Leadership

Our Leadership Team

Global

Pete Stein

Global President and President, Merkle Americas

In his 25-year journey in the marketing industry, Pete Stein has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to helping world-class brands deliver extraordinary customer experiences. As Global President of Merkle and dentsu’s CXM Practice, Pete leads the development and delivery of its full breadth of capabilities that drive customer experience transformation. Pete partners across regions and practice areas to shape Merkle’s brand strategy and go-to-market value proposition.

Pete is responsible for global annual revenue approaching $2 billion and a workforce spanning 16,000 employees across 30+ countries, encompassing the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. His purview comprises a broad array of CXM competencies, including technology and customer strategy, customer data management, analytics and insights, enterprise AI, commerce and content platforms, digital experience design, CRM and customer service, messaging, and loyalty and promotions.

Taking a global perspective, Pete’s rich experience is underpinned by an innate understanding of regional market dynamics. His charge within Merkle also includes serving as President of Merkle Americas, a region that contributes to over 70% of the company’s global revenue and employs more than 7,000 people. Prior to this role, he held the position of Global Lead of Experience & Commerce, establishing Merkle’s E&C practice and fronting a global team of CXM experts focused on experience and commerce technologies and services. His responsibilities included recruiting, developing, and inspiring the team to achieve sustainable performance and retain deep client relationships globally by enabling seamless shopping experiences. Under Pete’s leadership, Merkle has been recognized as a leader by Ad Age, Forrester, Gartner, The Drum, IDC, Everest Group, and others, as well as technology partners including Adobe, Google, Salesforce, Pega, and Amazon Web Services.

Pete is a visionary steward of Merkle’s growth strategy, including M&A, and has played a pivotal role in evaluating and orchestrating the acquisition of several high-profile customer transformation and technology businesses – and steering their successful integration into the dentsu family of companies.

Passionate about fostering a unique, people-centric corporate culture, Pete is a devoted advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. He actively supports Merkle and dentsu’s DEI initiatives and personifies their dedication to transparency and accountability in their inclusivity goals. This commitment led Merkle to receive the Digital Revolution Award in EMEA for Diversity and Inclusion Employer of the Year in 2022.

Prior to joining Merkle in 2020, Pete served as the CEO of Huge, a global experience agency with 1,200 employees in 13 offices across the globe. Huge delivered world-class customer experience work to clients like Google, McDonalds, and P&G. Prior to that role, Pete spent more than 18 years at Razorfish, ultimately rising to global CEO of the organization. While at Razorfish, Pete expanded a base of digital offerings by creating new global capabilities in ecommerce, social, mobile, and programmatic media, delivering strong growth for clients.

Residing in New Jersey, Pete is actively involved in the advertising and digital community, having served on the Ad Council board and the Snap Client Council.

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Pete Stein

https://www.linkedin.com/in/petestein1

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Margaret Wagner

President, Merkle EMEA

Margaret Wagner is the regional president of Merkle and CEO of dentsu’s Customer Experience Management (CXM) Service Line across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). She leads a business of $400 million in annual revenue and 3,500 employees across 34 offices in 14 markets. She is responsible for leading and developing a regional organisation that delivers customer experience transformation for clients as well as partnering with dentsu’s Creative and Media Service Lines on broader transformation programmes.

Previously the UK and EMEA chief growth officer, Margaret built a regional platform for sales, alliances, and marketing that is consistent and scalable. These platforms support the growth of existing and new clients on complex customer experience transformation journeys across Merkle’s media, analytics, CX and technology service lines. She led our hugely successful Alliances business with key partners including Adobe, Google, Pega and Salesforce.

Margaret is a member of the Merkle Global Executive Committee and of the Regional Executive Team of Giulio Malegori, CEO, dentsu EMEA. She joined Merkle in Europe as it launched in the UK in 2015 after serving in senior leadership roles for RAPP and Wunderman. Margaret is the executive sponsor for Merkle's Gender pillar for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion council.

Merkle is part of Dentsu, which provides best-in-class services and solutions in media, CXM, and creative that are designed to help clients to win, keep and grow their best customers and achieve meaningful progress for their businesses.

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Margaret Wagner

https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-wagner-0714775/

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Holden Bale

Global Chief Strategy Officer

Holden Bale leads the global Experience & Commerce practice at Merkle, a team of over 5,000 professionals across experience design and product innovation, digital platforms and engineering, UX and commerce strategy, loyalty, digital messaging, and analytics who've come together from respected brands including Isobar, LiveArea, HelloWorld, Extentia, Shift7, ePrize, and DEG to form one community of practice.

He has partnered with businesses including McDonald’s, Target, Kate Spade, Mars, Ulta Beauty, Spotify, Nordstrom, Delta Airlines, Domino’s Pizza, P&G, Rakuten, and Bain Capital on some of their most ambitious initiatives – ranging from growth strategy and digital business transformation to innovation in customer experience and technology modernization.

