NEW YORK, June 28, 2022announced today that company veteran Joshua Lerman has been named Global CEO. This comes on the heels of Kepler co-founder Remy Stiles' appointment as CEO for North America, the company's largest region.
Lerman joined Kepler in 2014 to lead its Client Solutions group and was promoted to co-President for Kepler U.S. in 2019. During this time, Lerman played a critical role in key company achievements, including growth to over 700 professionals in 10 global offices, expansion of its proprietary Kepler Intelligence Platform, and service extension into TV buying, media in-housing, and marketing systems integration.
As Global CEO, Lerman will focus on stewarding Kepler's continued expansion, enhancing its ability to deliver outsized client value via tech and data science, and further strengthening the company's focus on employee development, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Lerman succeeds founding CEO Rick Greenberg, who will retain an active role as Executive Chairman and primarily focus on further strengthening Kepler's international presence, accelerating Google-focused subsidiary Napkyn's continued expansion, and advising Kepler Academy-the pro-bono, immersive training unit launched in 2021 to help improve representation in the marketing industry. Greenberg will also continue to serve on the kyu Council, which helps manage Kepler's parent group kyu, a strategic operating unit within Hakuhodo DY Holdings that also includes IDEO, Sid Lee, SYPartners and Godfrey Dadich.
"Josh is perfectly suited to lead Kepler in this next phase of the company's journey," said Greenberg. "He has tremendous experience leading large teams, and a singular focus on listening, learning and driving improvement-for the company, for clients, and for colleagues. Partnering with him these last 8 years has been an amazing privilege, and I look forward to continuing that partnership in the years to come."
Since its inception in 2012, Kepler has grown from six founders in a single office to a truly global footprint with locations in North America, EMEA and APAC and a broad range of clients, including American Express, DoorDash, HanesBrands, Hasbro, PepsiCo, and Sanofi Pharmaceuticals.
Its model fuses marketing activation and technology consulting, making it one of the few global specialists with the capabilities required to help brands capitalize on the rapid pace of data- and tech-driven innovation-particularly when it comes to audience data, privacy and identity management, machine learning and AI, and nascent channels like connected TV, online marketplaces, and social commerce.
"My time at Kepler to date has been one of the most fulfilling chapters of my career," said Lerman. "I am honored to take on the role of Global CEO, and to continue working alongside such a gifted team. They have built an incredibly positive company culture, and I'm continually amazed at the level of rigor, intellect, and passion they apply towards delivering innovation and client value. I can't wait to see what we all accomplish together going forward."
About Kepler
Kepler, founded in 2012, provides advanced digital and database services to clients in financial services, retail, healthcare, media & entertainment, and other industries. Its core services revolve around helping clients use data to power more dynamic and personalized marketing-including data-driven media, CRM, database and marketing systems integration, and in-house media team design and activation. The company is a member of kyu, a strategic operating unit of Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. Fellow kyu companies include: IDEO, Sid Lee, SYPartners, Godfrey Dadich, and BEworks. More information can be found at http://www.keplergrp.com.
About kyu Collective
kyu is a strategic operating unit of Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. (HDY). It was created in May 2014 to help drive the continuous enhancement of specialization and innovation in the Hakuhodo DY Group. The kyu Collective is headquartered in New York and its member companies include ATÖLYE, BEworks, BIMM, C2, Digital Kitchen, Gehl, Godfrey Dadich Partners, Ghost Note, Haigo, IDEO, IDEO.org, Kepler Group, Napkyn, Public Digital, RedPeak, Rich Talent Group, Sid Lee, SYPartners, SYLVAIN, and Yard.
Contact:
Carolyn Powell
cpowell@keplergrp.com
518.755.8165
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/94f05177-98d5-4dda-a9d7-9313ef036c40
