The CPG and tech industry pro will lead business development across the agency’s many offerings.
The Mars Agency has named longtime commerce industry veteran Mike Merna as Chief Growth Officer, a new position that charges him with driving growth across our numerous business practices and client offerings.
A 30-year veteran of the commerce marketing industry, Merna joins Mars from Quotient Technology, where he spearheaded massive growth across the company’s ecommerce solutions by building close partnerships with leading CPG clients.
“We’re excited to bring Mike on board to help build on the tremendous growth we’ve experienced over the last few years,” said Rob Rivenburgh. Global CEO of The Mars Agency. “His vast experience and diverse expertise will help us achieve even greater success.”
Merna will lead business development strategy and execution for the agency’s core commerce marketing practice, especially its efforts to expand the client roster into new verticals beyond our longstanding consumer packaged goods base.
He’ll also be responsible for driving growth across the agency’s commerce media, ecommerce, retail solutions, and content creation practices. In addition to providing unparalleled support to our full-service clients whenever needed, these practices also operate distinct lines of business.
What’s more, Merna will oversee the sales teams The Mars Agency operates to support the media platforms of its retailer clients.
In addition to his tenure at Quotient, Merna’s career also includes stints heading up brand strategy at insights & analytics providers Samba TV and Oracle Datalogix, and steering category development at AOL Advertising. He also spent 18 years in various brand management and shopper/ customer marketing roles at blue-chip CPGs Pfizer, Bayer and Dial (now Henkel), which gives him an even deeper understanding of client needs.
“Mike’s background is ideally suited for managing growth across our various industry-leading practices,” said Rivenburgh. “He’ll be instrumental in bringing these solutions to new markets while also introducing our full portfolio to existing clients. That, in turn, will also shine a greater spotlight on some of our other capabilities, like the Marilyn martech platform.”
Merna will be based in Boulder, CO, reporting directly to Rivenburgh.
About The Mars Agency
The Mars Agency is an award-winning, independently owned, global commerce marketing practice. With talent around the world, they connect people, technology and intelligence to create demand and drive profitable, sustainable growth. Mars’ industry leading martech platform, Marilyn®, enables marketers to make better decisions, create connected experiences and drive stronger results. Learn more at www.themarsagency.com and meetmarilyn.ai.