Member Article

Duo of high-level appointments bolsters growth plans for smart Leeds tech enterprise

Two experienced recruits – with nearly 20 years of marketing and digital expertise combined – have joined the ranks at award-winning marketing automation platform enterprise, Force24.

Chris Manko takes on the role of chief technical officer at the Yorkshire-headquartered business, with Sam Duggan positioned as its new head of CRM.

The savvy pair’s arrival means Force24’s UK headcount is closing in on the 60-strong mark. Further growth plans are expected as the team continues to revolutionise digital marketing practices, utilising machine technology to hyper-personalise targeted email, SMS and direct mail comms – sent when recipients are most likely to engage.

Joining from big data supplier Lifecycle Marketing – where he was infrastructure and CRM architect for nearly a decade – former HSBC web designer Chris is aiming to draw on vast experience gained from Misco. His previous role saw him producing B2B and B2C microsites and email campaigns for international brands including Sony and Apple.

Following his appointment, Chris said: “It’s fantastic to join Force24. I love the varied approach to a large client base and the tirelessness everyone embodies in order to ensure our customers leverage the most intuitive technologies.

“I’m focused on taking our understanding of data and conversion to a new level – via Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning – so we can further understand how to better communicate with clients’ audiences and simplify their complex queries.”

Meanwhile, 30-year-old Sam hails from internationally recognised Sky Betting and Gaming where he spent more than seven years covering the global CRM side of the business – including working in Malta as the firm’s value and retention manager for its German division.

Leeds-born Sam said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time to be part of Force24. I want to enhance our existing marketing function to better utilise CRM and also provide greater efficiencies for organisations so they can drive engagement through sophisticated, tailored content.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge that comes with talking to customers and how we can combine technical competency with strategic thinking, in order to solve business problems and maximise growth.”

As part of an ever-evolving digital marketing industry, both new additions believe that automated services and the people who operate them will together be a key driver towards technology pioneering the workforces of tomorrow.

“We’re expecting an even greater shift towards merging human understanding and actions with computer-based predictive decisions – such as droids and augmented reality – in order to dynamically and intelligently communicate with users,” added Chris.

There are set to be further announcements to come out of the Leeds firm’s headquarters over the coming months – in particular, three feature releases to further streamline its UK built and managed platform. One of these developments enables customers and prospects to speed up online comms functionality and provides marketers with the tools to create customisable landing pages, in minutes.

On the developments and growth plans at the forward-thinking enterprise, managing director Adam Oldfield, said: “Modern-day marketers are now expected to innovate at a rate of knots to stay ahead of the curve – but that’s exactly why it’s such an exciting and challenging industry to work in.

“We’ve got huge plans for the evolution of our platform and – with Chris and Sam’s experience combined – we’re in an extremely strong position to unveil more elements that will further our quest to make things quicker, easier and super-personalised for both savvy marketing professionals and their customers.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .