Data-driven customer experience agency Merkle has strengthen its UK and Ireland executive leadership team, with the creation of three new senior roles, following a year of double-digit growth.
The roles – which are all internal promotions – will support Merkle’s clients in delivering customer experience across sales, service, marketing, and commerce, while consulting on and supporting clients with organisational and digital evolution to drive growth and efficiency.
Reporting to the UK&I CEO, Anne Stagg (pictured), Clare Morgan has been promoted to chief client officer and will have full oversight of all existing clients across Merkle UK.
Having led the UK client services team across data and martech for the past six years, she will now also be responsible for building client relationships within the experience and commerce, analytics, B2B, and consulting operations.
Meanwhile, Mark Jones has been promoted to chief growth officer from vice-president of client services. In his new role, Jones’ focus will be to drive growth for Merkle CXM UK&I while focusing on the opportunities from wider Dentsu integration.
Jones has spent the past seven years at Merkle leading senior client stakeholder relationships and P&Ls across large regional and global brands, ensuring Merkle solutions and professional services have been focused on delivering client business value-based outcomes.
Finally, Stephen Derbyshire will move into the role of chief solutions officer, responsible for solution design and implementation of integrated solutions across the agency.
He has played an instrumental part in winning and delivering several complex integrated solutions in recent years, helping to develop Merkle’s managed services. Derbyshire will also support the wider growth team with larger multi-year deals and building retained revenues.
All three new appointments will work closely with the UK head of strategy and transformation Niyi Duro-Emanuel to identify, agree, and design the most effective strategies to support existing client expansion.
Their collective aim will be to build and own C-suite relationships with prospects and customers that ensure continued growth of Merkle CXM pipeline and strategic client growth.
Anne Stagg said: “As we embark on our journey to further integrate Merkle as part of the wider Dentsu business, we need people who can form matrix teams across creative, CXM and media, bringing together one client team regardless of where they sit within the Dentsu family.
“Clare, Mark and Stephen have driven incredible growth at Merkle, helping clients navigate the complex data and technology decisions our clients are required to make as they change their organisations to meet customer expectations.”
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