Criteo names Michael Komasinski as CEO

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Global commerce media company Criteo has appointed Michael Komasinski as its chief executive officer (CEO) and a member of the Board.

Komasinski will succeed Megan Clarken, who is retiring and will be stepping down from her role as CEO and from the Board. Clarken will serve in a senior advisory role to ensure a smooth transition.

Komasinski brings over two decades of experience in AdTech and building brand and retail relationships globally. He has demonstrated the ability to achieve exceptional results at global organisations, leveraging technology-driven strategies to drive profitable growth while cultivating an inclusive work environment.

He currently serves as CEO of the Americas, president of global data and technology, and member of the group executive management team at dentsu. He joined dentsu through its acquisition of Merkle in 2016 and led both the EMEA and Americas regions before becoming global CEO of Merkle in 2021.

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At dentsu, Komasinski led the technological transformation of its product suite during a time of rapid innovation. Those efforts included embedding artificial intelligence (AI) across dentsu’s products and platforms to enhance value for clients and defining dentsu’s client-facing data-driven technology strategy, which resulted in significant enterprise client wins. He also has retail media expertise, having grown Merkle's retail media consulting practice and combining it with dentsu's media buy-side capabilities.

Prior to joining dentsu, Komasinski was responsible at Merkle for overseeing more than 14,000 employees in over 50 locations throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. He previously served in leadership positions at Razorfish, Schawk Retail Marketing, The Nielsen Company, and A.T. Kearney. Komasinski is a board member of the Ad Council and serves on the client advisory boards of Meta and Microsoft.

"We are thrilled that Michael is joining us to lead Criteo at this exciting time in our journey. 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," said Rachel Picard, chair of board of directors at Criteo.

She added, "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".

"Criteo’s transformation into a global commerce media powerhouse and AdTech leader has been inspiring, and I am excited and energised to serve as the company’s next CEO and build on this momentum,” said Komasinski.

He added, "There are massive growth opportunities in media today with new advancements in AI and a global rise in ecommerce, which are driving hyper-personalised consumer touchpoints across more content and devices than ever before. I'm thrilled to be partnering with Criteo’s talented team, who has built incredible assets in AI over the years, to deliver compelling commerce solutions for our clients and drive shareholder value".

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Criteo for more information.

Criteo is not the only company to onboard an ex-dentsu CEO as of late. Recently, AI-driven marketing powerhouse EternityX onboarded DJM Consulting's CEO and former dentsu China CEO Deric Wong to accelerate its global expansion across APAC, Europe, and the Middle East.

As its chief business officer, global (CBO), Wong is responsible for overseeing business strategy, partnerships, and performance, aligning corporate objectives with a sustainable growth approach. With decades of experience, including serving as CEO of dentsu China and CEO of Omnicom Media Group Hong Kong respectively, this strengthened leadership positions EternityX to deliver innovative, culturally intelligent solutions, empowering businesses, clients, and agency partners to thrive in a rapidly changing global marketplace.

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