Whitaker takes break from Verso

Verso chairman Jeremy Whitaker has stepped down for the forseeable future from his role due to a “family matter”, just as the company kicks off its major push into the market with the launch of a new data agency.
Whitaker, who has worked in the sector for over 20 years, was appointed chairman of Verso – formed by the merger of Verve Media and Simply Outbound Fusion BPO Canada – 15 months ago.
The company has released a statement which said: “Jeremy Whitaker is on leave from the company to enable him to devote time to a family member who requires long term attention.
“During this period other members of the Verso team will be picking up on Jeremy’s responsibilities to provide a seamless service. For the forseeable future all communication for Jeremy should be directed to Anthony Hawkins, Verso Group chief executive officer.”
The move comes as the company unveils its new data business Breathe Consultancy, headed by former McDowall Media boss Graham Bate (pictured, right), to deliver what it claims is “the evolutionary pinnacle of strategic, target driven, volume data”.
The firm says its bespoke processing system guarantees all data is 100% compliant, deduplicated, validated and fit for purpose. The technology provides ongoing measurement and tracking analysis ensuring continuous results over long periods, it adds.
Established on a marketing agency model, Breathe Consultancy will provide a fully managed service that focuses on long term needs of clients, and a deep understanding of the consumer market places they operate in.
The business sources data from what it calls “more than 30 tried and tested affiliates that have undergone extensive due diligence”.
Data can also be generated through Breathe’s own quality controlled call centres. The Breathe Platform was developed by Breathe’s inhouse team of software developers, and screening includes HLR, PAF, NCOA, mortality, DNC, de-duplication and TPS.
Bate said: “What we have done is amalgamate the best in technology with more than 50 years’ experience in the data sector to establish the feel of the old fashioned listening data broker, but topped it up with very considerable added value software.
“We will have failed in our mission if we do not keep clients for at least an average of two years.”