Persado Appoints Former Senior Executives From MarketShare and Verizon to Board of Directors

Persado, the leading provider of AI-optimized marketing language for top global brands, announced Wes Nichols, co-founder and former CEO of MarketShare, and Marni Walden, former Verizon senior executive, as new members of its board of directors. Nichols brings deep entrepreneurial and technology experience, having co-founded a predictive analytics software solution for CMOs called MarketShare. Walden is a seasoned business executive with experience leading and integrating two major global media brands during her tenure at Verizon.

“Marni and Wes are strong additions to our team, and we’re thrilled to welcome two veteran business leaders to the Persado board,” said Alex Vratskides, co-founder and CEO of Persado. “Their extensive global experience and unique insights into marketing, media and technology will be instrumental in shaping Persado’s next phase of growth as we strive to empower marketing leaders to make more data-driven decisions that drive outsized business results.”

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“Persado is one of the most innovative and immediately effective technology solutions available to marketers today,” said Nichols. “There are actually very few companies truly using AI and machine learning to drive scalable improvements to business results. I’m honored to have the opportunity to help guide the future direction of the company.”

“Persado has been at the forefront of generating marketing messages in a radically different way using machine learning and AI to engage consumers throughout the customer journey,” said Walden. “I’m privileged to work with the company’s talented leadership team to further solidify the impact and influence of AI and a data-driven approach in the creation of digital creative.”

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Prior to Neustar, which acquired MarketShare, Nichols served as president and CEO at TBWA/TEQUILA, a global digital network that is part of Omnicom Group, where he worked with brands like Sony and Nissan. He is currently a board partner at Upfront Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in technology startups, and his insights on how CMOs make decisions in the modern age were previously published by Harvard Business Review.

Marni Walden has held multiple leadership positions at Verizon, including Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Operating Officer and EVP of Global Media, where she headed the merger of Yahoo and AOL to create Oath. She currently serves on multiple boards, including Globetouch, 4C Insights, DraftKings and Mobilize Solutions.

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