GroupM has announced that Imran Masood has joined GroupM as managing director of Xaxis.

Masood (pictured above, centre), formerly country manager for Sizmek, Australia and New Zealand, takes on responsibility for the programmatic outcomes company. He joined GroupM on 16 April.

Additionally, Steve Wood (pictured above, right) takes on the new role of GM of Xaxis. He will transition from his current role as director of services for [m]PLATFORM Australia.

Wood will work closely with Masood and be responsible for driving the outcomes philosophy of Xaxis to help drive increased business results for clients.

Chief digital officer John Miskelly said: “Imran brings a wealth of experience in digital, technology and client development and will be a fantastic addition in driving the Xaxis business and developing new innovative products.”

As well as welcoming Masood to the group, GroupM is pleased to announce former MediaCom chief data scientist Juan Franco (pictured above, left) has been promoted to head up GroupM’s data, tech and service hub, [m]PLATFORM.

After leading Mediacom’s business science department for more than six years, Franco brings to GroupM all his expertise on marketing analytics for offline and online channels.

Franco’s expertise covers marketing and media mix modelling, digital attribution, portfolio optimisation, budget setting, predictive modelling, and forecasting. Franco also takes responsibility for the digital ad ops team which has been realigned within [m]PLATFORM.

All moves are effective immediately.

Mark Lollback, CEO of GroupM Australia, said: “These moves bring the application of data driven solutions to the heart of GroupM. Juan and Steve’s moves are another great example of GroupM growing and promoting talent from within.

“Having analytics and tech under Juan’s leadership will ensure that [m]PLATFORM’s excellence in the delivery of insightful and actionable data-driven solutions.

“We’re thrilled to have someone of Imran’s calibre joining the team. His expertise across the digital media landscape makes him a great hire for the business and will deliver a major advantage for our clients.”

Masood added: “GroupM has consistently invested in technology and is committed to building products that that deliver outcomes and drive growth for clients.

“GroupM is listening to what the market is saying and making sure it’s at the forefront of what the industry needs. The opportunity to work with the group and the advantages it offers its people, and clients, is very exciting.”