People on the move: hires and departures at Mail Online, Walmart, Argos and more

Piers Morgan has bounced back into the front line of American media as editor-at-large of Mail Online.

Piers, "one of the best known journalistic faces on both sides of the Atlantic" as MailOnline puts it, joins from CNN where he was host of Piers Morgan Live from 2011 until 2014.

Walmart

Walmart has appointed Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom to its board of directors as in continues to invest in e-commerce and mobile channels.

Systrom will also serve as a member of the company’s technology and eCommerce committee and its compensation, nominating and governance committee (CNGC).

Argos

Argos has appointed Matt Hobbs to the new role of head of digital engineering, as part of a drive by the company to become a digital leader in retail.

Hobbs, who joins from Nuance Communications where he was responsible for delivering a global multi-channel digital technology platform, will work across digital and IT teams on the continued development of technical and engineering capabilities within the business.

General Mills

Mark Addicks, the chief marketing officer at General Mills since 2004, is set to retire.

Addicks, who has been at the company for 26 years, will be replaced by Ann Simonds, president of General Mills' baking products division.

General Mills chief executive Ken Powell said: "Mark has been a remarkable visionary who has helped shape the purpose of our brands to best serve our consumers."

eBay

eBay has promoted Jean-Baptiste Goux to the role of head of programmatic advertising, replacing Guy Jones who has left to become head of commercial strategy at Immediate Media.

In this new role Goux will be responsible for driving the growth in eBay Advertising’s programmatic platform.

He will also work closely with eBay’s direct sales agency Ad2One, which this week has launched a premium marketplace, powered by AppNexus, to offer buyers programmatic access to trusted premium inventory.

Trinity Mirror

Trinity Mirror has appointed former head of marketing for News UK’s Sunday Times Will Handley as marketing director for its new businesses division.

Handley will report to director of new businesses, Matt Colebourne, and will oversee the creation and launch of all the division’s projects.

Addison Lee

Private hire company Addison Lee has appointed former AKQA director Nick Constantinou as head of marketing and product innovation as it accelerates a drive into international markets.

In the new role Constantinou will oversee the marketing department, encompassing brand, product innovation, digital, advertising, social media, experiential and PR, delivering the marketing strategy and taking the business forward in the UK and overseas.

Mediacom

Mediacom’s Rob Weatherhead is leaving the company to join multi-screen marketing agency Tecmark.

Weatherhead will oversee the delivery of marketing campaigns at the agency and leaves Mediacom after four years, where he was operations director at the agency’s iLab division.

M&C Saatchi

M&C Saatchi CEO Camilla Harrison is set to leave the agency, with her replacement to be announced on Thursday 9 October.

Leaving to lead Anomaly London, Harrison only became CEO at M&C Saatchi in September 2013, following the departure of Carrie Hindmarsh.

Prior to joining M&C Saatchi, where she also held the role of chief operating officer, she served at Wieden + Kennedy, Leo Burnett and WCRS.

Ofcom

Ed Richards, CEO of Ofcom, has announced that he will step down from his role in December 2014, saying it is the “right time to move on”.

He will still hold responsibility for all operational, financial, economic, competition and policy matters until this date.

Having taken up the role in October 2006, he said of his tenure: "It has been a privilege to lead Ofcom during such an exciting and dynamic period in the evolution of the UK's communications sector."

IBM

IBM Interactive Experience has appointed Ben Kay, previously head of social and digital strategy at EE, to join its team.

Beginning next week, the appointment comes shortly after Christophe Langlois from Visible Banking joined the social business team at IBM.

Boutique

Boutique, a Leeds-based media communications agency, has appointed Sarah Gough as ‘head of earned media’ to lead the creation of a new public relations function within the company.

Gough joins from PR agency Lucre and brings experience of traditional and social PR campaigns for clients ranging from regional tourism hotspots Harewood House and Yorkshire Air Museum to national brands such as Hallmark and Revolution bars.

