What’s changing in the B2B c-suite? Which new hires do you need to know about? Look no further. Here’s our monthly roundup of senior hires in B2B.
Sarah Pettinger, chief organisation designer, and Harmony Crawford, chief people officer, The Marketing Practice
Following the acquisition of three agencies in six months (Omobono, Kingpin and 90octane), The Marketing Practice (TMP) has appointed two senior executives to lead on organisation design and of work and people.
Sarah comes from a nine-year tenure as COO at Omobono. As chief organisation designer, Sarah will lead the integration of TMP’s acquisition and future vision. Her responsibilities include creating a consistent operating system across the combined group and introducing new ways of communicating, tackling challenges, sharing information and progressing.
Sarah said: “I’m delighted to be part of this unique opportunity to shape our new, integrated company. Research has shown that people are looking to employers for a sense of belonging and psychological safety, feeling valued, having trust, and having flexibility. We’re building ways of working into our organisation design that will support those needs over the long term.”
Having previously led the TMP US office as EVP and managing director, Harmony enters a new role as chief people officer. She will focus on fulfilling TMP’s mission to lead with a people-first strategy, which includes a curated career-building ethos, and an ever-increasing emphasis on DEIB initiatives.
Harmony said: “I’m very excited to take on this role and the opportunity to lead a people-first strategy that is at the core of our mission. The one true differentiator for any organisation is people, and how we prioritise and invest in each person is the foundation for all we do.”
TMP’s CEO, Matt Harper, commented: “Sarah and Harmony’s reputations speak for themselves, but we are delighted to have them in such important roles in the business. This represents another step in our integrated strategy to bring together the best in B2B marketing capabilities, in an environment that nurtures and develops talented people.”
James Barnham and Gary Sahota, client director, The Octopus Group
The Octopus Group welcomes James and Gary as client directors. James joins from Atomic where he spent 12 months running accounts such as Slack and Pluralsight. Gary joins having spent two years at Digital Radish where he ran the award-winning programme for Veeam.
James said: “I’m really excited to join. I’ve watched Octopus Group’s rapid growth from afar and being part of Publicis Groupe allows the agency to utilise the expertise, knowledge and services to deliver optimum outcomes for our clients.”
His sentiment was shared by Gary: “It’s so exciting to have joined an agency with such exponential growth and fantastic people who are willing to help out at any given moment. The onboarding has been the best I’ve experienced.”
Pete Hendirck, managing director at The Octopus Group, commented: “2021 was a great year, fuelled in part by Octopus joining Publicis Groupe to supercharge its B2B offering. We grew significantly and have had a strong start to 2022. James and Gary make great additions to what’s already a superb SMT. We’re excited to have them join some very interesting client programmes.”
Mette Hindborg Gade, chief people officer, Pleo
B2B fintech unicorn Pelo welcomes Mette to its boosted executive team to steer ambitious employee growth and market expansion.
This new role is part of an ongoing strategy to drive a new company-wide operating model, rapidly hitting targets and ramp up career development for Pleo’s +500 employees. Mette’s instatement follows two other c-level appointments: James Keating as CMO and Anita Szarek chief financial officer who joined in February.
Mette commented: “It makes me really happy to be joining Pleo. Every moment I have spent with Pleo has made me more excited and more attached to the product, the problem Pleo solves and most importantly the mission that the team is driving.”
James Keating added: “While the spend management vertical is flush with healthy competition at present, Pleo has the product, brand, team and agility to continue its streak as the leading spending solution in Europe. We have ambitious, bold initiatives planned throughout this year that will accelerate our growth and allow us to offer Pleo to even more forward-thinking companies everywhere.”
Ute Hildebrandt, managing director of continental Europe, Hotwire
Ute leaves her role as current managing director of Hotwire Germany to join the newly created continental European organisation as managing director. With this update, Hotwire brings together more than 100 experts in technology communications and marketing across Germany, France, Spain and Italy to meet new opportunities and the next stage of growth.
Hildebrandt will oversee the team in her new role and grow the existing European offering to deliver a consistent global offer, working across brands including Atlassian, Digitall, Klarna and Wallapop.
The transformation comes following a significant increase in technology investment across Europe and shift in how tech clients operate, with more focus outside of the UK. The announcement will also provide exciting opportunities for Hotwire employees’ and their career development across Europe, creating new and different roles.
Global CEO of Hotwire, Heather Kernahan, said: “Ute has demonstrated incredible leadership in her role as the MD of Hotwire Germany and we’re excited to see her replicate this success and transform the European business. We have no doubt that under her guidance, the organisation will unlock new possibilities and push Hotwire to even greater heights.”
