Dive Brief:

• Interpublic Group has hired Jeriad Zoghby as chief commerce strategy officer, according to a company release. He was previously global lead for omnichannel commerce at Accenture.
• In this role, Zoghby will oversee the holding company’s commerce strategy, connecting IPG’s existing channel and platform expertise and identifying opportunities for further growth.
• The move is designed to help build a cohesive approach to commerce, including investments, partner development, design and go-to-market strategy, enhancing existing core marketing disciplines and developing new capabilities.

Dive Insight:

According to IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky, the appointment of Zoghby is part of the company’s continuing response to consumers’ changing preferences as it relates to channels, particularly in digital commerce. 

“This shift is evident in a range of business transformation initiatives undertaken by marketers, the rise of retail media and the need for all companies to take control of their data,” Krakowsky said in a release. “As a result, we’re seeing clients’ focus and marketing budgets move to performance-driven campaigns that drive revenue growth.”

As digital commerce has grown in importance since 2020 and the pandemic, agency holding companies have been strengthening their e-commerce and consulting capabilities. Last year, IPG acquired cloud commerce solutions company RafterOne to strengthen its Salesforce expertise and WPP added Fenom One, an enterprise, commerce, supply chain, marketing and customer experience firm. In addition, the major holding companies have been investing in providing logistics, product delivery data and other services so that they can have more understanding and input into the business operations. 

At Accenture, Zoghby led the firm’s digital commerce program strategies to help clients grow digital sales. He had previously launched Accenture Interactive’s personalization practice. In addition, Zoghby has a Ph.D. in Operations research and has co-invented multiple next-generation personalization tools. 

“The modern marketplace continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace as new channels appear and mature rapidly, including curbside, last-mile delivery, and social commerce,” Zoghby said in a release. “This trend means marketers need to be everywhere at once to ensure consumers can get what they want when they want it.”