Movers & Shakers: S4M, Starcom, Merkle, Clavister and Shortlist Media

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.

(Clockwise from top left) Stanislas Cognard, Pierre-Emmanuel Padiou, Amy Kean, Margaret Wagner, Sam Bird, Stefan Brodin, Thomas Vasen, Johan Edlund

S4M shuffles senior management to focus on US expansion
Mobile ad tech firm S4M has announced a reshuffle of senior leadership, with executives relocating to the company’s US office as it focuses on expanding its presence in the American market. Stanislas Cognard, previously chief strategy officer for S4M, will take over leadership of the company’s American business as US CEO, while Pierre-Emmanuel Padiou will relocate to the New York office to serve as head of sales, East Coast.

Coignard co-founded S4M with global CEO Christophe Collet in 2011, and has been leading the company’s strategy since. He will oversee S4M’s operations in both the US and Latin America, and as part of the firm’s expansion in these markets will be doubling the teams for both the New York and Miami offices over the course of the year.

Padiou previously held various roles within the company, including vice president of sales for France and vice president of sales for EMEA. He has a successful track record of driving growth and development for S4M in its five key European markets, and will now spearhead the growth of the company’s customer base and build key relationships for the business’ development across the Atlantic.

“Our technology, Fusio by S4M, brings a compelling value proposition to the market as the only platform that can attribute digital media investments with real-worl impact,” said Coignard. “I am confident that our solution, founded on transparency and independent third-party accreditations, like the MRC, is a huge advantage for marketers in a hyper competitive landscape.”

Amy Kean takes on strategic innovation role at Starcom
Media communications agency Starcom has named Amy Kean, former vice president of strategy and planning for Coty’s in-house digital agency Beamly, as head of strategic innovation for Starcom Global Clients. She will report to Jodie Stranger, UK group chief executive and president of global network clients for EMEA, and will be responsible for delivering greater strategic direction to the innovation programmes for Starcom’s clients across the globe.

Amy has previously held senior positions in both Mindshare APAC, where she worked with Kimberly Clark, HSBC and Nestle, and Havas Media Labs, where she created the first media agency start-up hub in the UK. She also lectured at Bournemouth University, running its media strategy course, and was named as BIMA’s ten ‘Women in Tech’.

“In today’s marketing environment, media agencies are under increasing pressure to be faster and more efficient,” said Kean. “It’s important not to let this evolution to the agency model stifle creativity and innovation. Starcom has a fantastic track record in the tech space and brilliant client relationships, which make it the perfect place for fantastic, strategic work, and I’m looking forward to bringing my energy and experience to this agency and ensure we create some really impressive work.”

New EVP for EMEA growth revealed at Merkle
Margaret Wagner has been promoted to become executive vice president and growth officer for EMEA at data-driven performance marketing agency Merkle. Wagner joined Merkle in 2015 as senior vice president and growth director, and will now be responsible for driving strategic leadership of new and existing clients, including helping existing clients adopt people-based marketing across their organisations.

Before joining Merkle, Wagner served as chief marketing officer at Rapp UK, and prior to that, was a managing partner at Wunderman for the global Land Rover account and business development. In her new role, she will be tasked with heading Merkle’s EMEA new business opportunities, including those in combination with the Dentsu Aegis Network.

“This is a dynamic and multi-faceted role and I’m excited for Margaret to lead this charge,” said Michael Komasinski, president of EMEA at Merkle. “Her depth of experience across operations, client management and corporate development gives Margaret a unique perspective on client and agency needs, which has enabled her to help our clients achieve success through people-based marketing.”

Clavister fuels growth with three new hires
Network security solutions firm Clavister has announced three new appointments aimed at fuelling commercial growth for the company. Johan Edlund joins as chief marketing & products officer to lead Clavister’s marketing & products department, with Thomas Vasen and Stefan Brodin also taking roles in this newly-formed department.

Edlund brings 18 years of executive management experience and deep product development knowledge to Clavister, having worked with Aptilo, Procera Networks, Three and others. His role will focus on optimising the product and solutions portfolio at Clavister into a commercially successful offering for the company’s customers. Vasen is an experienced communications and marketing professional who will bring his skills to the marketing team, while Brodin, who most recently served as a strategic product manager at Ericsson, will join as a commercial solution manager, working closely with both the sales and product management teams.

“I can’t imagine a better time to join the company in its journey to be the world’s best European cybersecurity vendor,” said Edlund. “My task is to build the right products that customers embrace, to create scalability, as the company grows and set a path of high commercial growth through our global sales force. Having Thomas and Stefan on board is an invaluable strategic asset for Clavister, as well as a terrific operation benefit that will help us achieve our ambitions at expanding commercial growth.”

Shortlist Media’s creation studio finds executive director
Sam Bird has come onboard Shortlist Media to lead its pioneering creative studio, Family. Bird will hold the newly created role of executive director, and will report directly to Sophie Robinson, the company’s chief marketing officer. The hire follows Shortlist Media’s continued drive to increase content partnerships after an impressive growth of 25 per cent in 2017.

Bird joins the company from OMD UK, where he was head of social, content & influencer marketing, and was previously head of SEO & social at Low-cost Travel Group. He has a wealth of experience in social video and influencer marketing, and has had proven success in galvanising creative teams to deliver results for brands. He will be responsible for the vision, development and growth of Family, which accounts for over 50 per cent of overall revenue for the firm.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Shortlist Media team at such an exciting time for the business. I’ve always admired the work across all four brands and I can’t wait to get started and continued to build on their success.”