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.

Erica Schmidt becomes global CEO of IPG Mediabrands adtech unit Cadreon
Cadreon, the adtech specialist unit for IPG Mediabrands, has promoted Erica Schmidt to the role of global CEO, the first woman to hold the role at the firm. Schmidt has previously served as executive vice president and managing director of the company’s North America division, and has been instrumental in its operations over the past few years.

Schmidt takes on the global CEO role from Arun Kumar, who also holds the position of global chief data and marketing technology officer for IPG Mediabrands, which he will remain in. Schmidt will continue to report to Kumar, and according to Cadreon’s announcement, the two will be responsible for “scaling IPG’s data and technology infrastructure”.

Schmidt joined Cadreon three years ago, and previously served as vice president for EMEA operations at AMNET, the Aegis trading desk, and has also held roles at Aegis Media and iProspect. Schmidt was one of 180 female leaders who signed up to the Time’s Up Advertising initiative that aims to tackle sexual harassment and gender inequality in the industry.

“Now more than ever as an industry we need to embrace the necessary change that’s happening,” said Schmidt. “In an ever-evolving media landscape, it’s a privilege to build a culture in advertising technology where women can thrive. There has never been a more exciting time to change the way marketing works.”

Verto Analytics names new president for US business
Industry veteran Patrick Brennan is set to become the president of US operations for consumer-centric measurement company Verto. With more than 30 years of experience managing and leading businesses, Brennan will lead Verto’s marketing, sales and customer success strategy in the US in an effort to continue the impressive growth the firm saw in the market last year.

Brennan most recently worked as an equity partner with MSW Research in New York, and has held leadership roles at the ARS Group and comScore. He has worked directly with marketers across areas such as campaign verification, brand health management, advertising measurement, and audience measurement. At Verto, he will focus on driving momentum in the US market, ensuring brands and publishers gain access to Verto’s behavioural data streams.

“I am thrilled that Patrick will be joining our team and further driving our growth in the US market,” said Hannu Verkasalo, CEO of Verto Analytics. “Patrick’s vision and extensive background in audience measurement is a great addition to Verto as we strive to better serve brands, advertisers, and publishers, and move their businesses forward.”

Engage Hub appoints Felix Wong as VP of Sales for Asia Pacific
Customer engagement firm Engage Hub is seeking to expand its presence in the APAC region with the addition of Felix Wong, who will serve as vice president of sales for the area. Based in Singapore, Wong will be helping businesses in the region improve the customer service they provide, with a major focus on strengthening existing strategic partnerships with Singtel and Adspark, as well as cultivating new business opportunities.

Wong joins Engage Hub from Opera Software, where he headed up their APAC business. He has over 20 years’ experience in the APAC telecommunications industry, having started his career at SingTel before switching focus to working with vendors to help monetise mobile services through advertising, voice and other emerging technologies. In that time, he has worked with a number of start-ups, as well as global brands like Siemens.

“Felix is the first of several critical appointments Engage Hub plans to make, with more resources than ever now dedicated to winning business in emerging markets, and building strong international relationships,” said Ray Tierney, CEO of Engage Hub. “Felix will play a pivotal role in driving our operation expansion across APAC, with his extensive experience and connections in the market invaluable to the business.”

Two new hires strengthen eCommerce and creative at Mindshare
Mindshare UK has revealed two new directors in the form of Daniel Da Costa and Yulia Livne, who are joining the firm to strengthen its eCommerce and creative units. As strategy director, Da Costa will be responsible for driving synergy between Mindshare’s strategy and creative teams, while Livne takes the newly-created role of eCommerce director, and will focus on driving Mindshare’s eCommerce offering by developing tailor-made strategies for individual brands.

Da Costa will report to Matt Andrews, chief strategy officer, and will also be responsible for ensuring that creative ideas lie at the heart of every campaign across the agency. Livne will report to Mindshare’s chief business officer, David Walsh, and her role will form a central part in helping Mindshare’s clients grow their online business.

“eCommerce has shot to the top of many of our retail and FMCG clients’ priority list, and having a dedicated team with Yulia leading it is absolutely critical to be able to offer all of our clients a full media service,” said Jo Lyall, managing director of Mindshare UK. “Daniel is an excellent addition to our strategy team, with a less typical background including startups, media owner and agency roles, he brings different perspectives. He is passionate about what we do and the role that media agencies play in driving creativity.”

Brian Soifer climbs to SVP of sales at Jun Group
Omnichannel ad platform Jun Group has promoted Brian Soifer to serve as its new senior vice president of sales. Soifer has been at the company for five years, and is responsible for millions of dollars in revenue for the firm, having worked with Fortune 500 brands and agencies to deliver solid solutions to marketers.

Prior to Jun Group, Soifer has worked for BCKSTGR, Thrillist and AudienceScience, where he gained a passion for advertising and advising global brands. His new role at Jun Group will include developing new relationships with national and global brands, as well as supporting an expanding team and leading agency relations.

Buzzoole brings on two new executives to accelerate international growth
Sarah Whitfield and Damian Gillman have come aboard influencer marketing platform Buzzoole with the aim of driving the firm’s international growth. Whitfield will serve as marketing director, while Gillman is going as head of business development.

Whitfield most recently served as vice president of marketing at Outbrain, where she was responsible for marketing and communication initiatives across EMEA, the Americas and APAC. In her new role, she will oversee Buzzoole’s marketing in the UK while also developing and implementing an international marketing strategy.

Gillman brings over 17 years of experience across the media and content space to Buzzoole, joining from MEC Wavemaker where he was head of content partnerships. His role will focus on growing strategic partnerships in the media and rights holder space, with his extensive background in the area supporting Buzzoole’s efforts to further integrate influencer marketing with the creative solutions partners are developing with brands.

“Buzzoole has grown to be the dominant influencer tech company in Europe,” said Ian Samuel, chief commercial officer at Buzzoole. “Our UK and US-based offices have doubled since May 2017 and we are delighted to be able to continue to attract amazing talent to deliver on our vision and continued international growth. Gillman and Whitfield each bring over 17 years’ technology and media industry experience to Buzzoole, having worked in senior leadership roles at MEC, Outbrain, AOL and OMD, where they played a significant role in delivering excellent results for some of the biggest brands in the world.”