As Global CEO of Merkle, Michael leads dentsu’s Customer Experience Management (CXM) Service Line, which encompasses the organization’s many capabilities and solutions in the areas of CX transformation, technology consulting, customer strategy, digital experience, commerce, CRM/loyalty, cloud solutions, data management, data solutions, and data science (AI/ML). He is responsible for more than $1.7 billion in annual (2022) revenue and oversees a staff of more than 16,000 employees in 30+ countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.

Michael previously served as President of Merkle Americas and leader of the dentsu CXM Service Line in the Americas, overseeing all aspects of Merkle’s Americas regional operation, including sales, account management, solutions, services, and marketing. He was responsible for driving the P&L for Merkle Americas, representing more than 70% of the company’s global revenue and employee base. He led the team of more than 7,000 people charged with the core goal of delivering exceptional value for clients across the full spectrum of CXM competencies, including performance media, enterprise technology, CRM, data & analytics, digital & user experience, performance creative, loyalty & promotion, and customer strategy. Additionally, Michael spearheaded the acquisition of LiveArea, a global customer experience and commerce agency.

Prior to the Americas role, Michael served as President of Merkle’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa region (EMEA), leading a business of more than $400 million in annual revenue and a team of 3,500 employees in more than 30 offices in fifteen markets. During his four years leading the EMEA business, it experienced 5x growth and is now considered an industry leader in the core offerings of performance media, CRM, analytics, customer experience, and marketing technology. Merkle is currently eConsultancy’s fifth-largest full-service and marketing services provider and ninth-largest digital agency and was a finalist in Campaign’s Agency of the Year standings. Merkle EMEA has been recognized by The Drum, Forrester, and partners such as Adobe, Google, Salesforce, Pega, and Amazon Web Services. 

Michael led the acquisition of several industry leading businesses, including DWA, Aquila Insight, Divisadero, Oxyma, and Namics. He was recognized as one of Data IQ’s top 100 most influential people in data. He shares his expertise and point of view via features in industry publications, including Forbes, and as a panelist and speaker at industry and client events. 

Michael joined Merkle in 2015 as the Chief Operating Officer of Agency Services and moved to London in late 2016 to begin his transition into the regional leadership role.  Prior to Merkle, Michael held leadership roles at Razorfish, Schawk Retail Marketing, The Nielsen Company, and A.T. Kearney. He holds a bachelor of science from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.

Pete Stein is President of Merkle Americas and leader of the dentsu Customer Experience Management (CXM) Service Line in the Americas. He oversees all aspects of Merkle’s Americas regional operation, including sales, account management, solutions, services, and marketing. He is responsible for driving the P&L for Merkle Americas, representing more than 70% of the company’s global revenue and employee base. His team of more than 7,000 is charged with the core goal of delivering exceptional value for clients across the full spectrum of CXM competencies, including performance media, enterprise technology, CRM, data & analytics, digital & user experience, commerce performance creative, loyalty & promotion, and customer strategy. In this position, Pete is a member of dentsu’s Americas Executive Team as well as Merkle’s Global Operations Committee.

Previously, Pete served as Global Lead of Experience & Commerce, leading Merkle’s team of CXM experts focused on customer experience transformation through experience and commerce technologies. His responsibilities included  recruiting, developing, and inspiring the team to achieve sustainable performance and retain deep client relationships globally for our experience and commerce services.

A 25-year industry veteran, Pete is a recognized leader with a proven track record of leading digital, media and consulting firms. 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 e-commerce, social, mobile, and programmatic media, delivering strong growth for clients.

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

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.

John serves as Chief Executive Officer, Merkle APAC, including Australia and New Zealand, which make up the biggest markets by revenue in the region. As the leader of dentsu’s fastest- growing business in the region, John, overseeing a team of more than 2,000 across Oceania, South East Asia, China, Taiwan, and India, is responsible for driving growth in all aspects of customer experience transformation, including digital experience, ecommerce, technology consulting and implementation, customer strategy, data, and analytics.

John has a track record in delivering experience-led and digital-enabled transformations that are responsive to market change, driving performance outcomes and supporting growth. With more than 30 years’ experience at some of the world’s largest consulting firms, John has led major digital business and strategic programs in Australia and the United Kingdom, in addition to leading the growth of digital and experience consulting practices in Asia Pacific and globally.

A renowned early adopter and thought leader in all aspects of digital disruption, John forged a career focused on placing the customer at the heart of business decisions, delivering exceptional customer experience outcomes. He is recognized as a specialist in helping clients make sense of the rapidly changing digital landscape and developing strategies and visions that allow them to respond to that change.

John joined Merkle in February 2022. Previously, he was a senior Consulting partner at PwC, EY, and IBM. At PwC, he served as Chief Digital Officer. He established and led the PwC Digital Services and Experience Consulting practices and later served as the ASEANZ Digital Practice leader, before joining the global Experience Consulting leadership team.

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.

As EVP and Global Lead, Activation & B2B, Patrick currently leads Merkle’s digital media capabilities. As a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of digital and CRM agency experience, he currently oversees the operations of the company’s digital marketing capabilities. This includes search marketing, paid social, programmatic media, digital strategy, and analytics. Merkle’s Performance Media team serves some of the best known brands with a team of over 400 professionals.

