Digital Agency Essence Appoints Anant Mathur as Global Head of Analytics

NEW YORK, May 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Essence, a global digital agency, today announced it has hired Anant Mathur to serve as its new Global Head of Analytics. The position was previously held by Michael Thomas, who has since transitioned into the role of Client Partner for one of the agency's newest--and largest--clients.

Mathur joins Essence from Walmart.com, where he served as Head of Business Intelligence and Analytics, overseeing a team that spanned a variety of disciplines including marketing and site optimization, A/B testing, VOC/CEM, predictive analytics, and advanced analytics for merchandising, operations and customer service.  In addition to his extensive background in analytics, Mathur has deep agency, publisher and strategy experience. Prior to Walmart.com, he held leadership roles in analytics and product management at Starcom Mediavest, McCann, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Unilever. Mathur's new role calls on him to oversee all aspects of analytics and research across Essence's entire client roster.

"Robust analytics form the foundation of our entire business approach," said Andrew Shebbeare, co-founder and chief product officer of Essence. "We've worked hard to build a practice capable of proving the business impact of our clients' campaigns in any medium and market. I'm delighted to have found such a kindred spirit in Anant - he's equally obsessed with finding real value and just as suspicious of convenient correlations. I know he will take our work product to new heights as we continue to expand our global footprint."

"Essence's data-driven culture has helped it to deliver groundbreaking work and become one of the world's leading digital agencies," said Mathur. "As the customer journey becomes evermore complex and fragmented, it requires the development of more nuanced and integrated experiences across touch points. With its heady mix of creative brilliance, analytical firepower and unique culture, Essence is uniquely positioned to deliver industry leading work in this arena. I'm honored at the opportunity to advance the agency's capabilities during such an exciting time."

Mathur's appointment is effective immediately. He will report into Shebbeare and will be based out of Essence's San Francisco office.

About Essence
Essence is a global digital agency that blends data science, objective media and captivating experiences to build valuable connections between brands and consumers. Clients include Google, Viber, method, Tesco Mobile and the Financial Times. The agency is more than 540 people strong, manages over $850MM in media spend and deploys campaigns in 71 markets via offices in Chicago, London, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.  Part of GroupM, Essence is majority owned by WPP, the world's leading communications services group.

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SOURCE Essence

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