Activate, a provider of content-powered demand generation and marketing services, appointed Chris Rooke as CEO and Thomas “Shep” Sheppard as President and Chief Revenue Officer. Rooke and Sheppard will work together to help progress the company’s formula of data and supply, product and go-to-market and scaling.
As CEO, Rooke will work to power the company’s push to systematize data and continue scaling it by focusing on product innovation, commercial development and customer success. He brings more than 25 years of C-suite leadership and innovation success in content, digital media and advertising technology and marketing services.
For his part, Sheppard previously served as a Captain in the U.S. Army followed by 12 years as a sales executive at IBM, where he and his sales teams were the end clients for Activate’s clients. Sheppard will help Activate gain a deeper understanding of its customers across the market in a way that would otherwise not be accessible organically.
Activate’s Co-founders, Edward Grossman and Martha Schwartz, will remain with the company. Grossman will serve as Co-chair and Chief Strategy Officer, while Schwartz acts as Co-chair and Chief Growth Officer.
“The future of Activate has never been brighter — our unique, pipeline-driving demand generation services are in demand across the industry,” said Grossman. “Martha and I are so excited to work with both Chris and Shep to scale Activate to new heights as we continue to smash records for years to come.”
