The mobile marketing industry is ever-changing, and that applies to the people as much as the technology. Movers & Shakers is our regular feature following the hottest hires in the industry, so you can keep track of who’s joined which company, and what they’re doing there.

Sofa.com’s Holmes takes up newly-created CFO role at Croud
Global digital marketing agency Croud has appointed former sofa.com CFO and group CEO, Richard Holmes, as its chief financial officer. This is a newly-created role for the business following Croud’s £30m investment deal with LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, in November 2019.

Founded in 2011, Croud provides marketing consultancy alongside SEO, PPC, content, programmatic, paid social and analytics services to brands including eve Sleep, AMC Networks, Frontier and AXA.

Holmes brings more than 15 years’ experience in the service sector to the role, including supporting companies on high growth trajectories; a proven track record in delivering business performance improvement; and extensive experience in change management.

In addition to his previous role at sofa.com, he has also held senior positions at companies including e-learning platform Mind Tools, Idis Pharmaceuticals, and Monsoon Accessorize.

He said: “I am very excited to be joining Croud. The team has made me feel very welcome indeed, and the culture at Croud is amazing even at a time when we all find ourselves working remotely. The business has had impressive growth and has some fantastic clients, and I particularly look forward to seeing the growth of Serpico, Croud’s marketing, consulting and technology platform, and how this will empower in-house digital teams.”

MediaCom strengthens Mumbai team
MediaCom has further strengthened its leadership team, with the announcement of key appointments and role changes in the Mumbai team.

Vishal Shah joins as managing partner, MediaCom West, which will see him leading MediaCom West’s clients, excluding P&G. Rachana Monteiro has been promoted to lead one of MediaCom’s key portfolios, as agency lead on the P&G business.

Before joining Mediacom, Shah was running his own start up. He has also worked with agencies including Madison, Starcom and UM extensively on strategic media planning, buying and implementation before moving to the client side at The Kraft Heinz Company. His roles have seen him work with brands including Carrefour, Ford Motor, McDonald’s, Ferrari, Lindt and Asian Paints.

Monteiro has been with MediaCom since 2013, previously as senior business director, a key driver behind the success of team P&G. With over 18 years’ experience in media management, she has a deep operating understanding of the telecom, banking and travel categories, in addition to FMCG. She has been worked for agencies including Carat, Maxus, Lodestar, Starcom and with key brands inclusing Philips, Disney, Tata Telecom, Vodafone, Heinz and BlackBerry.

Navin Khemka, CEO, MediaCom South Asia, said: “It is great to have such talented leaders in our Mumbai team. Known to be brand change agent, I am confident that Vishal’s appointment will help grow MediaCom’s existing and potential clients and will add immense value to our media offering. Rachana, on the other hand, has been a passionate leader and I am delighted to see her grow and take on a larger role within the company. I am certain that team P&G is stronger and together this passionate team will help in growth to the next level.”

Erskine to commercial director as Dept
Dept, an international digital agency with over 1,500 employees in 13 countries across Europe and the Americas, has appointed Diana Erskine as its new commercial director, with responsibility for developing Dept’s UK client base.

Erskine is currently consulting with Dept’s clients to review business plans and accelerate tactical digital roadmaps to react to the new economic climate. This has involved working with manufacturers to quickly launch a ‘direct to consumer’ (D2C) route to market, ramping up capacity for eCommerce retail, and Amazon selling.

Erskine joins Dept following a 10-year tender at UK agency, Reading Room. During this time she was instrumental in two acquisitions under the roles of managing director, director of strategy and alliances, and group director of consultancy and client Services.

She said: “Dept is in an ambitious agency, always putting growth at the forefront for itself and the businesses it works with. It’s also an agile agency that’s not afraid to adapt plans quickly, which you don’t see very often at such a large scale. With this agility and the financial backing from The Carlyle Group, I have complete confidence that Dept will grow further as a leading global agency in the not too distant future. I’m excited to be part of this growth journey.”

Two senior hires for AttackIQ
AttackIQ, an independent vendor of breach and attack simulation solutions, has appointed Julie OBrien as chief marketing officer (CMO) and Jonathan Reiber as senior director of cybersecurity strategy and policy.

O’Brien joins the company from Nutanix, where she served as senior vice president of corporate marketing, and brings more than 20 years of global marketing and leadership experience to the role, including stints at Good Technology, Box, Cisco and SightPath, which was acquired by Cisco. As CMO, she will be responsible for leading AttackIQ’s global brand strategy and helping drive demand for the platform in key markets.

She currently serves on the board of advisors for Workforce Opportunity Services, a nonprofit committed to developing the skills of underserved and veteran communities through partnerships with organizations dedicated to diversifying their workforce.

“Julie has a strong track record leading high-performing marketing teams in both start-ups and large enterprises, and we are thrilled to have her talents at AttackIQ,” said CEO, Brett Galloway. “She is a well-rounded executive with experience in digital, channel and brand marketing, and has served demand generation and operations roles. But more importantly, she has demonstrated a commitment to developing personal relationships with customers and understanding the unique challenges they face – a critical quality as we continue to forge a unique path in this space.”

Reiber is a seasoned security strategist, previously serving as chief strategy officer for Cyber Policy and speechwriter in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during President Barack Obama’s administration. In his new role at AttackIQ, he will focus on shaping strategic communications and industry thought leadership, ensuring the company’s initiatives, partnerships and offerings are guided by a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the global threat landscape.

Most recently, he served as head of cybersecurity strategy at Illumio and as senior advisor at Technology for Global Security. The author of the recent Berkeley study, A Public, Private War, his writing and research has been supported by UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, the Smith Richardson Foundation, and the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, among others. Prior to US government service, he worked for the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan and as a research manager at a geopolitical intelligence firm.

“Jonathan will be an incredible asset to AttackIQ as we continue to strengthen our leadership position in the breach and attack simulation market,” said AttackIQ chief commercial officer, Carl Wright. “His previous experience advising governments and organizations on cybersecurity and his deep understanding of political, policy and technical considerations required to mitigate threats make him an ideal addition. He will provide excellent insights for our platform.”