mrge

Adform strengthens leadership team with DACH hire

Adform has expanded its senior leadership: Daniel Neuhaus joins as Senior Vice President and Regional President for the DACH region, while Stefan Sommer is promoted to Chief Growth Officer. Both will report to Oliver Whitten, Chief Operating Officer, and will be members of Adform's Senior Leadership Team. Neuhaus brings over 20 years of adtech experience, including a recent role as VP DACH at The Trade Desk and previous co‑founder positions at Emetriq and Xplosion; he will run Adform’s business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from Hamburg and oversee Splicky (acquired by Adform in late 2025). Sommer, an Adform veteran of ten years, moves from DACH and Global Sales & Partnerships leadership into a global role responsible for partnerships, media/data/technology business development and commercial corporate development.

Mrge Expands North American Reach with Maxbounty Acquisition

German commerce advertising group Mrge, backed by Waterland Private Equity, is expanding its North American footprint with the acquisition of Maxbounty, a Canadian affiliate marketing network. This move marks Mrge’s fifth acquisition and complements its existing portfolio under the umbrella brands Digidip, Yieldkit, and Shopping24. The deal adds Maxbounty’s technology and team, along with capabilities in cost-per-lead and cost-per-action marketing, and broadens reach in finance, consumer analytics, and e-commerce. Dave Reed, who became CEO of the Mrge group last year, welcomed the addition of Maxbounty’s skilled team. Maxbounty CEO Matt McEvoy said the partnership should accelerate growth and strengthen the network in a consolidating market. Financial terms were not disclosed. The expansion underscores Mrge’s ongoing cross-border growth strategy in the AdTech industry.

BCN Welcomes Johannes Liel as New Marketing Director

BCN, The Brand Community Network, is expanding its leadership as Johannes Liel joins as Director Marketing & Communications, effective January 2024, aligning with the start of BCN as a joint venture between Burda, Funke and Klambt. Liel will focus on crossmedia and print-gattungsmarketing as BCN positions itself as a multi-channel advertiser. BCN's managing director, Tobias Conrad, welcomed Liel and highlighted his track record in building advertiser brands across media formats. Liel previously served as Vice President Marketing & Communications for Waterland Private Equity’s adtech-oriented Buy-and-Build portfolio, where he led the creation of the global brand Mrge and oversaw post-merger integrations of Digidip, Shopping24 and Yieldkit. Earlier roles included Head of Marketing at Emetriq (2019–2021) and Deputy Head of Marketing Communications at RMS. In September, Burda Community Network rebranded as The Brand Community Network and started as a joint venture of Burda, Funke and Klambt, with Jörg Vogelsang announced as a key hire.