Hotwire Global appoints Grant Toups as global chief executive officer
Grant Toups will lead Hotwire Global from January 2026, bringing two decades of communications and marketing leadership experience.
The announcement:
Hotwire Global, the global communications and marketing consultancy that includes Hotwire and ROI·DNA, has appointed Grant Toups as global chief executive officer. Toups will assume the role in January 2026, bringing two decades of experience in public relations, marketing, and executive leadership to the award-winning communications and marketing consultancy.
Toups’ experience at translating technology and intelligence for marketing and communications complements Hotwire Global’s 25-year track record of protecting reputations and growing revenues for the world’s most high-profile technology companies, alongside innovation expertise from AI with its generative engine optimisation suite to predictive data intelligence to improve measurement and campaign optimisation.
“AI is here to stay, and it’s forcing every client to transform, to innovate, and to communicate a compelling tech-powered value prop. This transition demands that every company learn how to navigate this complex and dynamic tech reality. Hotwire and ROI·DNA’s heritage connecting innovation with storytelling for some of the world’s most notable technology brands positions it perfectly to be the partner of choice for this new era,” said Toups. “I couldn’t be more proud or excited to join this exceptional team of professionals as we strive to unlock exponentially more value for clients through creativity, innovation, and intelligence.”
Ian Ball, CEO of The Enero Group, said: “Grant is a proven international leader at the forefront of comms-tech, AI, and marketing transformation. He brings the perfect blend of strategic vision, deep sector expertise, and operational leadership to accelerate Hotwire and ROI·DNA’s growth. His appointment marks an exciting next chapter for the business; strengthening our momentum, expanding capabilities, and driving the next wave of innovation for clients navigating an increasingly complex, tech-driven world.”
Toups’ appointment follows a series of milestones for Hotwire Global, including ROI·DNA securing its largest-ever client win with Qualtrics, and the recent appointment of Charlotte Harvey as managing director of Hotwire UK. In addition, Hotwire continues to grow demand for its proprietary AI-driven tools — including Hotwire Spark and Hotwire Ignite — which help brands understand and influence how they appear across AI ecosystems and deliver performance insights that inform strategic decision-making. Such recognition underscores the strength of Hotwire Global’s integrated offering and ability to deliver AI-powered, impactful communications and marketing for pre-eminent technology brands globally.
Toups joins Hotwire from Burson, where he served as global chief digital & intelligence officer, leading a network of social and digital media, paid and performance media, and data/intelligence professionals across more than 40 countries. During his tenure, he pioneered new ways to measure the financial impact of reputation, conceptualised technologies that expand monitoring capabilities, reimagined crisis preparedness, and modernised measurement and predictive capabilities all the while delivering award-winning work for clients around the world.
Prior to Burson, Toups was Hill & Knowlton’s first global chief technology officer, where he built global centres of excellence across seven cities and introduced data-driven tools for risk prediction, reputation measurement and performance insight, while shaping WPP’s PR-segment AI strategy.
Source: Hotwire Global
