Mindshare NA Appoints Chief Data Officer

Mindshare North America, the global media agency network that is part of WPP, announced today the appointment of Rolf Olsen as Chief Data Officer. Olsen will lead the agency’s Marketing Sciences group, a team of more than 70 advanced analytics professionals across North America, and will drive new tools and data partnerships for THE LOOP, Mindshare’s adaptive marketing engine. He reports to Colin Kinsella, CEO, Mindshare North America, and is based in New York.

“Data is the lifeblood to a media agency, to turn insights into real-time action, and optimize our clients’ media investments. Rolf’s not afraid to the push boundaries of what’s possible and move quickly on it,” said Kinsella. “He has the kind of grit – the perseverance – that we look for in our talent, and the creative thinking that helps us make media a competitive advantage for our clients.”

Olsen joins the agency from global digital performance agency iProspect, and has run Marketing Sciences teams across Carat, Copernicus, and iProspect for the past seven years. As SVP, he transformed the capability, leading the integration of several departments to achieve better data management and reporting, and delivering large organic growth. Among other things, he also launched the agency’s new reporting and optimization suite. 

“Data and insights are the cornerstones of everything Mindshare does,” said Olsen. “I’m excited by the great work they’re doing across The LOOP and the entire Marketing Sciences team - I can’t wait to join in.”

Olsen’s appointment follows several other announcements and partnerships from Mindshare NA’s Marketing Sciences team. Just recently they released a new edition of their Culture Vulture trends report, which uses a proprietary research model to analyze and forecast the biggest consumer shifts and trends of the year. Right before that, they had also released new research focused specifically on millennials, and how best to capture their estimated $200 billion in direct purchasing power.