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.

Vice welcomes Bellan-White as CMO
Nadja Bellan-White has joined Vice Media Group’s executive leadership team as Global Chief Marketing Officer. In the newly created position, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Nancy Dubuc, she will be responsible for aligning the company’s worldwide brand narrative across its five businesses and will amplify Vice’s authority as the world’s leading youth media brand.

Bellan-White arrives with over two decades of global experience in marketing, communications, and digital transformation. She was most recently Executive Partner for Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, where she was responsible for leading the brand transformation for Dove at Unilever. She also led brand work for American Express, LG Electronics, Ikea North America, Coca-Cola, Siemens, and Safaricom/Vodafone. In 2014, Bellan-White was promoted to CEO of Ogilvy Africa.

“Im hugely excited to be joining the Vice family and to play my part in realising Nancy’s vision for the business. Vice is one of the most unique brands in media and one I have admired from afar,” said Bellan-White. “We have the opportunity to continue to build a brand that embodies the pillars of truth and culture – at a time when it is so important to our audience to tell those stories that reflect their lives. I am excited to partner with Nancy and the entire VMG team to continue on this journey to redefine the media industry model.”

In addition to Bellan-White’s appointment, Meera Pattni has been elevated to Vice President of Communications. She joined the company in 2014 after a career in journalism.

Bryant and Wishom take seats on Nextdoor board
Nextdoor has added John Hope Bryant and Andrea Wishom to its Board of Directors.

Bryant, Chairman and CEO of Bryant Group Ventures and The Promise Homes Company, has built more than 40 organisations, entities, and companies, including US non-profit provider of financial literacy and economic empowerment services, Operation Hope. He has also sat on the boards of three publicly traded companies.

“Neighbourhoods are the mechanism of change, and it is critical that we get out of our echo chambers, meet the person who lives next door, and begin recreating the connections that are the foundation of strong, thriving communities,” said Bryant. “I am thrilled to join the Board to build on Nextdoors momentum and continue to bring neighbours around the world together.”

Wishom, President of Skywalker Holdings, spent over two decades launching and developing TV programming at Harpo Productions, including The Oprah Winfrey Show. She also serves on the boards of Pinterest and Tory Burch.

“In these unprecedented times, Nextdoor has been an extraordinary lifeline for so many people to make real connections with their real neighbours to share critical information, spread acts of kindness and generosity, and provide a forum to share ideas and thoughts,” said Wishom. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join this organisation at a time when inclusivity and equality are relevant for all, in every neighbourhood.”

Three looks to O’Connor to direct marketing
Aislinn O’Connor has been appointed Marketing Director of Three UK and Three Ireland. She will lead the marketing teams of both businesses, driving closer collaboration between the two.

O’Connor successfully led Three Ireland through the O2 acquisition in 2014. Since, she has delivered continued growth for the Three brand.

This announcement follows the appointment of Elaine Carey as Chief Commercial Officer for Three UK and Ireland and Mark Redmond as Chief People Officer for Three UK and Ireland. Three Ireland CEO Robert Finnegan was also named CEO of Three UK earlier this year.

Nettey elected to top IAA role
The International Advertising Association (IAA) has chosen Joel E. Nettey as its Chairman and World President, taking control from Srinivasan Swamy.

Nettey, Innova DDB Ghana CEO, has been Chief Executive of various multinational marketing communications agency affiliates in Ghana including DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Publicis.

“We will focus on four key pillars – Diversity & Inclusion, Creativity & Innovation, Regulatory Issues, and Education,” said Nettey. “Together, as a team, we will take the steps required to ensure that the IAA remains the most recognisable, relevant and impactful marketing and marketing communications association across the globe, while ensuring we attract and provide opportunities that engage and nourish the next generation of marketing game changers.”

The elections also saw Sasan Saeidi, Global Client Leader for Nestlé at Wunderman Thompson, named Senior Vice President; Carol Schuster, Business Information Advisor at Lafayette 148 New York, selected as General Secretary; and Venanzio Camarra, Venanzio Camarra & Partners, chosen as Treasurer.

Captify hires Salmon as partnerships VP
Fiona Salmon has been named Vice President of Partnerships EMEA at Captify, a search intelligence firm. She will lead Captify’s data partner acquisition business across Europe, Middle East and Australasia, with a focus on powering privacy-compliant data solutions whilst also aligning strategies to US partnerships.

