• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 27, 2024

Less than a year after being named CEO of its Kinesso media technology and data unit, Interpublic this morning announced it has also given oversight of its Acxiom Big Data division to Jarrord Martin.

The move comes as Interpublic's agency holding company rivals have been investing heavily in and retooling their own Big Data operations -- especially Publicis, which acquired Epsilon for $4.4 billion in 2019, and Omnicom, which late last year acquired Flywheel Digital from Ascential plc for nearly a billion dollars.

Interpublic, which acquired Acxiom for $2.3 billion in 2018, originally created Kinesso -- as well as a sister unit, Matterkind that has subsequently been merged into Kinesso -- in part to create media technology and applications to leverage Acxiom's data.

As part of last year's restructuring, Interpublic also merged Reprise, along with Matterkind, into a newly rebooted Kinesso and moved Martin -- formerly Reprise's chief -- into the CEO role.

Due in part to the restructuring, as well as the rapid acceleration of new technology and applications servicing IPG Mediabrands agencies, and their clients, MediaPost named Kinesso our "Media Agency of the Year."

As part of today's announcement, Interpublic said Martin's appointment "fully aligns the teams responsible for engineering behind" its "integrated marketing engine" into a single operating system connecting data, media, creative, production and commerce.

"For the engine, Acxiom data and technology ensure that brands can deliver personalized and engaging customer experiences across all their marketing channels, using their preferred clouds and technology partners," the holding company said in a statement, noting Martin will partner closely with Interpublic Chief Solutions Officer Jayna Kothary.

Acxiom COO John Watkins will report to Martin.

Earlier this year, Acxiom CEO Chad Engelgau stepped down from the role and Watkins began reporting to Interpublic CEO Philippe Krakowsky on an interim basis.

In related move, Interpublic also announced that Keith Camoosa has rejoined the holding company from Dentsu and will serve as Acxiom’s Chief Product & Technology Innovation Officer.