Prior to this role, Patrick led Merkle’s industry market practice for retail and consumer goods, where he had oversight of Merkle’s client relationships, delivery of world-class services, and new business development strategies for Merkle’s largest industry practice. Patrick is also part of Merkle’s senior management team.  He previously held the position of Chief Digital Officer, where he developed and oversaw the operations of the company’s digital practice.

Prior to Merkle, Patrick spent 12 years at Razorfish. As SVP and GM Media, Patrick was responsible for leading Razorfish’s Media practice, including paid media, search, social media, emerging media, and ad operations.

Prior to Razorfish, Hounsell worked at Prism Consulting International in Washington DC. He holds an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University.

Owen leads new business and growth at Merkle and is a results-oriented marketing, CRM, digital, and business development leader with over 25 years of experience.

Since joining Merkle in 2008, Owen has served in many leadership position across multiple industries, including managing Merkle Health, the Enterprise Sales Team and development/execution of Merkle’s Strategic Accounts strategy. Owen is building and inspiring teams that deliver valuable data-driven marketing strategies and solutions, with a focus on hyper-personalized experiences. His team members have a deep understanding of emerging technologies and communication channels. They are building solutions that leverage the intersection of marketing strategy, big data, analytics, and marketing technology to enable brands to deliver world-class customer engagements that result in long-lasting, profitable relationships.

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.

As Merkle’s Global Chief Strategy Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, Americas, Matt brings nearly 20 years of helping marketers and brands embrace the advancements that make direct customer relationships possible. He leads the agency’s omni-channel strategy experts across industries — designing and launching integrated marketing programs by converging data with media and creating experiences that truly reach individuals.  

From the onset of digital marketing, Matt was an innovator and founder at IMPAQT, a pioneer SEM agency, which after being acquired helped to establish Merkle’s focus on digital — he has played a key role in its position as a frontrunner in the changing advertising agency model. As a recognized thought leader in the digital space, Matt brings his core data principles, his energy for what’s next, and his deep expertise in improving marketing for some of the best brands in the world. He has also worked with partners like Google, Microsoft and Facebook as their platforms have developed providing his expertise to their product teams as they have evolved digital marketing.

Matt has served as a strategy partner to Whirlpool, General Mills, Mercedes Benz, and Comcast; recent clients include Chase, HBO, Office Depot, and Time Warner Inc.

As Global Chief People Officer, Liz is responsible for Merkle HR globally and across the Americas. With the integration of Merkle into dentsu, she focuses on company culture and bringing the employee promise to life for all Merkle team members around the world.   

Liz has been with dentsu since June 2019, working in several Americas HR roles, including the HR Lead for the CXM Service Line in the Americas. Her experience in HR spans more than twenty years with global professional service consulting organizations. Her background includes global mergers and acquisitions, HR transformation, establishing a global client-facing HR organization, outsourcing/business process outsourcing (BPO), talent strategy, and HR technology.

Prior to working with dentsu and Merkle, Liz served as the Executive Director for a US-based nonprofit that builds skills and professional opportunities for historically underrepresented youth in corporate spaces.

Liz received her bachelor of science degree from Illinois State University and holds GPHR (Global Professional of HR) and Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) SCP (Sr. Certified HR Professional) certifications.

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.

Sarah Strassheim is the Global CFO for Merkle. She provides senior finance leadership to the global executive team and is responsible for commercial finance initiatives in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC and driving enterprise level systems and acquisition integration.

Prior to joining Merkle, Sarah led the finance organization at the US trading office of a commodity company based in Thailand. She started her career at Accenture where she spent over a decade in a variety of global financial and reporting systems roles. 

Sarah joined Merkle in July 2014 supporting the Digital Agency Group. Her scope of responsibility has since expanded to include all the business units in North America – including numerous acquisitions completed during that period. Sarah consistently drives financial performance by balancing an understanding of the business with her strong finance background.

Sarah earned her Bachelor of Science at the University of Mary Washington.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As CGO, Amanda leads the growth team and is responsible for the development and execution of the growth strategy and value creation for Merkle’s clients. She is a digital marketing veteran who has worked at leading business and marketing consultancies for twenty-five years. Since 2017, she has served as a leader at Merkle, leading brands such as Facebook, Twentieth Century Fox, and CVS in their digital and data transformation initiatives.

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.

A 23-year industry veteran, Billy has been with Merkle for more than 12 years, playing several roles within the Marketing Technology and Data Management teams and working across industry sectors. He built his career growing client accounts, expanding margins, building offshore teams, and partnering with client partners to improve performance on challenging accounts. In his most recent role as Delivery Group Leader for Marketing Technology, he led teams that consistently achieved demanding client delivery objectives.

Prior to Merkle, Billy held various roles over 11 years with Acxiom, primarily in a client delivery capacity, focusing on driving efficiency for the company and its clients across the B2B, Government, and Financial Services sectors.

As COO, Merkle Americas, Billy dual reports to Pete Stein, President, Merkle Americas and Sarah Strassheim, Global Chief Operating Officer, Merkle. His primary focus areas are establishing partnerships with practice areas to ensure critical KPIs are met; continuing to work on brand integrations and defining a standard approach; and supporting Merkle’s Growth, HR, and Finance teams with efficiencies, consistent communication, and more seamless collaboration. His leadership and experience will be critical as Merkle continues to elevate operational excellence and advance toward a goal of operating as One dentsu.