Telefónica appoints Joule’s Daniel Rosen as global advertising director

He will be based in London and will report to Stephen Shurrock, chief executive of Innovation & Digital Disruption.

Rosen, who prior to being Joule global chief was founder and head of AKQA’s global mobile practice, said one of the main reasons he accepted the role was due to the brand’s focus on digital disruption.

He said: “Telefónica is one of the world’s leading mobile operators, not just in size and influence but also in digital disruption and innovation. With mobile occupying a more central place in people’s lives than ever before, and Telefonica transforming itself into a digital telco, there could not be a more exciting time to join.”

Shurrock described him as a “major player” in mobile advertising, adding that his appointment “underlines our commitment” to driving the growth of mobile advertising globally.

“Daniel’s experience and deep understanding of mobile will help us further accelerate revenue growth and product innovation, and build even closer relationships with the brand, publisher and agency community,” he added.

During his time at Joule Rosen oversaw the development of a global cross-device planning tool, mFluence, which Unilever has selected as a tool to help it centralise its connected devices strategy.

Meanwhile Rosen was head of AKQA’s global mobile practice for eight years, where he led major mobile campaigns for brands including Nike, Gap, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Volkswagen, and MTV.

He will take up the new role in November, The Drum understands.

This spring Telfónica launched its first global mobile ad exchange, run out of a newly formed, London-based company called Axonix headed up by its director of global advertising sales Simon Birkenhead.