People on the move featuring: Yahoo, Aviva, AppNexus and more

Channel 4 has confirmed that chief executive David Abraham will step down from the role by the end of 2017 after seven years at the helm.

The broadcaster, seemingly prematurely, announced Abraham's departure in a tweet containing quotes relating to the decision from the man himself and Channel 4 chair Charles Gurassa.

Aviva

Aviva’s global inclusion officer Jan Gooding has been named the next president of the Market Research Society (MRS), taking over from Dame Dianne Thompson.

Gooding has served at Aviva since 2008 when she joined as marketing operations director before becoming group brand director. In January, she began a new role as global inclusion director, spearheading the company’s commitment to fostering a more inclusive culture and ultimately more diverse workplace across the group.

ISBA

The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) has announced that its director of public affairs Ian Twinn has decided to retire after 18 years of service.

Twinn, who is regional chairman for London Conservatives, has an extensive political background having served as a Conservative MP from 1983 to 1997 and an MEP from 2003 to 2004.

The Internet Advertising Bureau

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK wants to improve the relationships it has with brands and agencies and has hired Snap Inc’s James Chandler as its first chief marketing officer to lead that charge.

Chandler’s appointment is part of a wider C-suite shuffle that comes as digital advertising reaches “a turning point” leading the IAB to “stand more assertively” for the digital industry.

Lighthouse

PHD UK chief executive Daren Rubins is jumping ship to join The Lighthouse Company in the same role.

Rubins has been at PHD for 17 years, prior to which he was planning director at Mediavest and group account director at Mediacom. He will be succeeded at PHD by the agency’s current managing director, Verica Djurdjevic.

Mondelez

Mondelez International senior digital marketer Bob Rupczynski is to depart after only four months in the role.

Rupczynski, who joined the confectionery maker as vice president and global head of media, data and digital in November, took over the role from the hugely successful Bonin Bough.

Fitch

David Blair, regional chief executive of EMEA at Fitch, is to be promoted to global chief executive with effect from 3 April the retail and brand consultancy has announced.

Blair will fill the shoes of Simon Bolton, chief executive of brand experience collective Group XP, cementing a steady rise through the ranks since first joining Fitch back in 2005.

REaD Group

Dan Fossaceco has joined REaD Group as newly created role of lead generation director to lead the strategic direction of the company's new approach to lead generation.

Joining from Callcredit Marketing Solutions where he was head of sales where he spent four years.

Brand Union

Brand Union has appointed Daniel Beattie as technology director.

In his new role, Beattie will lead and develop the technology division of the company where he will be responsible for delivering technology solutions to clients as well as internally.

Possible

Mark McEachran has joined Possible as global client lead from SapientRazorfish.

In his new role, McEachran will oversee global account including Bayer, a recent win for the agency.

APAC

AppNexus

Kaylie Smith has been appointed as managing director, APAC and head of Australian market at AppNexus.

Prior to her appointment, Smith was head of seller cloud at Rubicon Project where she led the company's publisher division. Her appointment comes as the company continues in its commitment to explanding its commercial footprint acrodd the region.

Albion

Founder of Albion and Tribal DDB Jason Goodman has left his final role within the advertising agency business, vacating his position as chairman of Albion to pursue a path he was already well-versed in - startups.

Goodman told the Drum that after transitioning from chief executive to chairman, a move that followed the acquisition of the agency by KBS in 2014, the role became more like a non-exec one, as he began to focus on other areas. He’s now a few months into his entrepreneur in residence role at venture capitalists Atomico, which is his first step toward becoming fully-ensconced in the startup world.

NORTH AMERICA

Yahoo

Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer will step down from the role with a potential $23m severance package once its takeover from US telco verizon Wireless is completed later this year.

Documents filed with Securities and Exchange Commission today (March 13) reveal that Mayer will step down as chief executive of Yahoo, or what remains of the company post the deal in its Altaba guise, and could pocket a $3m cash payment as well as $20m in stock pending certain triggers in the dealings.

IPONWEB

Adtech outfit IPONWEB has appointed Jana Jakovljevic as vice president of business development for North America to help bolster its growth in the region by better accommodating publisher demand.

Jakovljevic will focus on developing strategic new relationships with publishers and help promote IPONWEB’s platform-related businesses, operating out of the company’s New York office and reporting to Joseph Meehan, IPONWEB's general manager for North America.

Wieden + Kennedy

Wieden+Kennedy has announced a series of promotions, including moving Neil Christie to global chief operating officer and promoting two others in the London and Portland offices, respectively.

“As we mark our 35th anniversary, we are deeply committed to growing opportunities for the second generation of this agency. We unveiled part of our plan last fall (naming new stakeholders) and follow that up now by elevating leadership at the global and office-management level across the network,” said Dave Luhr, president of Wieden+Kennedy.

Rubicon Project

Ahead of its quarterly earnings call adtech outfit Rubicon Project announced that chief executive Frank Addante will step down from the role, with ex-Millennial Media chief Michael Barrett as his replacement.

Addante will remain as company chairman to "help Rubicon Project’s vision, strategy and thought leadership for the future", with the switch in leadership of the company coming a time of massive speculation over its future.

Barrett was previously the chief executive of Millennial Media, which later sold to AOL (now part of Verizon) and was also previously at the helm of AdMeld (which later sold to Google) as well as chief revenue officer at Yahoo.

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