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.

Samsung Ads hires Gilbody 
Samsung Ads Europe has announced the appointment of Sinead Gilbody as European Mobile Development Lead. 

Gilbody joins the Samsung Ads European team from Activision Blizzard, owners of King, the leading interactive entertainment company for the mobile world. As agency sales director she supported the AV, mobile, programmatic, and digital teams in delivering successful mobile video campaigns for brands such as Sony Pictures, Disney, Warner Bros, HP and Sainsburys.

Bringing more than 10 years’ experience to her new role, Gilbody will play an integral part in building out Samsung Ads’ new mobile proposition in Europe.

“Mobile has increasingly become part of the TV and video viewing experience, and as the world reopens we can certainly expect to see more commuter TV catch up and entertainment on the go. Joining Samsung Ads at this pivotal moment of expansion is really exciting and we have a big opportunity to help advertisers gain a holistic view of the total TV viewer – one I look forward to championing as we grow our mobile offering across Europe” said Gilbody. 

MediaCom announces Head of Planning 
Global media agency, MediaCom has announced the appointment of James Parnum as Managing Partner and Head of Planning.

Parnum has over 15 years of media planning experience and has been at MediaCom since 2015, overseeing the Tesco Group account in helping transform the brand through successful long-term campaign planning. Under his leadership, the Tesco Group account won three Grands Prix in three years at Cannes Lions, Thinkbox and, most recently, IPA Effectiveness as well as Media Week & Campaign Media awards.

Prior to his role at MediaCom, he helped to build some of Britain’s biggest brands including John Lewis and Waitrose at MGOMD.

“MediaCom has the brightest, most creative and forward-facing planners in the industry, so it gives me great pride and honour to take on this role. Innovative, intuitive and agile planning has never been more important to brands following the disruption of the pandemic and this is something we’re taking incredibly seriously. It’s my mission to put the pride back into planning, and with over 290 planners at MediaCom there is no question too challenging for us to solve” said Parnum. 

InMobi recruits Walsh 
Independent marketing cloud, InMobi has announced that Darren Walsh has joined the company as Head of Programmatic Demand, InMobi Exchange, Europe.

Walsh brings 10 years’ experience in the advertising industry, advising brands on how to achieve growth and relevance through the use of mobile, video and native. He was previously Director of Programmatic, EMEA at Nativo, as well as Brand Strategy Director at PowerLinks.

“I am delighted to join InMobi, especially at this time. Much has been made of the major shifts impacting the market right now. However, it is also a time of great untapped opportunity, especially for buyers of in-app inventory. I couldn’t be more excited to work in mobile ad tech right now” said Walsh. 

Contentsquare appoints former Forrester Analyst 
Digital experience analytics company, Contentsquare has announced the appointment of James McCormick to Vice President of Product Marketing and Product Strategy.

Prior to joining Contentsquare, McCormick was a principal analyst at Forrester Research since 2012. Hebrings two decades of deep technology and marketing experience to this new role. His enterprise expertise and understanding of AI and the digital experience, from the customer perspective, will be an asset to Contentsquare as the company continues its rapid growth trajectory. McCormick will be based in Contentsquare’s London office.

“Improving digital experience and understanding customer behaviour online is the next big business opportunity for enterprise organizations,” said McCormick. “The pandemic accelerated the need for deeper behavioural insights for improved customer relationships with brands online. This space is in the midst of disruption and I’m excited to be joining the leader in this space to craft a product strategy that seizes on key market opportunities for the company to continue its impressive growth.”

Organic expands team 
Entertainment communications agency, Organic has announced several new hires and promotions.

Ryan Davies takes up the newly created role of Head of Television, further strengthening Organic’s specialism in full-service comms for the TV industry. Davies brings with him over 15 years of experience working across the creative industries, seven of which were spent at Channel 4 Television where he was responsible for the strategy and execution of publicity campaigns across Channel 4’s scripted portfolio. He will report into managing director Caragh Cook.

The hire of Davies comes 18 months after the appointment of respected senior television publicity consultant Christina Joyce, previously of Premier PR and BBC Drama. In the new look leadership team, Joyce becomes Executive Director, overseeing the development of Organic’s broad television offering.

Across the Atlantic in Organic’s LA office, Kirsty Langsdale steps up to Senior Vice President, Global Publicity, leading Organic’s international offering which straddles both film and television.

The recent recruitment of Account Manager Nida Karnani – formerly Participant Media and Sierra/Affinity – to the LA office, marks the start of a period of growth for the agency in the US with further hires planned for 2021.

