Merkle names Steve Yurisich as ANZ chief executive, John Riccio to focus on APAC remit
Merkle has appointed Steve Yurisich as its new chief executive for Australia and New Zealand, with John Riccio set to focus on the company’s Asia-Pacific business.
Yurisich was promoted from chief growth officer, a role he has held since joining the company in March 2022. Michael Sullivan will take over as chief growth officer as part of the shuffle. John Riccio had been Merkle’s ANZ CEO since February 2022, and APAC CEO since July 2022.
New Merkle ANZ CEO Steve Yurisich
Riccio also posted the change on LinkedIn, saying: “With Merkle’s momentum building in the region, now is the time for me to step fully into the APAC CEO role. The timing couldn’t be better as we have rounded out the full complement of the Merkle ANZ leadership team.”
“It’s been an amazing 12+ months leading the ANZ business, and we’ve achieved so much, aligning the business into one truly integrated team, enabling us to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients. I’m delighted that Steve Yurisich is stepping into the role of Merkle ANZ CEO.
“Steve has been integral in making the ANZ business stronger than ever. I know he will be a brilliant leader, supported by Michael Sullivan who will be taking on the Chief Growth Officer role. I can’t wait to work with Steve and Sully as we firm our positioning as the leading customer experience company in the region.”
Prior to Merkle, Yurisich was ANZ chief growth officer and growth, industry and experience architect lead for growth markets at Accenture Interactive from 2020 to 2022. He was also a managing director at Accenture from 2013 to 2020 across the United Kingdom and Australia.
Yurisich also founded a number of software companies in Europe, including advanced analytics software company Occitar and mobile internet provider Red Message.
Riccio joined Merkle in early 2022 from consulting giant EY, where he was experience consulting partner APAC from 2020 to 2022. He replaced Erik Hallander at the time, who left Dentsu to pursue other opportunities.
Merkle is a technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management business. The company was fully acquired by Dentsu Group in 2020.
In December, Merkle acquired Australian Salesforce, MuleSoft and Tableau consultancy firm Aware Services, bolstering its existing Salesforce and data and analytics practices.
In 2021, Dentsu consolidated its CXM brands under Merkle, first bringing together Amicus Digital, Davanti Australia, DWA and Gyro into the brand, and later followed by Isobar.
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