Croud Welcomes Ex-Omnicom Group Dean Gardner As New Global COO

Croud, the global, full-service digital marketing agency has announced the appointment of Dean Gardner as global chief operating officer.

A new role for the business, as it looks to build on its impressive growth, particularly in the US market, and further drive its new global M&A strategy.

Based in New York, Gardner will be responsible for Croud’s global operational excellence, ensuring the right product, infrastructure, process and management systems are in place to facilitate core business growth and to integrate any newly acquired capabilities.

Working alongside Croud US managing director Kris Tait, Gardner will also be looking to build on the agency’s US success, with the business seeing triple-digit growth in the last 12 months.

Gardner has spent the last 13 years working within Omnicom Media Group across both US and UK markets, where he was integral in building and leading the digital performance, operations and transformation teams, with a focus on data and technology.

He held senior roles at Resolution Media, Accuen and most recently at OMD USA, where he was Business Transformation Officer.

Croud also announces the appointment of Joseph Antonucci as director of strategy and planning in the US, as well as Kelly Yip as head of data science and tools, and Benoit Deutsch as head ofanalytics in the UK, as part of the agency’s committed investment to growing Croud’s media planning and data solutions offerings in both markets.

This news is further bolstered by the opening of Croud’s first West Coast-based office, with VP SEO Anthony Lavall growing the agency’s presence in Los Angeles.

Dean Gardner said: “I’ve been thoroughly impressed by Croud’s growth, particularly during the last 18 months – a challenging period for any business.

“The agency’s resilience goes to show that Croud’s unique proposition is very attractive to clients, as digital marketers seek a modern operating model from progressive agency partners.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining the business, with record growth in the US and a string of new hires to bolster the amazing team of experts Croud has in so many markets around the world.”

Luke Smith, co-founder and CEO at Croud said: “Dean is a marquee signing for Croud, with an excellent reputation in both the UK and US.

“He has an impressive track record of building high-performance teams, with outstanding team culture and business performance, so we’re delighted to have him on board.

“With significant organic growth set to continue and the prospect of acquisitions looming, a big part of Dean’s role will be working with the senior leadership team and helping see through our ambitious plans for the business in 2021 and beyond.”

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Croud Dean Gardner Luke Smith