Prior to Huge, Holden lead the global commerce division of the IPG experience design firm Huge; was the principal strategist for ThoughtWorks, a global engineering and agile transformation firm, and led their consumer practices in the Americas; directed the omnichannel retail group at Accenture Strategy; and was a management consultant at Kurt Salmon, a boutique consultancy focused on retail, CPG, and healthcare, specializing in digital and change management services.

He regularly contributes to publications including Morning Brew, Business of Fashion, Adweek, WWD, Glossy, and Modern Retail, and has presented over the last year at events including Shoptalk US and Shoptalk Europe, Digital Congress in Sweden, Advertising Week in New York, and Business of Fashion Live. He sits on the Advisory Board of the global Buy Nothing movement, founded in 2013 with the mission to build community by connecting people through hyperlocal gifting and the circular economy.

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Holden Bale

https://www.linkedin.com/in/holdenbale/

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Kirt Morris

Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer

Kirt Morris has built a strong reputation for driving tangible business results by leading cultural, operational, and organizational transformations.

He has been recognized for his passion for building globally diverse teams and fostering a culture of inclusion and equity. His focus is on maximizing the adoption of strategies, models, and programs to attract, develop, and retain critical talent committed to delivering value inside and outside an organization.

Kirt’s diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) career stands on four pillars of success:

Impactful Strategies – He excels in defining the DEI vision and roadmap to build a diverse population with a healthy and vibrant culture to enable every employee to do great work, develop a phenomenal career, and feel valued, respected, heard, and that they belong.
Successful Execution – Kirt is an expert in collaborating with business stakeholders, human resources teams, and regional DEI advisory councils to develop and adopt a comprehensive DEI strategy that encompasses workforce, culture, corporate social responsibility, marketing, and clients.
Influential Advocacy – Kirt has been a tireless advocate for equity and inclusion at Merkle and in the industry at large.
Passionate Global Teams – He is an expert in developing individuals and teams focused on achieving great results through a shared culture of trust and respect.

In 2020, Kirt was chosen as Merkle’s first Chief Equity Officer to lead all efforts to further refine and achieve DEI strategies and initiatives within dentsu for the Customer Experience Management (CXM) Line of Business, impacting a workforce of 9,600+ employees throughout 9 agencies in EMEA, the Americas, and APAC. He has full responsibility for creating and communicating the future state vision and detailed plans, outlining long- and short-term goals with expected outcomes initially in the Americas with expansion globally.

Previously, during his roles as Senior Director and Director of the Data Management Business Unit within the Retail Consumer Packaged Goods Practice, he was instrumental in building the DEI team while maintaining 100% client responsibilities.

For the past two years, Kirt has led the Americas DEI Ethnicity Pillar. He also established and grew the dentsu Multicultural Business Resource Group in the US from 25 to 230+ DEI practitioners within one year. He hosted Town Halls that provided employees with an outlet to discuss their challenges and goals for equity in the workplace. He was instrumental in developing the 18-month strategic roadmap. He built relationships with historically black colleges and universities that increased the pipeline for entry-level talent. Kirt advocated and co-led all efforts to establish Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as Merkle’s Day of Service in the Americas.

He holds a graduate degree in Management of computer information systems from University of Phoenix, and an undergraduate degree in computer science from the University of Maryland.

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Kirt Morris

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirtmorris/

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David Novak

Global Head of CRM

David is an expert in digital transformation strategy, with extensive experience in customer experience innovation, marketing/advertising technology rationalization, and performance marketing consulting.

He understands that the best business growth models rely on defining a clear vision. Without it, companies remain stuck in what they already know and limit their path towards growth. But he’s also intensely practical, working quickly to deliver best-in-class data-centered capabilities that are innovative and cost-effective. He appreciates how challenging it is for large brands to master innovative solution selling and go-to-market strategies.

As Global Head of CRM, he is responsible for delivering a global next generation CRM capability delivering innovative solutions across client promotions, loyalty, and messaging programs. His teams have comprehensive CRM expertise from the initial analysis, strategy and conception right up to the final technical implementation. They bring industry-leading expertise in AI, process automation and machine learning to drive efficiency and effectiveness improvements for some of the largest brands in the world.

David, came to Merkle from Prophet, a leading growth consultancy, where he was a Senior Partner responsible for developing a global consulting team focused on the CMO and senior marketing leaders. He led buyer research, offer development, sales enablement, and all go-to-market activities. He previously co-led the global marketing and sales practice responsible for building and leading consulting teams delivering brand and demand customer engagement advisory services.

