Acxiom Names Scott Howe CEO

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Former Microsoft/aQuantive executive Scott Howe has been named CEO of Acxiom, a marketing data services and technology company.

The high-profile digital ad technology executive joins a 42-year-old company that has encountered tumult in recent months. In March, John Meyer, Acxiom's CEO, resigned after three years, and Christopher Wolf, its chief financial officer, left in June.

In May, Acxiom took an $80 million write-down, mostly tied to its European operations. The company, based in Little Rock, AR, had annual revenue of $1.16 billion in 2010.

"Acxiom has superior talent, incredible technology and a world-renowned client roster - a strong foundation for success as the lines between traditional and digital marketing disappear," Howe said in a prepared statement.

As a marketing data services company, Acxiom collects, analyzes, and parses customer and business information for clients, helping them to target advertising campaigns, score leads, and more.

Howe was corporate vice president, advertiser and publisher solutions at Microsoft; he left there in May 2010. Before that, he held executive positions at interactive company aQuantive, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2007. At aQuantive, Howe managed digital agency Avenue A/Razorfish; Drive Performance Media, now known as Microsoft Media Network; and Atlas International, an enterprise software application for advertising.

Since leaving Microsoft, Howe was working on a startup called King of the Web, according to his LinkedIn profile. It is described as a "portfolio of online game shows."

Jerry Gramaglia had served as Acxiom's interim chief executive officer since Meyer's departure in March.