Digital Marketing People on the Move: March 2015 Roundup

This is a roundup of new hires and promotions in the digital marketing industry during March of 2015.

This past March, major industry players faced management changes: Google hired a chief financial officer (CFO) from Wall Street, BuzzFeed brought in an ex-Google executive, Rakuten Marketing promoted a new chief executive (CEO), and more.

Ruth Porat Migrates From Morgan Stanley to Google

Google offered Ruth Porat, former CFO of Morgan Stanley, a $70 million package to bring her on board. As the company’s new CFO, Porat will face a tough situation, as growth in Google’s core business of search advertising has been hovering around 20 percent a year in the past few years, while the company’s financial results have failed to meet analysts’ expectations for five consecutive years, according to The New York Times.

Porat joined Morgan Stanley in 1987. She was one of the leading figures who advised the U.S. government on its dealings with A.I.G. and Fannie Mae during the financial crunch in 2008. Porat was also considered as a deputy Treasury secretary candidate in 2003.

kateburnsBuzzFeed Taps Former Google and AOL Executive Kate Burns

BuzzFeed has named Kate Burns general manager of Europe.

Burns joined BuzzFeed from SHIFT Communications, where she served as vice president of Europe. During her stay at SHIFT, Burns helped the company launch and expand its EU offering, as well as build relationships with both agencies and direct clients.

Prior to SHIFT, Burns was CEO of AOL Europe. Before that, she served as director of UK, Ireland, and Benelux at Google.

tony-zito-headshot-20121Tony Zito to Be New CEO at Rakuten Marketing

Rakuten Marketing has promoted Tony Zito to be the company’s CEO. In this new role, Zito will oversee Rakuten’s business in the Americas, Europe, and Australia.

Zito joined Rakuten as chief revenue officer after it acquired his display company mediaFORGE in 2012. Under his leadership, the company saw 67 percent growth in the past two years and integrated its four online marketing businesses in 2014.

elizabeth-pandoraElizabeth Moody Joins Pandora as Vice President of Global Content Licensing

Pandora has hired Elizabeth Moody as vice president of global content licensing. In her new role, Moody will spearhead the company’s strategy and negotiation of content partnerships, which includes the development of broader product rights to increase revenue, engagement, and retention.

Prior to Pandora, Moody worked for YouTube where she served as head of music partnerships, responsible for record label and music publisher relations, as well as content-driven transactions for YouTube music business. Before that, she helped set up the digital media practice at music law firm Davis & Shapiro.

Moody is also a member of the board of The Grammy Foundation.

scott-kimberleyScott Kimberley to Be Managing Partner at OMD International

OMD International, an Omnicom company, has appointed Scott Kimberley as managing partner. He will lead the team to manage OMD’s key global and regional client relationships. Kimberley will be based out of Singapore.

With more than 15 years of experience, he most recently served as group account director at Mediacom Melbourne. There he ran Dell across Asia-Pacific and Japan, retaining the account for five straight years. Before that, he was group account director at Mitchell and Partners.

eric-cruzEric Cruz Joins AKQA Shanghai as Executive Creative Director

AKQA has appointed Eric Cruz as executive creative director of its Shanghai office. Eric will lead the creative team and supervise their work for clients, including Budweiser, Nike, and Tencent.

A veteran with more than 20 years of industry experience, Cruz has a strong international background, taking various creative leadership roles in agencies across Asia, Europe, and the U.S.

Homepage image via Shutterstock.

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