Prior to Prophet, he spent 10 years at IBM iX as a Partner and Practice Leader where he lead their North American consulting team delivering customer engagement strategy, implementation, and optimization to Fortune 100 clients via digital marketing, personalization, artificial intelligence, eCommerce/web, mobile/AR, and social. He led teams selling and delivering consumer and enterprise mobile transformation for the Retail, Consumer Packaged Goods, Life Sciences, and Travel industries. He co-led teams focused on Smarter Commerce strategy and transformation consulting for Fortune 50 retailers and consumer goods companies. He was responsibilities included offering development, sales, and delivery of Omni-channel marketing consulting services. His additional project leadership included; Business Intelligence Strategy, Mobility Solutions, eCommerce Strategies, eCommerce Implementation, Mobile POS Solutions, Outsourcing Strategies, Organizational Change Management, Analytics, and Supply Chain Initiatives.

He studied marketing at the University of Maryland. He has received multiple marketing awards for highly successful campaigns.

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Matthew Seeley

Global Lead, Data & Identity

Matt is responsible for the strategic vision, service delivery, and overall performance of Merkle’s Data and Identity Practice.

Prior to Merkle, Matt served as COO at Cheetah Digital and before that, Experian by way of CheetahMail, as part of the founding team in 2000. A pioneer in the email space, Matt helped transform CheetahMail from a $2 million startup into one of the premier global email services organizations. After being acquired by Experian, Matt expanded his role to leading the company’s Marketing Services division in North America, running all email and cross-channel platforms across the globe.

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Matthew Seeley

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-seeley-7275b6/

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Shawn Streett

CIO, Information Management Systems & Dentsu Global Services

Shawn brings 25 years of experience in enterprise technology and information security to his role at Merkle, where he leads technology teams that architect and manage Cloud based solutions, data platforms, and enterprise security for CXM and Dentsu Global Services.

Prior to joining Merkle, Shawn led the Managed Hosting Operations and Engineering teams at Digex/Verizon Business, where he managed the internet presence of Fortune 500 customers.

Shawn earned his Master of Science in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and is a member of the board of directors for the Mid-Atlantic CIO forum.

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Shawn Streett

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnstreett/

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Shirli Zelcer

Global Lead, Analytics & Technology

Shirli is the Global Head of Analytics and Technology at Merkle. With over 20 years of experience in analytics and insights, business advisory and organizational design, artificial intelligence and data science, and cloud and marketing technologies, Shirli is at the forefront of innovation ranging from ethical AI and advancements in cloud engineering to future-proofing data literate organizations around zero-party data.

At Merkle, Shirli is responsible for leading the Analytics & Marketing Technology practice area, a global division of more than 5,600 practitioners across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, covering services that include consumer and experience insights; product and market intelligence; data science and artificial intelligence; and marketing technology, big data infrastructure, and cloud engineering.

Her team’s work is wide-ranging, covering everything from enterprise segmentation and acquisition modeling to CDP and data infrastructure implementation to advanced media mix modeling, personalization strategies, and bespoke AI solutions in areas including pricing, supply chain, and competitive intelligence.

Shirli has worked across numerous industries, but has especially deep experience in travel, media and entertainment, retail, high tech, and financial services, having partnered with brands including Disney, Dell, Universal Parks and Resorts, Royal Caribbean, Marriott, and Nike.

Prior to joining Merkle, Shirli worked for Capital One in the Marketing and Analysis department, responsible for developing credit risk models, NPV models, and DOE testing. Shirli has both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Statistics from Cornell University.

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Shirli Zelcer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirlizelcer/

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Susan Zoch

Global Chief Counsel

Susan is Merkle’s General Counsel. With her leadership, Merkle’s legal department advises and enables the business to accelerate sustainable growth and achieve competitive advantage, while working together, championing the company’s values, and leading by example. Susan leverages more than 25 years of legal experience across a broad spectrum of disciplines, including commercial transactions, privacy and data protection, technology, litigation, compliance, and human resources.

Prior to joining Merkle, Susan served in a similar role at Vertis Communications and was in private practice at Baker Botts in Washington DC. She clerked for the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She holds a JD from The University of Texas School of Law, where she was Executive Editor of the Texas Law Review, and a BA from Rice University.

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Susan Zoch

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Americas

Eric Buss

GTM & Commercial Lead, CX & Commerce, Americas

Eric runs the Customer Experience & Commerce practice for the Americas within Merkle. His role includes leading the overall digital experience delivery practice, creating vision and strategy for growth, partnering with leading technologies and product companies, and innovating with new and emerging technologies such as AI and modern composable architectures. Eric is passionate about delivering digital transformation for clients, from strategy and planning through delivery and ongoing support and modernization.

Prior to Merkle, Eric ran the Digital Platforms & Commerce Transformation Practice in the Americas for IBM and ran a similar practice for Accenture in his prior assignment. His roles included running the delivery organization and several dedicated delivery centers of excellence for the practice. Outside of practice delivery, Eric was responsible for Go-to-Market strategy and messaging, planning and account activation, digital technology partnership strategy and execution, Industry Analyst and Market activities, Points of View and and practice branding and eminence. Eric has always remained client-focused in an on-going capacity, running several strategic Fortune 500 accounts over the past two decades.