Salmon brings more than 20 years of digital innovation, data-driven marketing and strategic partnerships experience to Captify. She was most recently Director of Data and Digital Innovation for EMG Health, and previously served as the UK Managing Director for 1plusX. Prior to that, Salmon spent more than a decade at media owners including Trinity Mirror, Bauer, and News International.

“I have always been drawn to Captify for its position as a unique, independent player in the market known for strong leadership and being a true innovative partner,” said Salmon. “Over the course of the past decade, Captify has built a heavily relied upon vast dataset – partnering with 1300-plus publishers to access search data from across 6m-plus websites – fresh data that keeps up with the real-world in real-time, to engage with consumers programmatically and in the most relevant way. Through a suite of search-powered, privacy-first solutions and technologies, publishers have access to the tools they need to expand audiences, grow ad revenue and build businesses fit for the future.”

Bakker to lead Benelux and DACH for LiveArea
LiveArea, a customer experience and commerce agency, has selected Walther Bakker to lead its expansion into Europe’s Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) and DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) regions.

Bakker, newly appointed Sales Director of Benelux and DACH, has more than 25 years of experience generating new business in information technology. He has worked with key solution partners and providers in the region including BigCommerce, SAP, inRiver, Bloomreach, and Commercetools.

ActionIQ names Wilson as partnerships SVP
Neil Wilson has been hired as Senior Vice President of Partnerships at customer data platform ActionIQ. He is charged with building alliances with global systems integrators, digital agencies, and management consultancies, among others, to better serve its client base, while increasing the business development pipeline for itself and its partners.

Wilson was previously SVP of Infor Global Alliances, where he created a comprehensive strategy to recruit, enable, and manage global and regional system integrators. Before that, he was VP of Oracle Marketing Cloud and Alliance.

“ActionIQ has already captured the attention of tier one partners and I believe that its superior technology can attract many more into the fold – to generate significant results for them, and for our growing list of clients in the enterprise technology, financial services, media industry, and retail sectors,” said Wilson.

Kania takes up CFO role at Huuuge
Huuuge Group, a mobile game developer, has announced Grzegorz Kania as its Group Chief Financial Officer.

Kania joins Huuuge after spending nearly three years at Agora. Prior to his role, he was the CFO of Ringier Axel Springer Polska and, before that, Deputy CFO at UPC Polska.

“I am very excited to be joining Huuuge at this time. It is a truly innovative company with a clear strategic plan for further development in the fastest growing segment of the gaming market,” said Kania. “Already a leader in mobile gaming, Huuuge has a proven track record in building and buying new games successfully, as well as developing new games. I am looking forward to being part of the success story.”

1plusX chooses Plug for CBDO gig
René Plug has been appointed Chief Business Development Officer at 1plusX, a predictive marketing and data management platform. Reporting to CEO Jürgen Galler, he will be responsible for driving the company’s scale-up strategy, international expansion, and partnership development, while reinforcing key customer relationships worldwide.

Formerly Chief Data & Technology Officer and Managing Director of New Business at Admeira, Plug has previously worked closely with 1plusX as a client. He brings over 15 years of expertise in media, advertising and technology, and has held strategy consulting and board advisory roles for organisations in Europe, including Improve Digital, EGTA, and IAB Europe. 

“Im excited about the opportunity to lead 1plusX’s new expansion phase, and to work alongside a passionate team of world-class data scientists and martech innovators,” said Plug. “I look forward to meeting with our partners and customers at a time when guidance on privacy compliance, and how to market in the post-cookie world, has never been more important.”

Radigan named OAAA marketing chief
The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) has brought in Christina Radigan as Chief Marketing Officer. Reporting to President and CEO Anna Bager, she will oversee all marketing strategies and platforms across the trade organisation to increase engagement and membership on the national and local levels. She will also be charged with developing initiatives that advance industry standards and heighten buy-side interest in OOH opportunities.

Radigan joins the trade association from Outdoor Media Group, where she most recently served as Managing Director of Marketing and Communications, leading the agencys marketing efforts and industry presence. In that role, she connected research data with strategy to ensure that OOH media and activations were successfully integrated into brand client omnichannel planning.

“The OAAA is a powerhouse in the industry, coalescing the needs of different stakeholders, whether focused on traditional OOH or digital innovations,” said Radigan. “I look forward to focusing my two decades of experience in the OOH arena on the trade groups mission, with the goal of strengthening relationships between the buy- and sell-sides to increase growth across the sector.”

