Criteo has a new general manager in the person of Michael Komasinski. He will succeed Megan Clarken on February 15.
The retail media-focused adtech platform has been searching for a new senior executive since August, when Clarken announced plans to retire within the next 12 months. She will continue to play an advisory role during the transition, Criteo said in a statement.
Komasinski will join Criteo from Dentsuwhere he spent the last five years in various leadership roles, most recently as CEO of the Americas. Before that, he held various senior positions at Merkle, a media company acquired by Dentsu in 2020. His CV also includes positions at Razorfish, Schawk Retail Marketing and Nielsen.
The announcement comes just after Amazon released a new self-service retail adtech product which will compete with companies like Criteo. Retail media has seen strong growth in recent years as retailers look to monetize the data they have collected on customers through loyalty programs and purchase history. Emarketer predicts that retail media spending will reach $60 billion this year, up 20.2% year-over-year, making it the fastest-growing advertising channel in the United States.
Criteo, one of the largest providers of advertising technology that powers these businesses, has become a heavyweight in the space, partnering with more than 200 retailers at various levels.
Given its reach, industry leaders are closely watching Criteo’s search for a new CEO. One expert said Komasinski’s agency experience could be a plus for Criteo. Criteo’s competitors include companies owned by advertising agency giants like Publicis Groupe and Interpublic Group.
“Having someone at the helm with an agency mindset is a good thing when Criteo is really the only neural player between Amazon, Google and Meta,” a retail ad tech executive told ADWEEK in response to the news.
“It shows that they are really opposed to an agency growth strategy over technology,” the executive continued, noting that it will be interesting to see how Komasinski’s experience shapes the approach to scaling. in the Criteo market in the future.
Komasinski’s appointment is the culmination of a “comprehensive search process,” said Rachel Picard, chair of Criteo’s board of directors, in a statement. Picard called Komasinski “the ideal leader to lead the next phase of the company’s AI-powered transformation and vision as the world’s leading commercial media platform.”