Eric started his career with Accenture (Andersen Consulting at the time) as an Enterprise Application Integration specialist and moving into a variety of digital delivery roles including development, testing, functional & technology architecture, and business process design. After joining Acquity Group in a delivery capacity, Ericassumed overall account ownership responsibilities leading him into an account leadership career track. In this role, he consistently delivered to the business plans and account metrics which lead to Eric running the West Region for Acquity Group for several years. Eric re-joined Accenture through acquisition and served in several roles which included overall Digital Lead for West Region, North America Commerce & Sales Transformation practice lead, and Digital Technology Strategy Lead. Eric credits his current knowledge of the digital ecosystem and his passion for people leadership to a few amazing mentors from both Acquity Group and Accenture earlier in his career. He is now committed to focusing on returning the favor through ongoing mentorship and career opportunity development for the next generation of digital consultants.

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Eric Buss

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Sheerah Davis

Chief People Officer, Americas

Sheerah is a seasoned human resources strategist with over 25 years of HR experience. She is passionate about employee engagement and leading through change and she believes in leveraging employee and business data to inform HR practices and decisions within the businesses she supports.

Prior to joining Merkle, Sheerah has served as the global HR lead for Dentsu Sports International, Inc., a global sports marketing network comprised of MKTG Sports + Entertainment, Halo Sport, and Dentsu Sports. As the CPO, Sheerah led the strategic development of the HR function, and the development and implementation of an integrated HR strategy that has helped build a high-performance, values-based culture through broad business transformation and change.

Prior to that, Sheerah was the U.S. sports and entertainment HR lead for Dentsu International, Inc. where she led HR for various U.S. brands such as: Mitchell, MKTG, The Story Lab, and GleamFutures which provided the framework for the Dentsu International’s entertainment and sports offering. Sheerah also helped lead HR for the U.S. creative and content service line before her transition to sports and entertainment.

During Sheerah’s career, she has worked in various industries including marketing, public relations, distribution, and healthcare and has had the opportunity to support leading industry brands such as Disney, Walmart, Goldman Sachs, Nissan, Goodyear, Toyota and others. Sheerah has been recognized by her peers as being a collaborative leader and has gained a reputation for her ability to build relationships, and successfully navigate complex and challenging situations while remaining committed to maintaining a strong, values-driven culture.

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Sheerah Davis

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheerahdavis/

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Walter Flaat

Canada Market Lead

Walter Flaat leads Merkle / CXM in Canada. His team brings Merkle’s leading global capabilities to the local market while deeply integrating them with the local social and cultural diversity that defines Canada. He is also Chief Data Officer for dentsu Canada, providing executive support and guidance for the development of dentsu’s data products & services across all service lines.

Previously, Walter served as Chief Data Officer for dentsu Netherlands, where he spearheaded the development of integrated data & analytics unit DNA, now known as DDL (dentsu Data Labs). This model transformed the delivery of data services in an agency context from primarily value-added reporting - to industry leading data solutions. The DDL model has since expanded globally.

Before transferring to Canada, Walter also implemented best-in-class GDPR compliance in the local market, earning him recognition as a leader in the European privacy domain.

Prior to that, he served as Head of Data & Media Partnerships for Amnet and was a leading architect for DMP & CRM implementations across the EMEA region.

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Walter Flaat

https://www.linkedin.com/in/walterflaat/

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Missy Foristall

Chief Operating Officer, Americas

For more than 25 years, Missy Foristall has spent her career driving innovation and digital transformation for both consumer and enterprise brands. As Chief Operating Officer of the Americas at Merkle, Missy leads the operations team; focusing on operational excellence, business transformation, and resource management. In her previous role as Global COO and Americas CEO at DEPT®, she led the operations, resource management, internal platforms and human resources teams; as well as managing the America's leadership team and P&L.

Prior to joining DEPT®, Missy was VP, Digital Business Group at IBM in a number of digital transformation roles, from leading IBM’s 1,700 person internal agency to managing the digital design group and marketing platform products. Previously she also led digital marketing and strategy groups at Martha Stewart, Razorfish, JP Morgan Private Bank, and MediaLink. As Managing Director for Razorfish’s New York office and executive sponsor for a number of high profile client accounts, Missy oversaw emerging platforms, creative, and delivery of projects.

Missy is passionate about empowering women and providing support and mentoring. Originally born and raised in New York, Missy now lives in Connecticut with her husband and two teenage daughters.