Senior Account Director is now Alice Taylor, previously Media Communications Manager at Disney, who oversees the London-based team which includes Senior Account Manager, Dheeraj Agnihotri. Organic’s International team has in the past six months expanded from a team of three to eight and offers an around-the-clock service to clients from offices in LA and London.

Becky Palmer, who recently celebrated 10 years of service at the agency, has been promoted to Head of Film responsible for leading the UK film publicity business.

Working closely with Palmer, Gill Littler will step up into the role of Associate Director and will oversee much of the agency’s digital/influencer focussed work.

Other recent changes to Organic’s senior team includes the promotions in the UK PR Team of Will Taylor to Senior Account Director; Hannah Golanski to Senior Account Director; Hannah Dowle to Account Director and Chris Boyd to Account Director and in the Social Team, Oli Goldman to Account Director. 

“Organic have had a stellar year and continue to go from strength to strength. Bringing in and promoting outstanding talent is key to our ongoing success, growth and investment in Organic and, more broadly, Havas Entertainment” said CEO of Havas Media Group, Patrick Affleck. 

Kubient expands sales team 
Cloud-based software platform for digital advertising, Kubient has announced that Mike Gavigan and Mark St. Amour have joined its sales team as Vice Presidents of Performance Media, respectively.

Gavigan has connected consumer brands with their digital target audiences for the past 20 years, using digital acquisition as a core growth strategy for clients including Lands’ End, Hearst, theSkimm, and more. In his new role at Kubient, Gavigan brings a passion for the digital advertising space, a proactive approach to client communications, and an evolving perspective to client acquisition and retention.

St. Amour carries over 20 years experience in the digital advertising industry, executing campaigns from top brands and agencies including Enfamil, Leo Burnett, Domino’s Pizza, Plum Organics, and many more. In addition, St. Amour managed publisher side relationships in conjunction with branded campaigns to maximize success and ROI. He will strengthen Kubient’s presence with his immense knowledge of the industry, targeted approach, and enthusiasm to provide cutting edge, tailored solutions to clients.

“Kubient is driven by an ambitious, passionate team who provides the most cutting-edge solutions to the industry,” says Senior Vice President of Partnerships at Kubient, Ryan Adams. “Mike and Mark bring over 40 years of combined industry experience and expertise to our team and will showcase our strength in protecting brands against industry ad fraud with KAI, the Audience Cloud, and other world-class solutions we offer.”

ClickThroughMarketing welcomes Keeling 
Digital performance marketing agency, ClickThroughMarketing has announced Stefanie Keeling as its new Head of Content.

Keeling joins the agency having worked in-house at industry-leading brands, along with multinational marketing agency, iProspect. Keeling has previously worked with ClickThrough as a client, and her specialism in working collaboratively between content and SEO will ensure the ongoing alignment of the two teams within the brand. 

“It’s fantastic to join ClickThrough and work alongside the already established and amazing team of Content specialists. Having worked both in-house and agency side, and being a former client of ClickThrough’s, I know what a brilliant agency it is. To help in developing the Content offering across its range of clients is an exciting prospect where we’ll continue to drive best in class performance” said Keeling. 

Solidatus adds two senior roles 
Data management technology firm, Solidatus has announced two new significant senior appointments, supporting its recent accelerated growth, and fuelling further global expansion.

David Northmore joins in the new role of Vice President of Sales, following eight years as Area VP at MarkLogic.

Northmores extensive experience spans 25 years in the data industry, having held senior management roles at HP Software, Computer Associates and EMC Documentum. His role at Solidatus will focus on developing new processes and scaling the team as the business expands both domestically and overseas, while maintaining its established reputation for fuelling positive client outcomes.

Chris Crang joins in a similarly newly created role as Vice President of Marketing.

He will be focusing on developing and driving the Solidatus brand as the go-to provider of data management solutions. Crang previously held roles as the Head of Corporate Marketing at Worldpay UK, where he established their marketing function for enterprise business and saw the company through to IPO. Crang has also served as Director of Customer Marketing and Strategy at American Express and held management and leadership roles for over 15 years in both UK and multinational organisations. 

“These hires mark an inflection point in our evolution, as we continue to rapidly scale and expand into new territories following our most successful year to date” said Co-Founder of Solidatus, Philip Dutton. “Attracting the talents of David and Chris reinforces our ambition and commitment to meet the on-going complex needs of clients, as the chosen data management tool for regulated and data-rich organisations. David and Chris both have a firm belief in the transformative difference we can make for our clients, and their combined exceptional expertise make them the perfect fit to drive Solidatus into the next phases of our journey.”