Exclusive: Wavemaker Hires Investment Lead From Amazon

The run on investment-related hires continues at media agencies, with GroupM's Wavemaker hiring from Amazon, effectively reversing the typical talent migration route from agencies. Announced today, Wavemaker has hired Vinny Rinaldi as executive director, head of investment and activation. In the role, Rinaldi will be responsible for delivering a unified perspective across channels and clients to drive vision, investment value and outcomes for Wavemaker. "Vinny has an incredibly broad perspective with valuable client experience and a deep understanding of data activation, commerce and cross screen measurement–critical skills for investment leadership today," GroupM U.S. chief investment officer Matt Sweeney told Adweek. A data and analytics approach Rinaldi joins Wavemaker from Amazon, where he spent around a year as principal, programmatic partner manager. Prior to Amazon, he spent over two years with the Hershey Company as head of addressable media and technology. Rinaldi also previously helped lead the integration of Merkle into Dentsu's network of agencies, following Dentsu's 2016 acquisition of the data services and performance marketing agency for around $1 billion. He was vp, audience platforms, after a stint as director of programmatic for Dentsu's iProspect. "I've been fortunate to work across a variety of clients and categories, lived both agency-side and client-side and spent time in the ad-tech world," Rinaldi told Adweek. "Being on all sides of the equation has provided me with a broader lens and better toolkit to solve clients’ business challenges." Rinaldi intends to center his approach around data and analytics to inform the planning process in his new role. "As we all get access to more and more data, we're no longer looking at it solely from a measurement perspective but creating a flywheel effect of utilizing all forms of data to inform upstream planning and investment," he explained. "We’re moving towards an addressable-first ecosystem that allows us to buy any impression behind any data point–audience or business–to inform our decision-making." "As the industry approaches a critical juncture in where we go over the next 5, 10, 15-plus years, it is imperative to disrupt old ways of working, and GroupM has a united approach and scaled data-led ecosystem that propels Wavemaker and our clients into that future," he added. Growing despite the pandemic The hire comes on the heels of a number of investment and activation leadership moves around the industry as media agencies continue to adapt to changes in the media landscape accelerated by the pandemic. Last week, Canvas Worldwide named Madhavi Tadikonda as chief investment officer, following Amy Ginsberg's departure to join Havas Media as chief investment officer. Earlier this month, Omnicom Media Group agency PHD appointed Joshua Palau as chief media and activation officer and MediaCom hired Liza Davidian as evp, investment and activation. "The acceleration of streaming, gaming and ecommerce this past year demands that our media investments better align with how people are spending their time, and their path to purchase," Wavemaker U.S. CEO Amanda Richman explained. "We're embedding cross-channel investment leaders in teams, alongside content, commerce, data sciences and precision expertise, for a more holistic approach to our client’s biggest challenges." Wavemaker is adding Rinaldi to its leadership team after a year which saw the agency grow in spite of the pandemic, adding 200 employees and growing revenue by 4.6% in the U.S. en route to recognition to Adweek U.S. Media Agency of the Year. "It’s an exciting time for Wavemaker. In the past 12 months, we hired hundreds of talented people, onboarded more than a dozen new clients and doubled our commerce growth with current clients," Richman said. "We're a challenger agency and our success created the opportunity to expand our team with multi-hyphenated leaders that bring broad thinking and deep expertise." MediaCom Hires Execs to Lead Investments, People

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Exclusive: Wavemaker Hires Investment and Activation Lead From Amazon

Vinny Rinaldi joins the GroupM agency as executive director, head of investment and activation

Erik Oster

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Erik Oster