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Missy Foristall

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Daniel Knauf

Chief Technology Officer, Americas

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, Daniel has distinguished himself as a forward-thinking leader, adept at steering organizations through digital transformation and technology-driven disruption. As the Americas Chief Technology Officer at Merkle, he is at the forefront of global customer experience innovations, driving the adoption of AI to not only respond to industry disruptions but to anticipate and shape them. His expertise lies in seamlessly integrating cutting-edge AI technologies to enhance omni-channel digital solutions across martech, loyalty, and eCommerce sectors, marking him as a pioneer in leveraging technology for organizational modernization and delivery excellence.

Daniel thrives in dynamic environments, where his agility and proficiency in fostering cross-functional collaborations result in breaking down silos and spearheading significant change. His leadership is characterized by a proactive approach to navigating the challenges of digital and organizational transformation, ensuring businesses are primed for the future in a landscape dominated by AI and machine learning innovations.

An entrepreneur at heart, Daniel's passion extends to conceptualizing and scaling new digital products, demonstrating an exceptional ability to transform inventive ideas into profitable ventures. His strategic vision is backed by a solid foundation in technology and business, holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Michigan State University, complemented by a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Daniel's journey reflects a commitment to staying ahead of the curve, preparing enterprises to not just meet but exceed the demands of the digital age through the strategic application of modern technology solutions.

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Daniel Knauf

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielknauf/

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Chris McComas

CX & Commerce Lead, Americas

Chris McComas is Merkle’s Americas Customer Experience and Commerce lead. Chris is a seasoned leader in the field of User Experience and Technology, with an impressive career spanning nearly 30 years. With a wealth of knowledge and expertise, he has made significant contributions in multiple industries, including retail, telco, travel & hospitality, high-tech, and multi-level media for B2C, DTC, and B2B solutions.

Having spent over a decade in the creative and agency landscape before integrating commerce as the internet emerged, Chris brings a unique perspective to his work, infusing 20+ years of technology and commerce experience with creative innovation. He understands the importance of balancing user-centric design and business objectives, creating seamless customer experiences and real ROI for his clients.

Throughout his career, Chris has demonstrated a deep understanding of the ever-evolving landscape of technology and its impact on experience and commerce. He has consistently stayed at the forefront of industry trends and developments, leveraging this knowledge to drive growth and success for organizations. He fosters an environment that encourages innovation, teamwork, and continuous improvement, resulting in exceptional outcomes for both clients and organizations.

Prior to joining Merkle, Chris led departments at organizations such as LiveArea, McFadyen, Amplifi, Valtech, and Scient/Razorfish.

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Chris McComas

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismccomas/

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Tim Perlstein

Chief Marketing Officer, Americas

Tim joined Merkle in March 2021 as SVP, Experience & Commerce Solutions, to help establish Merkle’s global Experience & Commerce practice area –a broad set of capabilities and solutions that are critical to Merkle’s vision for complete, connected customer experience transformation. As CMO, Americas, Tim remains focused on elevating and extending Merkle’s leadership in data-driven, technology-enabled customer experience services for tomorrow’s most engaging, most relevant, most successful brands.

Prior to Merkle, Tim served as CEO of United in Gaming, Inc., a social platform for amateur esports competition, and previously served as Interim CMO of Skills Matter, the leading global community and continuous learning platform for software engineers. He also created Tanjent Partners in 2015 as a boutique consulting firm focused on growth strategy, marketing, and commerce. Through Tanjent, Tim has worked with a diverse array of firms in media, technology, CPG/ecommerce, and professional services (including multiple agencies at various stages of growth).

Previously, Tim served as SVP Strategy & Insights and then SVP Managing Director of Fullscreen's brand group. In these roles Tim managed a range of functions including strategy, measurement and insights, operations, strategic planning, and B2B marketing, supporting sustained double-digit growth over a three-year period and a successful exit to AT&T in 2018.

Prior to Fullscreen, Tim served as Chief Strategy Officer for Razorfish, a global digital agency, where he led the agency's strategic planning, corporate development, and service innovation functions. During his tenure, he transformed the agency's strategy discipline into a market-leading digital consulting practice, establishing Razorfish as "one of the strongest strategy-led marketing service providers in the industry," according to Gartner Research. 

Tim joined Razorfish from Yahoo!, where he served as Director of Consumer & Customer Innovation. He also led online marketing for the Yahoo! Media Group and held multiple marketing and product management roles at Knight Ridder Digital, the online news division of the US’s second-largest newspaper publisher. Prior to Knight Ridder, Tim served as head writer for Pallotta TeamWorks, supporting massive-scale fundraising efforts which netted over $69 million for AIDS and breast cancer charities in a single year.

Tim earned his undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from Harvard University, and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, along with certificates in Global and Public Management, with a focus on international development. He lives in Austin, TX (physically), airplane aisle seats (preferably), and the itty-bitty rectangular window of your favorite video conferencing tool.

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Tim Perlstein

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timperlstein/

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Sunil Rao

Americas Lead, Analytics & Technology

Sunil bring over 13 years of experience in advanced analytics, marketing technology and CRM. He is an expert in digital data, audience platforms and leverages his deep expertise in quantitative methods to apply them in today’s digital world.

