Tesco raids agency-land to appoint digital chief

toby horryTesco has once again raided agency-land by appointing Dare managing director Toby Horry to the role of digital marketing director.
The appointment has echos of its 2011 hiring of Matt Atkinson as group marketing and digital officer from the supermarket giant’s long-term direct marketing agency Havas Helia.
Within six months Atkinson was promoted to chief marketing officer, although eventually lost his job last year in a clear-out of chiefs who were firmly in the camp of former chief executive Philip Clarke.
Horry will report to Tesco brand director Michelle McEttrick, and lead the digital marketing team.
He started his career in production at Paul Weiland Film Company in 2000, switching to AMV two years later as a board account planner. He retained a planning role when he switched to Dare in 2006 but was promoted to MD after three years. It was while at Dare he first worked with McEttrick, who was head of group and brand marketing at Barclays at the time.
Horry told Marketing magazine: “There’s a renewed focus on the customer and digital is a part of delivering that… I’d been considering a client side move for some time so when the opportunity arose to work with Michelle again on such an iconic brand as Tesco, I couldn’t turn it down.”
McEttrick added: “A big part of serving Britain’s shoppers a little better everyday means developing content and experiences enabled by digital platforms.
“Toby brings with him a wealth of expertise and experience, and joins us at an exciting time as we build a world class marketing leadership team to bring Tesco back to its best.”

Related stories
Matt Atkinson gets Saga break
Atkinson axed in Tesco restructure
Atkinson shifted in Tesco revamp
Atkinson handed Tesco CMO role
Tesco ‘to boost direct, digital spend’
Tesco poaches Matt Atkinson

Print Friendly