Chris Howard leaves Dentsu for COO role at Nest Commerce

Former Managing Director at Dentsu, Chris Howard, is set to join ecommerce specialist agency, Nest Commerce, as its new Chief Operating Officer. This strategic move comes amid a period of significant growth for the agency, which has seen revenues increase by more than 50% over the past year, driven by a series of new client acquisitions.

Howard brings more than two decades of experience in driving digital performance for leading national and global brands, with a special focus on retail and ecommerce. His extensive expertise has been honed in a range of leadership roles in top-tier agencies and in-house positions, such as eBay and Shop Direct (now the Very Group) where he served as Head of Digital.

His most recent role was as Managing Director of Performance Media at Dentsu, where he led a team of over 350 experts from six UK offices in delivering paid social, paid search, affiliate, and retail media campaigns for all clients across Dentsu's agencies, which include iProspect, Carat and Merkle.

Nest Commerce was founded by CEO Will Ashton and CCO Luke Jonas in 2017, with a specialism in supporting ecommerce marketing teams to drive greater revenue growth from different digital platforms. The appointment of Howard is anticipated to further bolster the agency's capabilities, especially in the retail and ecommerce sectors.

Nest Commerce's clients include recognised brands like ME+EM, Reiss, Hims, Decathlon and Crew Clothing. Interesting to note is that Howard and Ashton have collaborated previously, during Ashton's time at Google and Howard's stint at eBay, which was Google's largest advertiser at the time.

"I'm delighted to join the team at Nest Commerce," Howard comments. "Nest has a really clear social-first proposition, with a laser-focus on what retail and ecommerce clients need to succeed. Their understanding of what is required from a platform perspective, coupled with the wider industry context, has allowed them to accelerate ahead of the market."

Ashton reciprocated the enthusiasm, "I'm excited to welcome Chris to Nest Commerce. It's very rare to find someone with significant senior experience in ecommerce, both client and agency side. Having worked closely with him before, I know he possesses the ideal blend of detail and bigger picture to manage our digital operations. He will drive Nest and our ecommerce clients into the next phase of growth, building on strong momentum from 2023 into 2024."

As the new COO, Howard's role will include building on Nest Commerce's current momentum and propelling its ecommerce clientele into the next growth phase. This is poised to be supported by Nest Commerce's proven track record in helping online retailers achieve efficient scaling, with Howard's expertise further solidifying the agency's position.