high-growth areas such as AI, data, cloud and digital platforms, across the digital transformation and loyalty spheres.
His appointment builds on a series of recent AND Digital US hires, including Catherine Rousseau as Solution Director – Data, AI, and Digital Platforms; and John Bintu as Head of Databricks & Fabric.
Omnichannel advertising platform Azerion promotes Ryan Burnett to Group Sales Director
Omnichannel advertising platform Azerion has announced that Ryan Burnett will be moving into the role of Group Sales Director.
Burnett was previously Azerion’s International Senior Account Director, in which capacity he was responsible for raising awareness of the company’s suite of omnichannel offerings, developing client relationships and driving global spend across the Publicis and OMG accounts.
The promotion will see him drive forward Azerion’s growth goals through new business generation, as well as retaining and developing the company’s existing business. He will support Azerion’s continued international expansion, applying his expert knowledge of Azerion’s omnichannel offering to help brands connect with their audiences globally.
Burnett will be drawing on 15 years of commercial sales experience in his new role, having held previous positions at The Daily Telegraph, Haymarket Media Group, IPC Media, and more.
His promotion continues a round of people moves announced by Azerion, with Roxanne Harley having been promoted to VP strategy and growth in March, while Rebecca Callaghan moved into the newly-created role of head of out-of-home.
Langton McCombe is promoted to Sales Director, North America at Particular Audience
Retail media and personalisation technology specialist Particular Audience has promoted Langton McCombe to the position of Sales Director, North America.
In this capacity, McCombe will manage the company’s commercial and client delivery initiatives in the region. McCombe has a deep history with Particular Audience, having joined directly from university in 2019 and built his career entirely within the company.
A key highlight of his tenure was relocating from Sydney, Australia, to Vancouver, Canada during the height of unprecedented global disruption in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to spearhead Particular Audience’s entry into the North American market.
Amidst challenging circumstances, he successfully established and accelerated the company’s North American footprint. McCombe has consistently demonstrated strategic leadership and a marked aptitude for commercial outcomes.
Fan Club appoints Ellen Stewart as Director of Strategy & Operations, Oliver Warley as Head of Content
Digital entertainment agency Fan Club has made two senior appointments to its management team to support expansion plans and strengthen its creative and production capabilities.
Ellen Stewart joins as Director of Strategy & Operations, bringing extensive experience in video, social and SEO. She was most recently at Reach Plc, where she served as Director of Audience, overseeing a 130‑strong department focused on data‑informed decision making, audience strategy and social video distribution. She has previously held senior roles at Vogue, Channel 4, The Standard, The Independent and Mail Metro Media.
At Fan Club, she will oversee strategic operations, project delivery and growth initiatives as the company expands its social‑first content and audience growth strategies for clients.
Oliver Warley joins the agency as Head of Content from mid-May. In his role, he will be responsible for building the in-house production team. He has a strong track record in scaling teams, optimising workflows, and integrating cutting-edge tools, and has driven audience growth, revenue and innovation in senior roles at PinkNews and Jungle Creations.
Billion Dollar Boy appoints Laura Hernando as Head of Client Partnerships UK
Global social agency Billion Dollar Boy has strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of Laura Hernando to the role of Head of Client Partnerships Europe.
Hernando will lead the agency’s client partnerships team across Europe, working closely with Billion Dollar Boy’s 110-strong European team to deliver social-first brand building and strengthen client relationships.
Hernando joins from social and creator agency That Lot, where she held the role of Client Services Director. She brings deep expertise spanning creative, social and integrated communications from more than 17 years of work with leading agencies including M&C Saatchi, We Are Social, Jellyfish, Lean Mean Fighting Machine, and AKQA.
Her appointment follows the recent leadership hires of Charlie Hurrell in the newly created role of UK Managing Director, and Piet Southey as US Managing Director, representing a continued evolution of Billion Dollar Boy’s global client partnership offering. Hernando’s role is the first senior appointment under Hurrell’s leadership, as the agency builds on its client partnerships function in order to support brands such as Heineken, Unilever, King and PepsiCo.
Fifty hires AudienceScan’s Charlie Firebrace as Growth Director
Audience intelligence and media solutions partner Fifty has announced the appointment of Charlie Firebrace, formerly Head of Strategy and Partnerships at AudienceScan, as its new Growth Director.
Firebrace brings nearly two decades of experience in building and scaling B2B revenue across ad tech, digital and emerging technology platforms. He is set to play a key role in executing Fifty’s commercial strategy, including supporting client growth initiatives, contributing to the development of strategic partnerships and helping shape go-to-market strategies.
Prior to his time at AudienceScan, he was Head of Partnerships at BABs Labs, Founder at Chainview, and held senior roles at Wonderhatch, Varick and Gartner.
Other prominent new hires at Fifty have included Bertie Tebbutt, who has joined the commercial team as an Account Manager, and Nadyah Ibrahim, who has joined as Marketing Manager.
Mallory Simmonds joins Jungle Creations’ all-female leadership team in the role of Chief Executive Officer
Jungle Creations has appointed Mallory Simmonds as its new chief executive officer.
Simmonds joins from Kepler Group, where she worked for more a decade, most recently as CEO across EMEA and APAC.
At Kepler Group, Simmonds launched the business’s London office in 2018 and led the integration of Infectious Media following its acquisition in 2020. Prior to moving to London, she built and led Kepler’s Marketing Analytics practice in New York.
Her experience spans the intersection of data, media and commercial strategy, and she comes with a strong track record of growing agency businesses through both organic development and acquisition integration. In her new role, Simmonds will be responsible for driving the next phase of growth for Jungle Creations.
Her appointment completes an all-female senior leadership team at Jungle Creations, with Simmonds joining Chief Operating and Finance Officer Katie O’Reilly, Chief Publishing Officer Siobhan McDade and Chief Growth Officer Jade Raad.
Carolyn Laing joins Future Factory as Managing Director
Lead generation agency Future Factory has announced the appointment of Carolyn Laing as Managing Director.
Laing joins Future Factory from Collective London, where she spent eight years as Managing Director, gaining B-Corp accreditation and working with clients including Hyundai, MG Motors, Mercedes F1 and Unilever.
She brings to the role more than 30 years of experience in the independent creative agency sector, having previously served as Director at BD Network and Managing Director at Arc Edinburgh, part of Publicis Groupe.
In the new role, Laing will have overall responsibility for Future Factory, strengthening the agency’s leadership team and growth focus.
Sam Wheatman is set to move into the newly created role of Growth & Marketing Director for Future Factory, drawing on his commercial expertise with a view to accelerating the agency’s growth.
Uncovered bolsters creative offering with senior hires
Social-first agency Uncovered has strengthened its creative offering with the appointments of Sam O’Kitchin as Creative Director and Annie Brooks as Head of Art & Design.
Sam O’Kitchin, former Creative Director at Born Social, brings over a decade of experience leading bold standout campaigns and social-first ideas for brands including Smirnoff, Primark, Uber Eats and Mars. She has previously held roles at Bauer Media Group, LADBible Group, and Guardian News & Media.
O’Kitchin will work alongside Creative Director Elly Viner as well as Annie Brooks, who returns as Head of Art & Design. Brooks joined Uncovered in 2021 as a designer and rose to Creative Director leading work in the Auto vertical, before departing in 2025 to focus on visual creativity as a freelance designer and art director. In her role as Head of Art & Design, she will lead the newly-formed art department.