Cavai brings in Sondaar to direct Benelux sales
Ruben Sondaar has been selected as Sales Director for Benelux at Cavai, a conversational advertising cloud technology company. He will be responsible for business development and sales in the Benelux region.

Sondaar has sales and management experience from his time at DPG, Yieldr, and SpotX. Earlier this year, as Chairman of the Video Task Force at IAB Netherlands, he published its video handbook.

“As far as programmatic advertising is concerned, efficiency has reached an optimum on the purchasing and sales side. That is why eyes are now focused on creation. This is where the difference will be made in the coming years,” said Sondaar. “In addition, the digital expertise of advertisers, agencies and publishers is growing and these companies like to be in control. Cavai’s future-facing creative cloud platform responds to these clear trends in the market.”

Wanck takes charge of Candid
Candid, a marketing and advertising platform in the Netherlands, has appointed Ruud Wanck as its Chief Executive Officer. Founder and former CEO Gérard Ghazarian has become President of the Board of Directors.

Wanck is former Global CEO of GroupM Connect. At GroupM, he held several leadership roles, including Chairman of Benelux, Chief Digital Officer for EMEA, and Global Digital COO.

“The market had a digital reset. Marketing, distribution and sales are inextricably connected in a digital economy. This will be our main priority and focus when further developing Candid, our services and our M&A strategy,” said Wanck.

Stocard hires Ringer as MD
David Ringer has been chosen as Managing Director for the UK and Ireland at mobile wallet Stocard.

Ringer joins Stocard after almost two decades as Regional Managing Director at TCC Global. In this role, he developed close relationships with many of the leading retailers in UK and Ireland, and became a strong advocate of digital engagement and its impact on the lifetime loyalty and engagement of customers.

“The role of digital engagement to form closer, more relevant connections between retailers and customers is more important than ever,” said Ringer. “When I saw the success of Stocard’s performance internationally, I was convinced that it would be possible to replicate these accomplishments in the UK. I am excited about growing our already healthy UK user base and working with retailers to help them redefine their relationships with customers.”

Kane elevated to Group Marketing Manger at Lab
Lab Group, a collection of digital marketing, technology, and creative services agencies, has promoted Gemma Kane to the newly created role of Group Marketing Manager. Reporting to Group Chief Growth Officer Harpreet Bushell, she is tasked with coordinating group-level and agency marketing, helping to promote Lab Group and its agency brands via partnerships, PR, awards, events and outbound marketing activity.

Kane previously spent nearly two-and-a-half years in the client services and marketing teams at Reflect Digital, which was acquired by Lab Group in September 2019. In her 14 years of marketing experience, she has worked with brands including Sony Mobile, Yamaha Motor Europe, and PayPal.

“It’s a privilege to be part of the core team that is shaping the future of the group, and I’m very excited about this next chapter. This is a challenging and important role at a pivotal moment for us,” said Kane. “LAB Group’s vision of reshaping the digital world is very much aligned with my own ambition. I’m proud to be the person responsible for amplifying our story.”

InfoSum opts for Wetzel to lead North America
Lauren Wetzel has been appointed President of North America, Global Strategy and Operations at decentralised marketing infrastructure provider InfoSum. She will not only drive expansion in the North American market, but also lead InfoSum’s global strategy and operations, with an eye on evolving the company’s infrastructure and developing its product for other sectors.

Wetzel previously worked as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Xandr. She was a key player in the formation of AT&T’s advertising business unit; hiring and scaling its business strategy team, helping to oversee the acquisitions and integrations of AppNexus and Clypd, and spearheading the development of Xandr’s NYC headquarters. Prior to AT&T, she was in Deloitte’s Consulting practice.

“InfoSum is the future of privacy-first, consumer-trusted data enablement. Through my career, I have been tasked with identifying and growing market-moving companies. I have never been more impressed with a companys capabilities and incredible team, as I have been with InfoSum. I look forward to partnering with Nick [Halstead] and the team as we help transform not only the marketing industry, with privacy-safe data collaboration practices, but also the many untapped industries that need this technology today,” said Wetzel.

“I am incredibly excited to join such an innovative company. I look forward to leading North America and our global strategy and operations efforts, helping to expand and enhance infrastructure and culture within the company.”