Social relationship and content marketing platform Expion is opening July’s Movers and Shakers column this month with their appointment of Robert Wollner as managing director, Europe. Used by brands such as Coca-Cola, Clear Channel, Heineken and Mondelez, Expion has taken on Wollner to lead the roll out of its new global platform across the EU.

Wollner joins Expion from a position as Industry Manager at Google UK, and before this was an account director at advertising agency 360i- notably spearheading the campaign that drove a Guinness World Record-setting 114,619 Facebook likes for Oreo in 24 hours

 

Real-time Hiring

Programmatic video advertising platform Brightroll announced the addition of three new members to its senior management team. Employed as chief operations officer, internet technology veteran Bruce Falck joins from Google, where he played a key role in Google’s programmatic business in the last several years. Falck is tasked with leading sales, marketing and business development to scale the company and drive growth of programmatic video globally. Ex-Twitter head of global product marketing Guy Yalif, joins the company as the new vice president of global marketing, adding Brightroll to an already fascinating resume. Finally, the hiring of fromer Zynga CFO Mark Vranesh to serve as audit committee chair means Brightroll’s finances are in secure hands- as Vranesh brings 25 years of experience working with emerging growth technology companies.

Infectious Media continues its expansion with four new appointments this July. The real-time advertising specialist has taken on Myriam Benamar as optimisation director, reporting to the client services director and leads a new look optimisation and ad operations team tasked with driving campaign performance for the company’s clients.

“Ad tech is in my blood, and I wanted to work in a fast moving company at the top of its game so Infectious Media was ideal,” says Myriam. “I have already been able to develop and implement best practice based upon my past experience and that speed of change is very exciting for me. I have a great team to work with and look forward to continuing the company’s tradition of delivering great performing, award winning campaigns.”

Myriam brings with her three experienced ad tech professionals from the traditional agency world, who join the company as ad operations Manager and optimisation analysts.

Video ad technology company Tremor Video has appointed former Yahoo!, Google and AOL executive Sue Hunt as head of programmatic for Europe.Hunt will be responsible for developing partnerships between Tremor Video and agency trading desks throughout the region to grow the adoption of the company’s programmatic products. In another move, Tremor Video has promoted Alex Jakubczyk to Senior Manager, Marketing & Account Management to drive closer alignment between strategic activities across the US and UK.

Ad Tech solutions company VivaKi has taken on Mihiri Bonney as director of corporate communications for Europe and Asia. Based in the UK, Bonney will be responsible for marketing communications, as well as brand reputation management for the organization across both continents.

Provider of cloud based incentive solutions Xactly has announced the appointment of a new General Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Tom Castley will be focused on supporting the company’s operations in the region, bringing with him more than 15 years of Sales and CRM experience across leading cloud organizations.

Pay and Display

LoopMe, a mobile demand-side platform for full-screen ad formats, has appointed Ilja Goossens as VP of Business Development, as the firm expands internationally. Goossens will support LoopMe’s vision of owning the mobile space for full-screen ad formats with a strong focus on mobile video advertising. In his role as VP of Business Development he will be responsible for increasing LoopMe’s expanding publisher base and supporting the advertising sales team.

Display advertisers Yieldr, announced the hiring of Leon Gerrits as Benelux managing director, while his predecessor Victor van Venrooij will assume his new role as VP of Account Strategy. The former T-mobile Ecommerce Manager will oversee sales and business development initiatives for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg from Yieldr’s Amsterdam office. Gerrits joins a leadership team that includes Natalie Livingstone, who recently joined to head up Yieldr’s central sales office in Barcelona.

Industry Veterans

E-commerce start-up Sophia has strengthened its Board with the appointment of US retail heavyweight, former Wal-Mart COO John Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse has an illustrious career in retail, supply chain and technology, serving as chief logistics and operating officer at Wal-Mart, and was instrumental in the design and start-up of Wal-Mart.com. He has also held senior vice president roles at Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) and Michaels Stores Inc, as well as General Manager Supply Chain at Target Stores, among others.

Rittenhouse has joined Sophia to help advance its growth, leveraging his extensive experience to fuel the company’s expansion in the retail and publisher space.

Searchmetrics, a global enterprise search experience optimisation platform, has appointed former eBay global head of SEO and content development,Jordan Koene. Responsible for developing and planning eBay’s strategic SEO programs in North America and Europe, Koene will be reporting to Searchmetrics’ founder and CTO, Marcus Tober.

The Agencies

Starcom Mediavest Group has appointed former Havas director Frank Durrell to the newly created role of digital strategy and technology director of Global Network Clients (GNC).

Durrell, will be responsible for helping drive digital integration and innovation across its client portfolio which includes UBS, Samsung and Novartis, reporting to executive director Jodie Stranger.

Digital media agency DigitasLBi has appointed Harry Pugsley, planning partner at McCann London, to the role of creative strategy director.
Set to be based in DigitasLBi’s London office, Pugsley will report into Ed Beard, head of creative strategy, who said: “Harry’s passion for innovation and his desire to work collaboratively make him a perfect fit for DigitasLBi. He also has an impressive and diverse background, with experience ranging from advertising to media and digital agencies. It’s going to be really exciting seeing how the unique perspective he brings helps guide the solutions we create for our clients.”

ZenithOptimedia has hired a leading digital expert to head up its performance marketing network in the UK. Jon King has been appointed Managing Director, Performics UK, and will join the Percy Street-based agency in September.  Jon will take responsibility for Performics’ key digital product offerings in the UK – paid search, SEO, affiliate marketing, paid social, real-time bidding, and display advertising.

Digital in Dublin

In a demonstration of its commitment to its digital expansion Dublin-based Independent News & Media (INM) has announced the creation of close to 40 new roles in its Dublin office. These roles highlight INM’s focus on finding new ways to engage customers and distribute content.

INM’s new digital team is headed up by managing director- digital, Fiona O’Carroll, who has been focused on building a world class digital team and developing innovative products at INM to compete on a global scale. Commenting on the announcement, O’Carroll said:

“Building this high performance digital team is central to our strategy at INM in order for us to grow our business both at home and globally. Our world class team has allowed us to expand our offering to both our customers and partners alike and so we are looking for more digital risk takers to help us continue this growth”.