commercetools, the global leader in composable commerce, has announced the appointment of Andrew Burton as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective July 8, 2024. Burton succeeds Dirk Hoerig, co-founder and former CEO, who will transition to the role of Chief Innovation Officer (CIO). This leadership change marks a significant moment for commercetools as it continues to expand and innovate in the commerce technology sector.

Leadership Transition

• New CEO: Andrew Burton will become the new CEO of commercetools starting July 8, 2024.
• Dirk Hoerig’s New Role: Dirk Hoerig will remain on the Board and move to the role of Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), focusing on customer and partner relationships, product innovation, and thought leadership.

Andrew Burton’s Background

• Seasoned Executive: Andrew Burton brings over 25 years of experience in building innovative businesses and leading high-performing teams.
• Previous Roles:
  • President and COO at Rapid7: Led the company from ~$150M ARR to over $800M ARR.
  • CEO of Logentries: Led the company through its acquisition by Rapid7.
• Expertise: Extensive background in sales, marketing, product development, engineering, and operations.

Strategic Vision

• Burton’s Statement: "It's an honor to lead commercetools into its next chapter of growth. We will continue to innovate and create value for our customers and partners worldwide, transforming ideas into revenue."
• Focus Areas: Expanding commercetools’ market presence, driving growth, and advancing the company’s innovative commerce solutions.

Dirk Hoerig’s Contributions

• Hoerig’s Role: Dirk Hoerig will focus on growing customer and partner relationships, driving innovation, and enhancing commercetools’ thought leadership.
• Legacy: Under Hoerig’s leadership, commercetools became a leader in the composable commerce market.

Recent Company Milestones

• IDC MarketScape Leader: commercetools was named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape report.
• New Solutions: Launched a HIPAA-compliant and HDS-certified solution, and introduced commercetools Foundry for faster and cost-effective e-commerce operations.
• 2023 Results: Achieved +65% ARR growth in the Americas region and a +45% YoY increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) to over $30 billion.

Future Outlook

• Growth and Innovation: Burton’s appointment is part of commercetools’ broader strategy to invest in innovation and expand its leadership team.
• Recent Hires: The appointment of Burton follows recent hires for chief people and finance officer roles, positioning commercetools for continued growth.

The appointment of Andrew Burton as CEO represents a new era for commercetools, promising continued innovation and expansion in the composable commerce market. With Dirk Hoerig transitioning to CIO, commercetools is set to build on its legacy and explore new growth opportunities.

•   Includes enterprise technology, customers and employees

•   Revives iconic brand in loyalty marketing

•   Grows CORA’s Loyalty Solutions Businesses and Capabilities

CORA Group, a leading operating portfolio of Jonas Software, a subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc., is excited to announce the acquisition of Kognitiv’s Enterprise Loyalty Platform (ELP). This strategic acquisition positions CORA as a leader in the loyalty technology industry, expanding its portfolio with comprehensive global enterprise loyalty program management solutions. The newly acquired entity will operate under the revived brand name Carlson Marketing Solutions, restoring its original identity from its founding in 1938.

Acquisition Overview

• Acquisition: CORA Group acquires Kognitiv’s Enterprise Loyalty Platform (ELP).
• New Brand: The ELP will be rebranded as Carlson Marketing Solutions.
• Historical Context: Carlson Marketing Solutions was originally founded in 1938 and was previously acquired by AIMIA, Inc., and later Kognitiv.

Capabilities of Enterprise Loyalty Platform (ELP)

• Global Reach: Serves over 50 million loyalty program members across 30 countries.
• High-Volume Transactions: Manages thousands of transactions per minute globally.
• Client Base: Includes multinational banks, retailers, and travel providers.
• Features: Advanced data sciences, customer marketing services, and the Air Miles Reward Program, the largest coalition loyalty program in the Middle East.

Strategic Impact

• Expanded Portfolio: ELP’s acquisition enhances CORA’s position in the loyalty technology market.
• Global Expansion: Adds enterprise loyalty program management solutions on a global scale.
• Employee Integration: Over 100 new employees from Kognitiv will join CORA across North America, APAC, and EMEA.
• Leadership: Denis Brosnan, Portfolio Manager at CORA, will serve as CEO during the transition.

Statements from Leadership

• Denis Brosnan: “We are thrilled to welcome Carlson Marketing Solutions into the CORA family. This acquisition aligns with our goal of offering comprehensive loyalty management solutions and provides career development opportunities for our new employees.”
• Tim Sullivan (CEO of Kognitiv): “We are excited to see ELP and Air Miles join CORA, strengthening our partnership and allowing Kognitiv to focus on data activation technologies while ensuring continuity for our customers.”

Future Prospects

• Growth and Innovation: The acquisition is expected to drive growth and innovation in loyalty program management and data activation.
• Partnerships: The move continues a successful partnership between Kognitiv and CORA’s RewardOps.

