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Merkle Announces Experience & Commerce Leadership Team in the UK

Announcement of UK leadership team follows the launch of Merkle’s global E&C practice

Merkle, dentsu’s leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company, today unveils the leadership team of its recently launched UK Experience & Commerce (E&C) practice, spearheaded by the UK E&C lead, Paul Lynch.

The practice, launched in April, is part of a multi-year global strategy and investment plan that brings together agencies from around the world to deliver a joined-up customer experience and commerce practice. It leverages the power of Merkle’s CXM offering across analytics, B2B, data & martech, media, and strategy & transformation to support brands to deliver against consumers’ continuously evolving expectations.

Lynch, who formerly led LiveArea as vice president and managing director before the acquisition in 2021, is head of Merkle UK E&C. He leads a UK practice that comprises of over 500 experts from Merkle’s UK CX practice, the UK commerce arm of dentsu, as well as service centres in Bulgaria and India.

The senior leadership team reporting to Lynch are Ben Smith, chief operating officer (COO), who joined with the integration of dentsu’s commerce business and Benoit Soucaret, chief experience officer (CXO), previously LiveArea’s group creative director. Samantha Mansfield, previously LiveArea’s senior strategy director, becomes head of strategy and Sarah Painter retains her role as vice president of customer experience.

Andrew Chothia, who joined from dentsu’s UK commerce team, leads client services for the practice and is responsible for meeting ever-evolving customer expectations. Lyubomir Cholakov, who also moved over with dentsu’s commerce business, leads the service centres in Sofia, Bulgaria, which comprises more than 200 people.

Richard Mathias, previously from LiveArea, leads technology strategy, while Paul Bidder leads E&C sales as part of Mark Atkinson’s UK based Merkle sales team, helping to ensure Merkle brings in the right clients and matches them with the right practice areas.

Paul Lynch, UK lead E&C, Merkle, said: “In a world where convenience is ubiquitous, brands must find new ways to connect with consumers seamlessly and frictionlessly to keep up with rapidly changing customer expectations. That means creating next-generation customer experiences by building the ultimate connected experience across the total customer journey.

“This leadership team will ensure that Merkle’s Experience & Commerce practice will deliver efficient, rich, intelligent customer experiences at scale across all touchpoints so that our clients can truly connect with their customers. And I’m immensely proud and excited about the leadership line up we have in place.”

“We’re hugely excited to announce the full UK leadership team coming together for Merkle’s E&C practice,” said Anne Stagg, UK CEO at Merkle. “There is now a huge opportunity in this space as brands understand the importance of the customer journey with connected experiences. The announcement of our UK leadership team brings us one step closer to making that vision a reality in the market. Together we can keep up with the rapidly evolving consumer behaviours and expectations, deliver efficient, rich customer experiences at scale and help connect brands with their customers.”

News

Merkle Unveils Experience & Commerce Practice to Help Brands Build Next-Generation Loyalty

Initiative expands the dentsu agency’s leadership team and bolsters its global commerce and customer experience capabilities 

Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), dentsu’s leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company, has formally unveiled its global Experience & Commerce practice and named the leadership team spearheading the agency’s services. 

The announcement completes a multi-year strategy and investment plan that brought together agencies from around the world – including blue-infinity and eCommera in Europe, Bluecom in Asia, Davanti in New Zealand, and DEG and LiveArea in North America – to transform Merkle’s customer experience capabilities and offer brands a platform for global scale. 

As part of this unveiling, Merkle has appointed Michael McLaren as global Experience & Commerce lead. The announcement comes after Pete Stein, who previously served in this role, was named President, Merkle Americas. McLaren who has been leading Merkle’s B2B practice area since 2016, will continue to serve as global CEO of Merkle B2B. Jim Butler, formerly president at LiveArea, has been named Experience & Commerce lead for Merkle Americas. McLaren and Butler will work closely with the Experience & Commerce global team of regional CXM experts, including Martin Bochineck in EMEA and Patrick Deloy in APAC. Paul Lynch, head of experience and commerce UK, leads the UK cluster, comprised of 500+ experts across service centres in the UK, Bulgaria, and Pune, India. 

Merkle’s Experience & Commerce practice is a global team of more than 2,500 experts across CX, technology, commerce, digital messaging, loyalty and promotions, supported by 14,000 technologists, strategists, and analysts around the world. 

“In a world where options are relatively similar in terms of convenience, brands must find new ways to connect with consumers seamlessly and frictionlessly, and to keep up with rapidly changing consumer expectations,” said Michael Komasinski, global CEO, Merkle. “With our standout technology expertise, scale, and enterprise integration, the team creates experiences that enable brands to demonstrate their value and develop long-term relationships with consumers.” 

“As I step into the role as Experience & Commerce practice lead, the goal is to hone and scale our solutions and make this practice area the go-to provider in the marketplace for brands seeking to provide unparalleled customer experiences,” said McLaren. “As one integrated team, we will continue our charter to support Merkle’s strategy of providing world-class, turnkey experience and commerce solutions in the markets we serve, both domestically and worldwide.” 

“Brands, retailers, and advertisers are constantly trying to keep up with rapidly evolving consumer behaviors and expectations,” said Butler. “At Merkle, we understand that there is no single strategy or one-size-fits-all approach for keeping pace with change. Success requires the right combination of platforms, partnerships, integrations, data, and content strategies. To that end, the Experience & Commerce practice will create personalised solutions and experiences tailored to the individual needs of consumers, while also helping brands evolve their internal structures and service design to empower and transform businesses.” 

Lynch added “Our collective vision is to create the next generation of customer experience, building the ultimate connected experience for consumers. The integration of the teams brings us one step closer to making that vision a reality. Together we can deliver efficient, rich customer experiences at scale, helping our brands to connect with their customers.” 

Highlights of the practice include: 

  • Global client relationships with Fortune 500 brands 
  • Hundreds of commerce projects launched over the past 15+ years 
  • More than 40 billion emails deployed annually on behalf of clients 
  • More than 100 million loyalty memberships managed in more than 40 countries 
  • Commerce Innovation Center, including ShopNXT product suite 
  • Key partnerships with top technology platforms, including Adobe, Salesforce, Mirakl, and SAP 
  • Recognised by Forrester as a Strong Performer among top commerce agencies (dentsu)[1], a Strong Performer among loyalty service providers[2], and a Leader among top loyalty solutions providers[3] 

With the formal integration of the Experience & Commerce practice across the globe, Merkle will be better positioned to compete with the top global agencies, consultancies, and system integrators. To learn more about the practice, visit here. 

About Merkle 

Merkle, a dentsu company, is a leading data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company that specialises in the delivery of unique, personalised customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organisations have partnered with Merkle to maximise the value of their customer portfolios. The company’s heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive hyper-personalised marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in consulting, creative, media, analytics, data, identity, CX/commerce, technology, and loyalty & promotions drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. With more than 14,000 employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with 50+ additional offices throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkleinc.com.
 

[1] The Forrester Wave™: Commerce Services, Q1 2021 

[2] The Forrester Wave™: Loyalty Service Providers, Q3 2021 

[3] The Forrester Wave™: Loyalty Solutions, Q2 2021