He currently leads Merkle’s Audience Science & Management practice where his focus is to help clients deliver a superior customer experience and drive ROI through the application of 1^st party data, advanced analytics, and state of the art marketing technology platforms. He also leads the creation of unique and integrated solutions across Merkle’s proprietary identity and data platform Merkury and leading marketing technology providers.

He has led analytics engagements across industry verticals for a variety of clients including AT&T, Universal Orlando, Citizens Bank, American Express, Abercrombie & Fitch, Sony, Aviva Insurance and many others.

Sunil has a Master’s degree in Engineering from NC State University.

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Sunil Rao

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Pete Rogers

Head of Technology, Americas

Pete is the Head of Technology, Americas at Merkle. He has 20 years' experience with marketing technology and CRM solutions. He has deep subject matter expertise in Data Management, Identity Management and Media Execution Technology.

He has been with Merkle since 2006, starting in Merkle's Technology deployment team. In that time, he has designed and built 10+ Marketing Technology Solutions. These solutions range in complexity from small customer solutions to multi-terabyte prospecting databases. These solutions also include real-time decision management and offer management solutions.

Pete has been the technology lead for 25+ technology assessments for Fortune 1000 organizations. His role was to interview key marketing and IT professionals within these organizations and make assessments and recommendations for their technology roadmap and vision.

Before joining Merkle, Pete worked doing systems integration work for a large law firm and database consulting for a software company. He has a degree in finance from Bentley University.

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Pete Rogers

https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterrogers/

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John Stauffer

Chief Strategy Officer, Americas

John Stauffer is the Chief Strategy Officer in the Americas at Merkle. Bringing more than 15 years of agency experience to the role, John leads an integrated group of cross-channel strategists, transforming our clients’ customer experiences by turning deep channel expertise into strategic competitive advantages.

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John Stauffer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnstauffer/

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Juan Camilo Suarez

CXM CEO and Chief Solutions Officer, Latin America

Juan Camilo is responsible for the strategic vision of CXM in Latin America as the leader of Merkle Latam and the Navegg identity solution platform.

Juan has 27 years of comprehensive achievements across commerce operations, consulting services, and internet business models. His extensive business experience in diverse cultures and industries includes utilities, financial services, eTravel, and telecommunications. He is renowned for incorporating innovative business solutions that enhance business practices.

Notable speaking engagements include:

ecomworld commerce conference 2022
Google Analytics Conference in Mexico City
Google Analytics User Conference Bogotá
Google Click to Action & Think Performance by Google
The World BPO/ITO Forum in New York
Customer Experience Management in Argentina
VTEX Day in Sao Paulo
MoveOn2019 in Panamá
APAP in Paraguay

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Juan Camilo Suarez

https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-camilo-suarez-4354109/

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Chris Wayman

Chief Growth Officer, Americas

As Chief Growth Officer, Americas, Chris brings more than 15 years in leadership roles with marketing services companies and technology startups. As a digital marketing executive with skills in direct and channel sales, revenue management, strategic planning, and operations, Chris has also led and managed digital marketing, promotions, and loyalty solutions across travel, media, entertainment, retail, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, and the financial services industries.

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Chris Wayman

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriswayman/

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EMEA

Ben Gott

Practice Lead, Marketing Solutions EMEA

Ben leads Merkle's data and marketing technology division across EMEA. He leads a team that is responsible for the implementation, integration and management of clients’ data and technology, ensuring that they are getting the most out of their investments. His team specialise in strategic consultancy, CRM, technical consulting, analytics, and real-time decision management solutions.

During his 15 year career at Merkle, Ben has worked to bring the Agency Services and Marketing Solutions businesses closer together and to empower clients' customer experience transformations through tech. His experience supports our wider business integration as martech platforms continue to grow. Ben originally formed part of the leadership team for Merkle’s first EMEA acquisition, the multi-award-winning Periscopix.

His career to date has seen him occupy lead roles across the disciplines of analytics, performance media and data and martech. Most recently, he led the integration of the company's digital and customer analytics teams, to create a combined analytics practice which is unique to Merkle. He has also worked closely with Merkle's key enterprise tech partners to help clients rise to the challenge of bringing the different marketing disciplines together to work harmoniously.

Ben is a keen supporter of the efforts of Merkle’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, with particular involvement in promoting the Gender and Ethnicity pillars.

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Ben Gott

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brgott/

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Bobby Hollingsworth

President, Merkle Northern Europe

Bobby has over 15 years of experience as a leader in global digital agencies, successfully delivering multi-channel enterprise platform projects and marketing campaigns for global brands in a variety of industries.

In his nearly 14 years at dentsu, Bobby was, among other things, General Manager of the Melbourne office in Australia. For more than five years of his time there, he also led all digital services for General Motors brand Holden.

