VMLY&R Commerce is expanding and with it hiring new people at the global and regional level. The expansion is due to demand from clients for data driven ecommerce and performance services, talent and technology.
The agency is packaging its digital commerce offers and end-to-end managed-services across DTC, retail media, amazon and marketplaces, digital-shelf, content and commerce advisory.
Globally, VMLY&R Commerce has promoted Leanne Bird from program director to the newly created role of global program partnerships lead, joining the six practice leads at the agency. Bird brings 15 years of experience on the tech and agency side. In this new role, Bird will act as the bridge between VMLY&R Commerce and key agency partners including Amazon, Stripe, Google and Meta to drive training and accreditation across the agency’s talent, and to continue the co-creation of innovations with key WPP partners.
Regional appointments will widen the agency’s specialist expertise across local markets.
Toseef Butt, a seasoned digital commerce and retail media specialist with a 14-year track record in both the U.K. and Dubai, has been hired as regional commerce director and Head of CaaS (Commerce as a Service) for the MENA region. He is responsible for growing brands digital commerce sales across all channels.
Roger Timmer was added as regional commerce director and head of CaaS, responsible for the DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland region. As head of CaaS at Scholz & Friends Commerce—a part of VMLY&R—Timmer works with clients, leveraging VMLY&R Commerce’s intelligence tools for growth. Before joining to the team, Timmer held roles at Ogilvy, ABUS, OPPO, Carat and BP.
Wayne Blum, executive director digital commerce, has joined from Diageo and boasts 20 years of experience developing digital consumer strategies. In his new role, he will support growth in North America with a focus on Colgate-Palmolive’s portfolio of brands.
“In today’s fast-paced digital world, navigating the complexities of commerce can be daunting for clients. We’ve assembled a team of digital commerce and performance experts, both globally and locally embedded, that have created market leading data driven solutions that take an innovative approach to synchronizing client’s activities across the digital ecosystem. I’m thrilled to welcome these new hires as we scale our commerce services and technology globally, and simplify the digital commerce experience for our brands,” said Gemma Spence, global vice president, commerce transformation, and architect of Commerce as a Service in a statement.