Cake Shakes up Management as President Jeff McCollum Departs

Accelerize New Media, owner of affiliate platform Cake, has conducted changes to the company’s management in the wake of Jeff McCollum’s exit.

While no mention of ex-president McCollum’s withdrawal was made in the official announcement, a number of online reports state that he was in fact pushed by his technical employer, Accelerize.

Having served as chief operating officer of Accelerize and executive vice president of Cake, Santi Pierini has been tasked with making the step up to the presidential position in the absence of McCollum.

Successful hire

Responsible for the global expansion of Accelerize into new markets, Pierini has the experience and knowledge to be a success at Cake, according to his superior in Brian Ross, CEO of Accelerize.

“Santi brings a wealth of leadership experience in the vertical and horizontal market expansion of emerging software technology companies which makes him a perfect fit for his new roles at Accelerize and Cake,” he said.

“As we continue to innovate our product line and expand our reach into new market opportunities both at home and abroad, Santi’s vision and experience will prove invaluable.”

Before Accelerize, Pierini oversaw strategic expansion of high-growth enterprises such as software provider InQuira and Oracle, along with a more executive marketing position at Day Software.

New verticals

Pierini revealed how much he was looking forward to taking performance marketing to chief executives of businesses that might not previously have looked at the channel.

“As the ad tech industry continues to become more accountable, performance-based marketing is rising to the top of the CMO’s agenda,” he said.

“I intend to work diligently with our exceptional team to open vast market opportunities in new business verticals while continuing to build on our growth in the affiliate space.”

PerformanceIN reached out to Cake and Accelerize for comment on McCollum’s exit, but the company was unable to provide an official line before publication. This article will be updated as and when a statement is released.