After moving back to Europe, Bobby started out overseeing the digital creative teams across the Nordics region which focus on creating world-class customer experiences enabled by enterprise solutions.

With an international background and upbringing, Bobby is bilingual in English and German, and speaks French, Spanish, and Danish fluently.

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Bobby Hollingsworth

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobingsworth/

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Nick McCarthy

Chief Growth Officer, EMEA

Nick McCarthy currently holds the position of Chief Growth Officer at Merkle, where his primary responsibility is to drive new business and revenue expansion across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). A results-oriented leader, he oversees our integrated growth platform spanning sales and alliances, driving transformative customer experiences for brands.

His journey with Merkle began in 2017 when he assumed the role of SVP, Data Solutions, where he played a key role in developing and commercialising data-driven products. Transitioning to the role of SVP, Alliances in 2020, Nick played a pivotal role in driving significant growth within Merkle's technology alliance partnerships, fostering strong collaborations with industry leaders such as Salesforce and Adobe.

Nick brings diverse expertise gained from leadership roles across multiple sectors, including marketing services, media, and digital businesses. His experience encompasses various facets of business strategy, data management, and marketing leadership within client organisations.

Outside of his professional endeavours, Nick is actively involved in Merkle's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, reflecting his deep-seated commitment to promoting diversity and equality within the organisation.

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Nick McCarthy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasmccarthy/

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Azlan Raj

Chief Marketing Officer, EMEA

Azlan Raj is the EMEA chief marketing officer for Merkle and dentsu’s customer experience management service line. His role spans all dentsu capabilities across commerce, data and technology platforms, analytics, media, customer experience, content, and B2B. He is responsible for continually evolving Merkle and dentsu’s leading digital and data capabilities across the region to drive customer experience transformation for clients. Previously the EMEA leader for Merkle’s Customer Experience offering, he built the company’s regional capability to over 1,200 people in just three years.

With over 20 years of experience in the digital industry, prior to joining Merkle Azlan worked for leading brands, agencies, and consultancies, including Barclaycard, SapientRazorfish, and Accenture. Through his career, Azlan has been part of award-winning teams and led a diverse set of capabilities from marketing strategy through to analytics, website design and development, and marketing activation.

Azlan is passionate about Merkle’s efforts in the diversity, equity and inclusion space, and is actively involved in supporting the ethnicity and mental health pillars. He is especially committed to ensuring that we are embedding inclusivity and social responsibility in our own communications.

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Azlan Raj

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phailanx/

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Andreas Skopal

Managing Director, MENA

Andreas has more than 20 years of experience in customer experience transformation, marketing, technology, and strategy across the MENA and APAC regions. With more than 10 years working for reputable digital consulting firms such as PWC and EY, Andreas has a solid background in guiding organizations through their transformation journeys, and most recently served as Partner and Global Head of Innovation, Growth, and Digital at Synpulse. Andreas has also held senior executive positions in major financial institutions in the MENA region, overseeing digital and marketing divisions. He has a track record of building high-performing and customer-focused teams, and strong experience in leading complex transformational delivery programs.

Andreas is at the forefront of delivering Merkle's diverse capabilities and services, which encompass media, analytics, data, identity, CX, and technology. His focus is on supporting brands in their customer experience transformation and assisting them in navigating the complex data and technology decisions that support success locally, regionally, and globally.

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Andreas Skopal

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasskopal/

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Manuel Blanco Viejo

CEO, Merkle Spain & Analytics Lead, Merkle EMEA

Manuel became CEO of Merkle’s Spain market after the 2017 acquisition of DIVISIDERO, a consulting firm specializing in technology and data. In 2007, he started his career in the company and five years later was appointed country manager to lead its growth and strategic positioning in the market.

Since the beginning of his career, Manuel has always been linked to the transformation of business through digital capabilities. With two master’s degrees in computer engineering and an MBA, Manuel has a wealth of experience across consulting, technology, and data. He is also an associate professor within the Digital Transformation Executive Program at IE Executive Education.

His extensive knowledge in this field has allowed him to collaborate with Fortune 500 companies, large publishers, and Ibex35 companies, acquiring deep expertise in different sectors and industries.

In addition to his leadership of Merkle’s Spain market, Manuel leads the company’s analytics division across EMEA. His team is responsible for the sophistication of the analytics practice, which is unique to Merkle, ensuring that clients get the most value out of their data and insights.

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Manuel Blanco Viejo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuelblancoviejo/

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Thomas Walter

Chief Solutions Officer, EMEA

Thomas is an astute leader with 20 years of experience and full-stack knowhow in CX transformation. Currently he is the Chief Services Officer for Merkle NE, a cluster within EMEA consisting of 7 dedicated solution practices and a total of 750 colleagues, and part of Merkle´s Experience and Commerce leadership team.

