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People on the Move: Hires at departures at Twitter, Sky News, 4As and more

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By Rebecca Stewart, Trends Editor

July 8, 2016 | 5 min read

This week has seen another wave of appointments and departures at brands, media owners and agencies. The Drum has rounded up the key moves below.

BRET TAYLOR FACEBOOK TWITTER

Twitter's Bret Taylor has arrived from Facebook

Twitter

Twitter has recruited Facebook’s former chief technology officer Bret Taylor (pictured) to its board with immediate effect as it seeks to broaden its management team.

Taylor, who currently serves as chief executive of start-up Quip, was appointed as Facebook chief technology officer back in the wake of its acquisition of FriendFeed, the social network he co-founded in 2007.

During a diverse career Taylor also served as group product manager at Alphabet during which time he co-developed Google Maps and oversaw introduction of its developer product group.

Sky News

Sky News has been hit by a slew of departures with the announcement that veteran presenter Andrew Wilson had quit, following hot on the heels of Lorna Dunkley and Samantha Simmonds.

Wilson said there were "lots of reasons" for his departure but singled out a move to a new studio for bringing matters to a head, saying: “If ever there were a moment to part with an organisation with which I share so much history, this is it.”

No reason was given for Dunkley and Simmonds exit although it is thought to form part of a cost saving plan.

4As

Nancy Hill, the president and chief executive of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), is to step down from her role after nine years in the job.

Hill will depart in 2017, and the association’s board of directors has initiated a search to identify her successor and ensure a "smooth transition" by next June.

“The past eight years have been the experience of a lifetime,” said Hill. "It has been a pleasure to help guide the industry through changing times and to bring issues that I am so passionate about to the forefront. The advertising agency business is continually evolving to meet the needs of clients and identify the best new ways to reach consumers. It has been an honor to play a part in shaping the future of an industry I love.”

The marketer, formerly executive vice-president at BBDO worldwide and chief executive of Lowe worldwide's New York office, will focus on consulting following her departure, with plans spend time in Ecuador volunteering and teaching.

Xaxis

Xaxis EMEA chief executive Caspar Schlickum is departing the WPP-owned trading desk to take on the chief executive role for Wunderman in APAC.

Schlickum - who was named Digital Trading Leader of the year at the 2016 DTA's - was one of the founding staff members when WPP set up its trading desk over five years ago. Since then the unit has made several acquisitions, with Schlikum eventually rising to chief executive of its EMEA business, which spans 25 markets consisting of 500 staff, including developers and data scientists.

Mark Read, Wunderman’s Global chief executive, said: “Asia is a high priority market for us and Caspar’s unique experience in digital marketing, data and analytics, as well as his understanding of technology-driven business, will be hugely beneficial as we continue to grow our business throughout the region.”

Schlikum is understood to be in his existing role for a number of weeks, with an eventual successor set to be announced before his departure, according to Xaxis.

FundamentalVR

Virtual reality specialists FundamentalVR has hired Scott Dodkins, who joins from Facebook-owned Oculus, to head up its consultancy offer. He also joins the agency’s board as it looks to capitalise on a medium that has piqued the interest of brands including Unilever and McDonald’s.

At Oculus, Dodkins secured partnerships across Europe following its acquisition y Facebook in 2014 and steered the go-to-market strategy for the Rift headset which is currently being rolled out across Europe.

VideoAmp

Cross-screen optimization platform VideoAmp has hired Michael Parkes to serve as the company’s first chief revenue officer.

He joins from Amobee, where he served as senior vice president-North American sales. In his new role, he will be responsible for revenue generation and scaling VideoAmp’s sales organization.

According to the company, Parkes was “brought on to continue building on VideoAmp's second 100 percent quarter-over-quarter growth.”

Want to get your career on the move? Check out The Drum Job page and follow @TheDrumJobs for updates.

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