Merkle (merkleinc.com), a leading technology-enabled, data-driven performance marketing agency, announced the appointment of Michael Hemsey to president of 500friends, a Merkle company. Hemsey will lead the product strategy, market expansion, loyalty systems, and delivery for the organization as it continues to transcend the loyalty market. In addition, he will focus on the expansion of loyalty services into untapped industries and geographies. 

“500friends’s renowned reputation in the industry, combined with its powerful and innovative loyalty offering, make me excited to help enable brands in cultivating long, profitable relationships with their customers,” said Hemsey. “I look forward to building on these differentiators as part of an organization that offers an innovative platform, agile implementation, and cost-efficient loyalty solutions.”

Michael Hemsey, a seasoned marketing executive, has over 20 years of experience creating and implementing innovative customer relationship management and loyalty systems, developing strategic alliances and partnerships, and growing new market opportunities. He joins Merkle from Kobie Marketing, a loyalty marketing organization, where he served as president for eight years. Prior to joining Kobie Marketing, he was executive vice president at TSYS, formerly ESC Loyalty. During his tenure at TSYS Loyalty, Michael led the loyalty implementation and relationship management teams serving the world’s largest issuers and retailers.  

“Michael is a recognized industry leader who brings a wealth of experience to the 500friends leadership team,” said Justin Yoshimura, CEO of 500friends, a Merkle company. “With our recent recognition by Forrester Research as a Leader in customer loyalty solutions, we are excited to have Michael join us in our pursuit of disrupting the loyalty solutions industry and our growth trajectory into the enterprise market segment.”