The acquisition of Kognitiv’s Enterprise Loyalty Platform and the rebranding to Carlson Marketing Solutions represents a significant step forward for CORA Group in the loyalty technology industry. With a strong global presence and advanced capabilities, CORA is well-positioned to lead in enterprise loyalty program management and drive future growth and innovation.

The collaboration aims to enhance consumer understanding and business impact prediction across the entire innovation process.

Zappi, the leading consumer insights platform, has announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership with Woxi, the agile predictive analytics platform for today’s innovation decision-makers. This collaboration represents a significant advancement in bridging the gap between consumer insights and sales predictions, offering brands a dynamic, integrated solution for achieving true consumer-centricity and enhancing their product development processes.

Strategic Partnership Overview

• Partnership Announcement: Zappi and Woxi form a strategic alliance.
• Objective: To integrate Woxi’s advanced sales forecasting capabilities with Zappi’s agile innovation system.
• Impact: This partnership aims to disrupt traditional product development methods by offering real-time consumer insights and predictive analytics.

Benefits of the Partnership

• Enhanced Consumer Insights: By combining Zappi’s agile innovation platform with Woxi’s predictive analytics, brands gain access to real-time consumer sentiment analysis and sales predictions.
• Accelerated Product Development: Zappi’s innovation system reduces the product development cycle from ideation to market by 60%.
• Continuous Updates: Provides always-on insights and sales forecasts, unlike traditional methods which offer point-in-time validation.

Proven Success

• Global Pilot Success: The partnership has already demonstrated its effectiveness through a successful global pilot with PepsiCo, a Zappi customer and leader in consumer product innovation.
• Broader Application: Zappi plans to extend this innovative solution to a wider customer base, including industry giants like McDonald's, Colgate-Palmolive, and Mars.

Statements from Leadership

• Steve Phillips (Co-Founder and CEO of Zappi): “Partnering with Woxi enhances our ability to provide always-on insights and sales forecasts. We are excited to offer brands a way to optimize new product development with richer consumer insights and continuously updated predictions.”
• Christopher Adrien (CEO at Woxi): “We are thrilled about our collaboration with Zappi. Their agile consumer insights platform aligns perfectly with Woxi’s focus on continuous predictive analytics, offering a transformative solution for enhanced product innovation.”

About Zappi

Zappi is a leading consumer insights platform dedicated to helping brands make better advertising and product decisions through faster, more affordable insights. Recognized as the Best Marketing Insights Platform by the 2023 MarTech Breakthrough Awards and one of the hottest martech companies by Business Insider, Zappi is a certified B-Corp committed to net-zero goals, diversity, equity, and community benefit.

• Recognition: Best Marketing Insights Platform (2023 MarTech Breakthrough Awards)
• Notable Clients: McDonald's, Colgate-Palmolive, Mars
• Employee Base: Over 300 employees in 13+ countries
• Work Culture: Hybrid work environment with equitable career growth opportunities

About Woxi

Woxi is an agile predictive analytics platform focused on providing continuous, real-time insights for innovation decision-makers. Woxi’s advanced sales forecasting capabilities help businesses anticipate market outcomes and refine their product strategies.

The partnership between Zappi and Woxi marks a significant advancement in the consumer insights and predictive analytics space. By combining their strengths, Zappi and Woxi offer a robust solution for brands to optimize product development and enhance their market strategies with real-time insights and continuous sales forecasts.

Kipu Quantum acquires quantum computing platform built by Anaqor AG to accelerate development of industrially relevant quantum solutions

Kipu Quantum, the world’s leading quantum software company, has announced a pivotal acquisition of PlanQK, a prominent German quantum computing platform developed by Anaqor AG. This strategic acquisition marks a significant step in Kipu Quantum’s mission to advance the field of quantum computing by integrating PlanQK’s platform and expert team. This move follows Kipu Quantum’s successful second closing of a €11.4 million seed funding round in late 2023, led by HV Capital and DTCF.

Strategic Acquisition Overview

• Acquisition Announcement: Kipu Quantum acquires PlanQK, a leading quantum computing platform.
• Objective: To enhance Kipu Quantum’s quantum computing capabilities and accelerate commercialization efforts.
• Funding Success: The acquisition follows a successful €11.4 million seed funding round led by HV Capital and DTCF.

Impact of the Acquisition

• Expansion of Quantum Ecosystem: PlanQK’s platform, with a network of over 100 organizations, will be integrated into Kipu Quantum’s operations.
• Enhanced Accessibility: The acquisition will enable frictionless access to Kipu Quantum’s hardware- and application-specific algorithms for a broad range of industries including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, logistics, and finance.
• Accelerated Growth: By leveraging PlanQK’s established infrastructure, Kipu Quantum aims to make quantum computing solutions more accessible and effective across various sectors.