Exterion Media

Out of Home advertising company Exterion Media, sole advertiser on the London Underground, has promoted Dan Cresta to the role of partnerships director as it looks to build on current integrated media solutions with brands such as Time Out.

Cresta, previously head of client strategy, has been tasked with creating and developing strategic partnerships to accelerate asset development, drive revenue growth and support the company’s Engaging Urban Audiences positioning.

One Two Four

One Two Four has appointed Sandra Peat as strategy director, where she will develop consumer insight and measurement capabilities.

Prior to joining One Two Four, Peat spent three years as global director of PR, experience and events at Bacardi, where she delivered the brand’s global earned media strategies and PR as well as designing and executing global engagement platforms across Bacardi’s brand portfolio.

Prior to this she enjoyed a three year tenure as head of brand and planning at Red Bull where she was responsible for all of Red Bull’s marketing and communications activity.

Rakuten Marketing

Rakuten Marketing, a division of e-commerce company Rakuten, has appointed Seth Richardson to the role of chief technology officer.

Richardson, who joins after his attribution and measurement company DC Storm was acquired by Rakuten in 2014, will be responsible for the development of cross-channel measurement technology.

Rakuten Marketing’s roadmap is to deliver an omnichannel experience for current and future customers, to deliver a seamless, integrated, consistent, and easily trackable customer experience.

Geometry Global

Geometry Global has appointed Jon Hamm as global chief creative officer in a newly created role for the firm.

Hamm joins from Momentum Worldwide where he served as global chief creative and innovation officer after IPG/Momentum bought his agency Greenroom Digital in 2008.

Hamm will report to CEO Steve Harding, who said: “I am delighted that Jon is joining us at Geometry Global. As a team, we are aiming to redefine activation and this will require exceptional creative work."

WRG

Communications agency WRG has hired 14 new team members since September.

Senior hires include Leah Williams as business development director for London; Rob Bagust as head of congress and Lisa Crudgington as client director for the firm’s healthcare team.

Commenting on the wave of new hires, WRG’s chief operating officer, David Sharrock, said:“The drive to recruit additional talent across the business represents both our desire to continue growing globally and our commitment to providing the very best service for clients, both existing and new.”

LeapFrog

Eductional entertainment company LeapFrog has appointed Antony Hicks as chief international officer.

In the role Hicks will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and management to international operations as LeapFrog grows its current international businesses and extends its global reach through entrance into strategic new markets.

Prior to joining LeapFrog, Hicks was chief executive officer, Indochina at The Carlsberg Group where he was responsible for leading the company’s Indochina region, driving market share across the key countries in the region.

Glossybox

Online beauty subscription company, Glossybox, has appointed Evie Leatham as editorial director.

Previously beauty director for Stylist, Leatham will be responsible for launching a new online interactive editorial platform for Glossybox UK, ‘Beauty Unboxed’, which will launch in November.

She will assume a strategic role in the direction of ‘Beauty Unboxed’, taking responsibility for the digital beauty channel.

Naked

Naked has hired Izzy DeBellis to the newly created combined role of group chief creative and strategy officer.

DeBellis, previously co-chief creative officer at kbs New York, will be leading the new department combining creative and strategy globally. The new role is the latest evolution in Naked’s transition from strategic shop to full-service creative solutions agency.

Albion

Creative agency Albion has hired Adam Lawrenson as creative director as it looks to boost its creative team.

With experience working for top name brands including O2 and Three mobile networks, Unilever, Microsoft, IKEA, Canon and BMW, Lawrenson previously worked at advertising agencies Meme and VCCP, before a long-running stint as Creative Director at digital brand consultancy, Digit.

AudienceScience

Danny Kim has been appointed by AudienceScience to the role of director of innovation.

In this newly created role, Kim will manage the company’s mobile and emerging technology products, helping AudienceScience’s brand clients navigate an ever-evolving online landscape.

Kim brings years of experience working as a product manager for wireless and mobile carriers, including AT&T and T-Mobile, and will be responsible for guiding advertisers through new technologies, helping them better understand how consumers interact with the internet and how these new devices result in new behaviours.

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