Digital people on the move: February 2016

This month sees executives switching social platforms, and significant appointments at AOL and the IAB. One CEO also plans to leave one of the world’s top agencies for one of its top universities.

We’re a little behind on February’s (and OK, early March’s) Digital People on the Move, having had some people on the move ourselves here at ClickZ. But it’s better late than never, right?

Snapchat poaches Facebook exec

Worth $1 billion, Facebook’s ad network is wildly successful. The social titan owes that, in part, to Sriram Kirshnan. Kirshan, who was on the mobile product team, founded the Facebook Audience Network three years ago, in addition to building mobile app engagement and deeplink ads.

Kirshnan left Facebook for what is shaping up to be its most formidable opponent: Snapchat. The messaging app is the hottest platform of the moment and it’s increasingly matching that buzz with innovative ad offerings, such as branded geo-filters.

More recently, Snapchat partnered with Nielsen to offer third-party data to marketers. No doubt Kirshnan’s appointment will help the platform continue to move in the direction of being an advertising powerhouse.

Ogilvy CEO to return to school

Miles Young started at Ogilvy & Mather 34 years ago, having worked his way up to managing director by 1990. He’s since been promoted to chairman of Asia Pacific and eventually, chief executive (CEO) of the agency’s headquarters in New York City.

Young has been in New York since 2008, but recently announced plans to return to his native U.K.. But not to another agency.

This person on the move is retiring from advertising. In September, Young will take up the post of chief academic administrator at Oxford University’s New College, where he himself graduated with a degree in modern history.

Googler leads Pinterest’s ad sales

Like every other social platform, Pinterest has become a lot more serious about its advertising capabilities over the last few years. In September, the platform decided to narrow its ad focus to retail and CPG, the two sectors that generate the most engagement with its audience.

To foster that focus, Pinterest brought on Jon Kaplan, who most recently served as Google’s vice president for the Americas after 10 years with the company. As the head of global sales, Kaplan officially began leading Pinterest’s small ad sales team on Monday.

“[Kaplan] has tremendous digital advertising experience and we’re looking forward to even stronger growth of our global ads platform under his leadership,” said Tim Kendall, Pinterest’s general manager for monetization, in a statement.

IAB Programmatic Council co-chair joins its Tech Lab

Alanna Gombert is an ad tech and programmatic pioneer with a background at Google and Omnicom, as well as her own digital consultancy. In February, she became the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) as its deputy general manager and vice president of technology and ad operations.

Though she is new to the IAB Tech Lab, Gombert has served as co-chair of the organization’s programmatic council, which she founded two years ago. Just three weeks after her appointment, Gombert announced the IAB’s newest ad blocking strategy – DEAL – at the Programmatic Marketplace event.

Gombert isn’t the IAB’s only person on the move. Earlier this week, Chris Glushko, senior director of marketing, was also promoted to vice president of marketing. Glushko has been with the organization for nine years, long enough to redesign its website three times, most recently in October.

AOL creates position to lead mobile strategy

Given the industry’s continuous shift toward mobile, AOL created a new position: global chief mobile officer. The role was filled by Mark Connon, who served as the executive vice president of platform business at Millennial Media, which AOL acquired in the fall.

Connon reports to CEO Tim Armstrong, who said, “With Verizon’s deep expertise and investment, AOL is uniquely positioned to lead the global mobile revolution. Mark’s deep industry expertise will ensure mobile continues to be innovative and at the forefront of AOL’s platforms, products and media properties.

Alongside Connon, AOL appointed Zac Pinkham to serve as the vice president of international mobile. Tasked to develop AOL’s mobile strategy on a global level, Pinkham also comes from Millennial Media; he most recently served as managing director of its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) division.