dentsu's Komasinski to Replace Clarken as Criteo CEO

Ad targeting and retargeting company Criteo has found a new Chief Executive. Michael Komasinski, currently CEO of the Americas at dentsu, starts in the role on February 15th, replacing Megan Clarken who announced her retirement last August.

Through its 'Commerce Media Platform', Criteo combines predictive software and consumer intent / purchasing data to deliver targeted ads in real time. Clarken, who will remain in an advisory role to ensure a smooth transition, joined Criteo in the Chief Exec role in 2019 after a long career at Nielsen.

Komasinski (pictured) brings more than two decades of experience in ad tech, brand building and retail relationships worldwide. He is currently CEO of the Americas, President of Global Data & Technology, and member of the Group Executive Management team at global ad group dentsu, which he joined when it acquired Merkle in 2016 - he led both the EMEA and Americas regions before becoming Global CEO of Merkle in 2021. At dentsu, he led the technological transformation of the group's product suite, including the embedding of AI across the board and the laying out of dentsu's client-facing data-driven technology strategy. He also brings deep retail media consulting expertise, having grown the practice at Merkle and helped to integrate it within dentsu.

Before Merkle Komasinski worked in leadership positions at Razorfish, Schawk Retail Marketing, Nielsen and A.T. Kearney. He is a board member of the Ad Council and serves on the client advisory boards of Meta and Microsoft. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Philosophy from Vanderbilt University and an MBA degree from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.

Rachel Picard, Chair of Criteo's Board of Directors, comments: 'Michael is a high-caliber executive with the ideal mix of skills, including tech-enabled product development expertise, hands-on experience managing brand and retailer relationships, and a proven ability to drive accelerated growth and scale globally. Over the course of his career, Michael has also demonstrated a collaborative approach to management that has galvanized global organizations to lead in digital marketing and technology. We are confident that Michael will bring a valuable perspective to drive Criteo's strategy forward, further enhancing our commerce and retail media leadership, and building on our strong momentum thanks to Megan's critical contributions and the dedication of the entire team'.

The company is on the web at www.criteo.com .