IPG names new Acxiom CEO

Chad Engelgau was named Friday (Feb. 28) as the new CEO of Acxiom, with CEO Dennis Self staying on as an advisor during the transition. Engelgau will report to Arun Kumar, the IPG chief data and technology officer.

Little Rock-based Acxiom Corp. sold its legacy data marketing division to New York City-based Interpublic Group of Cos. (IPG) for $2.3 billion in July 2018. Following that deal, the Arkansas tech firm founded in Conway in 1969 transferred the Acxiom brand to IPG, changed its name to LiveRamp Holdings Inc. on. Oct. 1, 2018, and moved the company’s headquarters to the West Coast.

The Acxiom operations continue with offices still in central Arkansas.

Engelgau has worked as the global chief data strategist at Kinesso, the data intelligence unit that is part of IPG. For the prior 13 years, Engelgau held several leadership roles at Acxiom, ultimately overseeing data and identity product development as well as marketing and strategy for the company. Before joining Acxiom, Engelgau was at Dell Inc., for nine years, rising from product engineering manager to corporate strategist for the Texas-based technology company.

“The role of technology and data science is expanding and Acxiom’s offerings are central to how we help clients manage data in ways that make marketing more valuable for consumers and brands,” Philippe Krakowsky, COO of IPG, said in a statement. “Over the past year, Chad and Dennis have been at the forefront of the successful integration of Acxiom into our organization, which has led to our data and tech solutions having a seat at the table with both existing and new clients across the IPG portfolio. Dennis and his entire management team also deserve credit for continuing to deliver value for their clients and solid results from their core business. We thank Dennis for his leadership and wish him the best going forward.”

Self said he was happy to have helped Acxiom integrate into IPG.

“It has been a privilege to be a part of the Acxiom leadership team and I’m proud of the company we have built,” Self said. “Having completed the successful integration of Acxiom into the IPG network, now is an opportune moment to turn over the reins to Chad. In addition, the worlds of technology and data are highly dynamic and I’m looking forward to a new challenge.”

Engelgau said Acxiom can do more to improve the experience of marketing.

“By combining data science with all aspects of media and advertising, we have an opportunity to meaningfully improve how people experience marketing. Acxiom and IPG sit at the center of this transformative moment, with the tools and expertise to help clients maximize customer value. As a strategist and engineering geek, I love opportunities for data and tech-enabled change, and am thrilled at the opportunity to lead this great company, which I have loved for the thirteen plus years of working here.”

Interpublic Group is a global provider of marketing solutions. With 54,000 employees in all major world markets, IPG companies are active in advertising, digital marketing, communications planning, media, public relations and specialty marketing. Full year 2019 net revenue was $8.63 billion, up from $8.03 billion in 2018. Net income for the year was $673.9 million, up from $637.7 million in 2018.

IPG shares (NYSE: IPG) closed Thursday at $21.55. For the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged between $19.56 and $25.20.