Statements from Leadership

• Daniel Volz (CEO of Kipu Quantum): “Kipu Quantum’s massively compressed algorithms can tackle industrial-scale problems with today’s quantum processors. This acquisition will expand our reach and make our world-leading quantum computing services available to a wider audience.”
• Michael Falkenthal (Principal Architect of PlanQK): “Combining our expertise with Kipu Quantum’s capabilities will accelerate quantum computing advancements and facilitate the integration of these solutions into existing processes.”
• Enrique Solano (Co-Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Kipu Quantum): “We are excited to welcome the PlanQK team and pursue our shared mission of demonstrating quantum advantage by 2026. This acquisition positions us to make history in the quantum computing field.”
• Alexandra Beckstein (CEO and Co-Founder of QAI Ventures): “Kipu Quantum’s acquisition of PlanQK is a bold move that reinforces their commitment to advancing quantum computing. We look forward to supporting their efforts in achieving impactful quantum solutions.”

PlanQK’s Proven Success

• Platform Overview: PlanQK’s platform is well-regarded for managing complex quantum computing tasks and serving high-profile clients such as BASF, DB Systel GmbH, T-LABS, and TRUMPF.
• Air Miles Reward Program: The acquisition includes the Air Miles Reward Program, the largest coalition loyalty program in the Middle East.

About Kipu Quantum

Kipu Quantum is a leader in the quantum software industry, focused on creating advanced quantum computing solutions for a range of applications. With a mission to make quantum computing useful for real-world problems, Kipu Quantum is committed to innovation and achieving quantum advantage by 2026.

• Recent Achievements: Successful €11.4 million seed funding round in late 2023
• Clients: BASF, DLR, MasOrange
• Mission: To deliver effective quantum computing solutions and achieve a quantum advantage

About PlanQK

PlanQK is a German quantum computing platform developed by Anaqor AG. The platform is known for its robust capabilities in managing complex quantum computing tasks and serving a diverse range of industries.

• Ecosystem: Over 100 organizations including BASF, DB Systel GmbH, T-LABS, and TRUMPF
• Program: Includes the Air Miles Reward Program in the Middle East
• Focus: Community-driven platform supporting quantum innovation

The acquisition of PlanQK by Kipu Quantum represents a major advancement in the field of quantum computing. By integrating PlanQK’s platform and team, Kipu Quantum aims to enhance accessibility to quantum computing solutions across various industries and accelerate the path to achieving quantum advantage.

OpenText Corporation has recently appointed Annette Rippert to its board of directors. With a distinguished career at Accenture, Ms. Rippert brings a wealth of experience and expertise to OpenText.

Key Points:

• Announcement and Welcome:

  • Tom Jenkins, Chair of the Board of Directors, welcomed Annette Rippert.
  • Highlighted her nearly 30 years of experience in Information Technology services and consulting.

• Professional Background:

  • Served as Group Chief Executive – Strategy & Consulting at Accenture until her retirement.
  • Led Accenture's global Strategy & Consulting business.
  • Transformed advisory services by integrating technology, data, and AI.
  • Spearheaded the acquisition of over 20 companies.
  • Introduced "Business Futures" thought leadership.

• Achievements at Accenture:

  • Led Accenture's Technology business in North America.
  • Focused on data, cloud, platform services, and software engineering.
  • Drove digital transformation in communications, media, technology, health, and public service industries.

• Recognition and Leadership:

  • Ranked first on The Consulting Report's Top 25 Women Leaders in Consulting.
  • Named to the HERoes Top 100 Women Executives list.
  • Member of the Board of Trustees for Northwestern University.

Annette Rippert's appointment to the OpenText board demonstrates the company's commitment to diversity and alignment with its strategic growth. Her extensive background and leadership in technology and consulting will be invaluable assets to OpenText.

New Appointments to Accelerate Growth in FMCG, Agro-Machinery, Automotive, Construction, CPG, and Consumer Electronics Sectors

Ennoventure, Inc., a leading global SaaS company specializing in anti-counterfeit solutions, has announced key leadership changes to support its strategic growth. Taylor Tresselt has been appointed as the new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), and Chad Kite, the current CCO, has been promoted to the Ennoventure Board.

Key Points:

• Leadership Changes Announcement:

  • Taylor Tresselt appointed as the new CCO.
  • Chad Kite promoted to the Ennoventure Board.

• CEO's Statement:

  • Padmakumar Nair, CEO and Co-founder of Ennoventure Inc., emphasized the importance of these changes for the company's growth plans.
  • Highlighted Taylor Tresselt’s expertise in driving revenue growth and leading high-performing sales teams.