Throughout his career Thomas collected experiences and became a thought leader in various business areas such as corporate IT, business consulting, consumer research, data science, mobile business, ecommerce and digital business strategies.

Thomas’s experience is built upon a broad educational background, with a MSc in engineering and a PhD in data sciences. He is a well-rehearsed speaker, and shares his expertise as a university lecturer in digital business management. He is a passionate sportsman and barista.

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Thomas Walter

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaspierrewalter/

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Jane Wright

HR Director, EMEA

In her role as HR Director for dentsu’s CXM Service Line, Jane partners with the Merkle EMEA executive leadership team to achieve their strategic business goals. Her work aligns with dentsu’s people strategy and priorities, which underpin Merkle’s aspiration to create a culture that supports growth and career development for our people and enables a positive employee experience.

Merkle’s growth strategy has resulted in a rapidly expanding workforce across the region: organic growth and acquisitions has seen the company increase across EMEA from just 20 people in the UK in 2015 to over 5,500 employees across more than 20 countries. Jane is responsible for ensuring consistent people-related practices that help create a stimulating and rewarding working environment in support of Merkle’s goal to build a great company where the best people in the industry will want to work.

Jane has more than 20 years’ experience in human resources following a career in client management. She started her career at Acxiom and held a number of senior roles there before joining the Merkle team as part of the Comet Global Consulting acquisition in 2016.

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Jane Wright

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janepwright/

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APAC

Derek Huang

CEO, Merkle China & President, CXM

Derek plays a pivotal role in leading the transformation and swift acceleration/scaling of dentsu China's CXM capabilities, elevating Customer Transformation and Technology offerings, as well as client value propositions, to unprecedented heights.

A seasoned leader with nearly a decade of executive experience at dentsu across Mainland China and the Asia-Pacific region, he spearheads the integration and positioning of dentsu China's CXM solutions. By seamlessly blending these solutions with data analytics, mar-tech, performance marketing, and e-commerce, significantly enhanced business value for dentsu China, leaving an indelible mark on the company's growth trajectory.

As former Head of Marketing Shared Service at YUM China, he boasts a robust background in marketing shared services, with proven expertise in creative production, media management, membership & CRM, and consumer insights. Known for his strong communication skills and collaborative mindset, he excels in driving impactful strategies and enhancing overall marketing effectiveness.

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Derek Huang Headshot

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Sophie Lee

Chief Financial Officer, APAC

Since joining dentsu in 2016, Sophie has held a variety of senior finance roles (Commercial Finance, Compliance, Controllership, and CFO for Philippines). She assisted Merkle in establishing its first APAC footprint in 2018 by assisting with pitches, M&A, project management, and finance.

Sophie has 20 years of international experience in a variety of industries (audit, banking, manufacturing, commodities, and advertising). She is a CPA with an MBA from the National University of Singapore and a double master's degree in finance and management from the University of Paris. She speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, and French.

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Sophie Lee

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-lee-65408331/

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Anubhav Sonthalia

CEO, India

Anubhav Sonthalia currently leads Dentsu India’s unified CXM business as the CEO. He co-founded Sokrati in 2009 and grew it to one of India’s leading digital media agencies, managing over 10% of the country’s performance media spends. Sokrati became a part of Merkle Inc. (Dentsu International) in 2017 and Anubhav is still actively heading Merkle Sokrati as the CEO. Before Sokrati, he was helping drive efficiency & scale at Amazon (Seattle) as the Product Manager for Amazon's Comparison-Shopping Program. He completed his MS in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Anubhav is an industry veteran with close to 2 decades of experience building teams and products to solve business problems for the Fortune 1,000 and fast-growing startups alike. From providing personalized customer experiences, driving customer acquisition & branding through digital media to technical product management - his underlying empathy for customers & deep understanding of their businesses permeates through every role he has led.

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Anubhav Sonthalia

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anubhavsonthalia/

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Christopher Webb

Chief Operating Officer, APAC

Chris has over 17 years’ experience helping businesses around the world to transform and stay competitive by optimizing business models and delivering large- scale technology transformations.

He has done this by pairing his multi-industry business knowledge with expertise in business agility, ways of working (HCD, lean, agile), and correlating technology practices (DevOps). He helps organizations integrate strategy, operating model, and business architecture, to improve business execution. He has worked in 3 continents extensively across the High-Tech, Mining, Energy, Airlines, Retail, and Telco industries.

He previously led the Agile Advisory practice at PwC and Deloitte, and most recently was the Head of Strategic Performance at ANZ bank.

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Christopher Webb

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwilliamwebb/

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WHERE TO FIND US

A world of talent - worldwide

Five continents. 30+ countries. One vibrant and creative culture, dedicated to conjuring to life the kind of irresistible experiences that can set a brand apart. Wherever you are, there’s a good chance our team of experience experts is close by.

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