This week's London appointments

David Clare, Fox Agency

Fox Agency, a B2B tech marketing agency, announced that it has hired David Clare as head of content, to handle content, digital, and research-led accounts on a global scale.

David joins from Tyto, where he was partner and head of content and insights, leading activity on numerous global campaigns.

David has previously worked with global tech companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Intel, as well as darlings of the tech start-up scene, including Evernote and Shazam.

In his new role at Fox Agency, David will oversee the content team, which encompasses content creation, social media, SEO and paid media.

He will manage a team of five initially, with recruitment in progress for further search and social roles in the agency. Al Fox, director at Fox Agency, commented: “David has a wealth of valuable experience from his previous roles at prestigious agencies including Hotwire and 33 Digital.

“He brings with him a commercial mindset and expert understanding of digital which we are confident will help us significantly in our ambition to become a major player in the B2B tech marketing arena.”

Richard Holmes, Croud

Global digital marketing agency Croud has appointed Richard Holmes, former CFO and group CEO at sofa.com, as CFO.

Richard brings more than 15 years’ experience in the service sector, including supporting companies on high growth trajectories, a proven track record in delivering business performance improvement and extensive experience in change management.

Prior to joining Croud in April, Richard worked as CFO and group CEO at online furniture retailer sofa.com for three years.

He has also held senior positions at companies including e-learning platform Mind Tools, Idis Pharmaceuticals, and Monsoon Accessorize.

Luke Smith, CEO and co-founder of Croud, commented: “We’re very pleased to welcome Richard to the Croud team as CFO, given his great brand-side and private equity-backed business experience.

“We will value his expertise and guidance on the board, especially as we look to grow the business and invest in key opportunities whilst navigating this new world we are all facing.”

Richard added: “I am very excited to be joining Croud; the team has made me feel very welcome indeed, and the culture at Croud is amazing even at a time when we all find ourselves working remotely.

“The business has had impressive growth and has some fantastic clients, and I particularly look forward to seeing the growth of Serpico, Croud’s marketing, consulting and technology platform, and how this will empower in-house digital teams.”

Akbar Ali, Berkeley Rowe

Commercial and corporate law firm Berkeley Rowe has announced the appointment of Akbar Ali as a partner and head of corporate.

Akbar will be based in the firm’s London office in Mayfair. He has many years of experience as a mergers & acquisitions lawyer and joins from a law firm where he was head of corporate.

His principal focus at Berkeley Rowe will be expanding and developing the established corporate practice whilst evolving the team by targeting niche areas including capital markets and international cross-border transactions.

Akbar will also undertake general commercial work including franchise arrangements, terms and conditions, banking and finance, legal opinions and more.

Tom Keya, CEO of Berkeley Rowe, commented: “Corporate is an area that is rapidly expanding in our practice and I am excited to have Akbar Ali on board to lead it.

“We have acted on a number of complex and interesting reported corporate and commercial matters in the past few years.

“His talent and results-led approach enabled him to have a swift rise to become head of department and leading a team specialising in M&A at his previous firm.

“He brings with him this wealth of experience, a high level of energy and dynamic approach that has made Berkeley Rowe stand out amongst our peers.”

Akbar added: “I am excited to be joining the team at Berkeley Rowe and feel that my experience complements the firm’s innovative approach to corporate transactions and ambitious plans for the future.

“I am looking forward to working with and growing the department into new exciting areas.”

Simon Dawson, Monva

Comparison start-up Monva has announced Simon Dawson as its chief technology officer today.

Simon brings more than 18 years of experience to the fintech, leading technology environments for brands such as IBM and MoneySupermarket.com.

Steve Wiley, CEO at Monva, commented; “Simon brings a wealth of experience in comparison, technology and scaling fintech businesses to the Monva team.

“At Monva, we’re on a mission to end ‘dumb comparison’, which has seen traditional comparison sites rely on expensive advertising gimmicks to attract customers rather than investing in improving the services they offer.

“As a result, customers are being left to still do the majority of the legwork when it comes to switching, and in many cases are missing out on the best possible deals for their circumstance.

“We think the UK deserves better, and we’re excited to welcome someone as experienced and talented as Simon to our team to help us continue to improve and innovate smart comparison technology, save people across the UK time and money, and find them the right deal, every time.”

Louise Bulman, D2IQ

D2IQ, a provider of cloud platforms, announced it has appointed Louise Bulman as vice president of sales in EMEA.

Louise will use her extensive experience of commercial growth to build upon D2IQ’s expanding list of customers, as well as developing the channel ecosystem.

She joins D2IQ from Big Switch Networks, a cloud and data centre networking company, where she served as vice president of EMEA, drove exponential revenue growth, expanded the channel, and increased the networking business’ brand awareness.

William Freiberg, co-chief executive officer, commented: “Louise has an impressive history of growing start-up and corporate technology businesses in general management, sales, and marketing.”

“Her vast experience as a leader and her knowledge of the industry will prove invaluable in creating brand awareness and expanding our customer relationships throughout the EMEA region.”

Louise added: “Kubernetes is a transformative technology for businesses shifting to a cloud native strategy, but many teams are now running into the challenge of how to gain visibility, manage, and control the cloud native landscape.”

“D2iQ stands out as the company providing an answer to those challenges and I am delighted to have the opportunity to join a team of such passionate and driven people who are committed to helping companies evolve on their cloud native journeys.”

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