People on the move: Hires and departures at Twitter, Net-a-Porter, News UK, Asos, FT and more
This week has seen another wave of appointments and departures at brands, media owners and agencies. The Drum has rounded up the key hires below.
Rebekah Brooks is to return to News UK as chief executive
Twitter has promoted Jeff Seibert, who has been running the company's developer business, to head its consumer product offering as part of a wider shakeup of its product development business.
Reporting to senior-vice president Kevin Weil, Seibert was granted the role by interim chief executive Jack Dorsey. Twitter's senior vice-president Kevin Weil will lead all product development.
Senior director of engineering Rich Paret will handle Twitter's developer products.
Net-a-Porter
Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet has suddenly resigned from the online fashion retailer ahead of a multi-billion dollar merger with Italian ecommerce retailer Yoox Group.
Massenet has stepped down from her role as executive chairman amid reports of a clash with new chief executive Federico Marchetti. She was notably absent from the conference call announcing the Yoox merger earlier in the year.
News UK
Rebekah Brooks' expected return to Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire has been made official, with News UK confirming she will become its new chief executive.
Her return - a little over a year after she was cleared at the phone hacking trial - was announced among other senior staffing changes, with Tony Gallagher appointed the new editor-in-chief of the Sun.
Gallagher, previously joint deputy editor of the Daily Mail, replaces former editor-in-chief David Dinsmore who was also appointed as News UK's chief operating officer.
Asos
Online clothing retailer Asos has announced that founder Nick Robertson is to stand down as chief executive after 15 years in the role.
After launching the company during the height of the dot com boom, Robertson will stand down after a turbulent 18 months of trading. He will continue to work with the business as a non-executive board member and is succeeded by former Asos chief financial officer Nick Beighton.
The Financial Times
The Financial Times has appointed Tom Betts as its first chief data officer in a newly created role which will focus on the strategic use of customer data and research across the organisation.
Betts, who has been promoted from his current role as vice president of customer analytics and research, will head a team tasked with creating new tools to democratise the use of data across the business.
Turn
Turn has appointed Google's director of brand development Richard Robinson as managing director for its EMEA business. In his new role, he will lead the Europe, Middle East and Africa region for Turn, working with customers across brands, agencies and trading desks.
At Google, Robinson was responsible for digital strategy, prior to which he worked as vice-president at IDC, where he led the global market intelligence firm’s consulting and marketing services business in Europe.
MEC
Media agency MEC has appointed Ben Poole as its UK chief digital officer in a newly created role to manage the demand for marketing transformation strategies to digital.
Poole will provide digital leadership to MEC’s clients and help accelerate digital transformation by developing marketing strategies with owned, earned and paid channels.
7thingsmedia
7thingsmedia has announced the hiring of Sandra McDill, managing partner of iProspect, to the role of chief digital officer. McDill, who joined the Dentsu Aegis-owned digital agency in 2014, will move to the media company to take on responsibility for all operational management of its global client and team management in the newly created role.
Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick Manchester has announced the appointment of Sally Fairclough as group account director following the growth of its consumer offering over the summer.
She will manage the day to day running of the 10-strong consumer marketing team and will focus on delivering strategic campaigns for Princes Group, the leading importer of canned food in the UK and the third largest soft drinks manufacturer.
Havas Worldwide
Havas Worldwide Siren has hired Anna Chew as general manager to oversee the 14-person agency.
Chew brings a wealth of experience in senior public relations consultancy and marketing communication, having worked with Mercedes Benz, Magnum 4D and CapitaLand.
Falcon Enamelware
Falcon Enamelware, the British homeware brand, has appointed Emerson Roberts as managing director.
He will work closely with the existing team to focus on developing the collection and realising the brand’s strategy to expand into new markets.
Roberts joins from his previous role as managing director of Bowens International, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of professional studio and location lighting. Prior to that he spent seven and a half years as sales and marketing director at Brompton Bicycles.
Kinetic
Janice Tan has been appointed as global head of Kinetic’s Aviator to lead the division’s new direction. She will be based in Singapore and report to Kinetic Global chief executive Mauricio Sabogal.
Tan joins from IPG Mediabrands, where her focus was building new category futures. She has worked across a variety of full-service, media and creative agencies on brands like Dell, HP, Microsoft, Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines, Air France, Four Seasons Hotels, Marriott Hotels and LVMH Group, amd has led brands and agency teams alike through the transition from analog to digital.
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