Leadership

Chairman

David Williams

Built Merkle from a $2.5M revenue business to a global business with over a $1B in revenue over 30 years. Led a successful sales process of Merkle to Dentsu in 2016 with a final exit in 2020 at an industry leading EBITDA multiple of more than 17X. Today David leads MRE capital, a family office focused on real state and private equity. He has made investments across several industries, including: quick service restaurant (Quality Brand Group), e-Commerce services (Whitebox), fast casual restaurant (Mission BBQ), real estate development (Greenberg Gibbons), business services (Sandler) and home services (Advantage Services Group).

David Williams - Chairman

CEO

Craig Dempster

Has been an executive in the marketing technology services industry for over 25 years. Craig worked for David Williams at Merkle for more than 15 years. He was instrumental in the growth of Merkle’s data and digital businesses and led more than 15 acquisitions during his tenure. Ultimately, Craig succeeded David as global CEO of Merkle. Craig retired from Merkle in January 2022. At the time, Merkle had grown to 14,000 employees with $2B+ in global revenue and $400MM+ in EBITDA.

Craig Dempster - Chief Executive Officer

Chief Marketing Officer

Erin Hutchinson

With over 20 years of marketing experience, Erin has spent her career developing brand marketing strategies that create better user experiences, extend marketing thought leadership across media and channel, drive awareness, and ultimately connect consumers with a brand. Erin has spent her career building Marketing teams and functions that drive growth. Over her time at Merkle as part of the leadership team, Erin supported the company’s annual double-digit growth, growing it to $2.0 billion in annual revenue. With a focus on brand development, events, public relations, analyst relations, marketing communications, experience, as well as consumer and business research, Erin has a consistent track record of increasing lead generation, driving the development of new content, and building strong, consistent brand engagement. Erin has expanded marketing functions and best practices with teams worldwide. Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brock University and attended Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business Leadership and Negotiation Academy.

Erin Hutchinson - Chief Marketing Officer

Chief Operating Officer, Sandler

Dave Braun

After a brief stint in public accounting at Price Waterhouse, Dave spent the next 27 years of his career in marketing and advertising professional solutions- focused specifically on the development of performance creative and content solutions for large enterprise organizations. This experience included 10 years in various account leadership and business development roles within the EuroRSCG organization as well as another 10 years with New Control Direct & Digital. Dave was President & CEO of New Control in 2014 when it was acquired by Merkle where he subsequently led their creative and content service lines until 2021. Dave’s industry and brand experience is quite broad, as he has worked extensively with Sony, Visa, Liberty Mutual, WellPoint, AAA, Allstate, Constellation Energy, Chase, Gap, AstraZeneca, Humana and Citi. In 2022, Dave joined Sandler as Chief Operating Officer and is focused on their transformation from sales training services to more wholistic sales performance solutions.

Dave Braun - Chief Operating Officer, Sandler

CEO, Sercante

Andrea Tarrell

Andrea Tarrell is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, serving as the CEO & Founder of Sercante, a leading firm specializing in Salesforce solutions. With a distinguished track record, Andrea holds the prestigious title of 17X certified Salesforce MVP and Marketing Champion, showcasing her expertise and commitment to excellence in the field. Throughout her professional tenure, she has amassed invaluable experience working across consultancies, agencies, and client-side marketing teams. Her unwavering dedication lies in empowering marketing and sales teams to achieve success through optimized tech stacks and strategic guidance, driven by her passion to build better solutions tailored to their unique needs.

Andrea Tarrell - CEO, Sercante

CEO, Just Global

Brandon Friesen

Brandon Friesen, CEO of Just Global, is a seasoned executive with over 25 years in marketing, advertising, and publishing. As a growth and customer-focused executive, he partners closely with brands, boasting a successful track record in advertising, technology, marketing, media, content, and publishing. Since joining Just Global in 2012, Brandon has helped transform it from a small US-only media-focused firm into a global full-service B2B marketing powerhouse operating across four continents and ten time zones. Brandon's previous roles at UBM TechWeb, InformationWeek Business Technology Network, NetShelter, DWA, and Computer Telephony highlight his significant contributions and industry impact.

Brandon Friesen - CEO, Just Global

CEO, AuctusIQ

Troy Kanter

Troy Kanter is the co-founder and CEO of AuctusIQ. He brings over 25 years of expertise in transforming sales organizations and driving revenue growth. Before AuctusIQ, Kanter was the President and CEO of TwentyEighty, the $300M holding company of training brands such as Miller Heiman, SPIN Selling, AchieveGlobal, and VitalSmarts. Earlier in his career, Kanter served as President and COO of Kenexa, where he led the company from a startup through its 2005 IPO, scaling it to a $400M company and culminating in its $1.4B acquisition by IBM.

Troy Kanter - CEO, AuctusIQ