• Taylor Tresselt’s Background:

  • Over 20 years of experience in the SaaS and tech industry.
  • Strong background in strategic account management, sales team development, and business expansion.
  • Led companies through triple-digit sales growth and successful exits.
  • Expertise in cyber security, testing automation, and data analytics.
  • Proven ability to drive large-scale deals and foster long-term customer relationships.

• Chad Kite’s New Role:

  • Continues to contribute to Ennoventure's mission in his role as a Board Member.
  • Brings extensive industry experience and vision to the company's strategic direction.
  • Ensures continuity and strategic oversight.

• Strategic Impact:

  • Leadership changes align with Ennoventure's ambitious growth plans.
  • Strengthens Ennoventure's position in key industry verticals.
  • Supports the company's mission of delivering top-tier brand protection and authentication solutions.

These appointments mark a significant milestone for Ennoventure as it continues to lead the fight against counterfeiting with innovative technology. The combined expertise of Taylor Tresselt and Chad Kite will drive Ennoventure’s strategic growth and market penetration.

Shutterstock, Inc., a leading global creative platform, has announced the appointment of Jaime Teevan, Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, to its board of directors. Teevan's extensive experience in AI research and innovation will significantly bolster Shutterstock's strategic direction and growth.

Key Points:

• Leadership Announcement:

  • Jaime Teevan appointed to Shutterstock's board of directors.
  • Teevan brings a wealth of experience from her role at Microsoft, including driving research-backed innovation and serving as Technical Advisor to CEO Satya Nadella.

• Executive Statements:

  • Jon Oringer, Executive Chairman of the Board, praised Teevan as one of the most influential figures in AI.
  • Paul Hennessy, CEO of Shutterstock, highlighted Teevan's insights into AI and human creativity as crucial to Shutterstock's mission.

• Jaime Teevan’s Background:

  • Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow at Microsoft.
  • Recognized in TIME's top 100 people instrumental in AI development.
  • Invented the first personalized search algorithm used by Bing.
  • Spearheaded the creation of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and coordinated Microsoft's hybrid work research.
  • Holds a Ph.D. in AI from MIT and a B.S. from Yale, and is an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington.

• Shutterstock’s AI and Data Strategy:

  • Focus on accelerating the data business through licensing, metadata enhancement, and bespoke model development.
  • Collaborations with major tech players like NVIDIA, Meta, OpenAI, and LG.
  • Commitment to ethical AI practices and developing foundational generative AI tools.
  • Industry-leading content library enriched with vast metadata for training AI capabilities.

• Strategic Impact:

  • Teevan’s expertise to enhance Shutterstock’s AI innovation and ethical practices.
  • Strengthens Shutterstock’s capacity to meet growing demand for ML and generative services.
  • Supports Shutterstock’s long-term growth strategy targeting double-digit growth by 2027.

The addition of Jaime Teevan to Shutterstock's board of directors marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey to enhance AI innovation and ethical practices. Her deep technical expertise will play a pivotal role in advancing Shutterstock’s mission to power creativity through state-of-the-art technology.

Extensive experience in managing and growing global teams will help OneTrust accelerate go-to-market strategy worldwide

OneTrust, the market-defining leader for trust intelligence, has announced the appointment of Roger Egan as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). With over 20 years of enterprise software leadership, Egan joins OneTrust to spearhead global go-to-market strategy and execution, aiming to expand the company's market presence and accelerate growth.

Key Points:

• Leadership Announcement:

  • Roger Egan appointed as Chief Revenue Officer at OneTrust.
  • Egan brings over 20 years of experience from roles at VMware, Docker, and Red Hat.

• Company Achievements:

  • OneTrust expects to surpass $500 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) this year.
  • The company maintains positive free cash flow.
  • OneTrust serves over 14,000 customers, including 75% of the Fortune 100.

• Egan’s Professional Background:

  • Significant contributions to VMware Tanzu’s go-to-market strategy and revenue growth.
  • Senior leadership roles at Red Hat and Docker, enhancing market reach and customer satisfaction.

• Role and Vision:

  • Egan will lead global sales, services, and go-to-market operations, including the partner organization.
  • Focus on scaling OneTrust's market presence and accelerating growth.
  • Committed to advancing OneTrust's mission of enabling responsible data and AI use.

• Executive Statements:

  • Roger Egan expressed excitement about joining OneTrust and leading the talented go-to-market team.
  • Emphasized the value OneTrust creates for customers by providing complete context and control over data and risks.
  • Kabir Barday, CEO of OneTrust, highlighted Egan's proven background in scaling and inspiring global teams.
  • Barday noted Egan's extensive expertise and track record as invaluable for OneTrust's continued growth and innovation.

Roger Egan’s appointment as Chief Revenue Officer marks a significant step in OneTrust's journey to expand its global footprint and drive innovation. His strategic vision and leadership will be instrumental in advancing OneTrust's mission to help organizations responsibly manage data and AI, unlocking value and gaining a competitive edge.