Dentsu Aegis Network’s Carat Names Merkle Vet as First Chief Analytics Officer

In the newly created role, Vandre will be tasked with aligning the Carat and Merkle brands to create more data-driven and tech-enabled solutions for clients.

“The collaborative strength of our brands is what sets Dentsu apart. Peter’s well-deserved promotion is a natural evolution,” said Dentsu Aegis Network chairman of media Doug Ray.

Tech and integration within Dentsu’s media agencies as well as the company as a whole is “part of Dentsu’s overall strategy for deeper analytics,” he added. “By bringing Merkle’s capabilities closer to Carat, we will continue to drive Carat’s momentum coming off of a year of historic growth.”

A 15-year veteran of Merkle, the data and performance marketing company acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network in 2016, Vandre most recently served as svp and global data science lead for Merkle. Since the 2016 acquisition, Vandre and his team have worked across Dentsu Aegis Network agencies, including Carat, to inform its marketing efforts.

“This is further evidence of our confidence in the integration of [consumer insights platform] M1,” said Angela Steele, who was promoted to U.S. CEO of Carat last month. “Client response within Carat has been overwhelmingly positive, and under Peter’s leadership we feel that our capabilities will continue to expand.”

“It has been a pleasure collaborating with Angela and the Carat team over the last couple of years. This was the perfect moment to formalize our partnership and become part of the Carat leadership team,” Vandre said in a statement.