Kats’ primary responsibility in the newly created position will be to introduce MediaWhiz’s digital performance-marketing technology to SolutionSet clients, said Zain Raj, president and CEO of the company.
“What MediaWhiz provides is a complimentary capability to SolutionSet. We did not have digital performance marketing solutions until we created the partnership,” he said.
Kats joined MediaWhiz as EVP of performance marketing in 2006. He will be based in New York and will oversee MediaWhiz’s 175 employees. Kats will report directly to Raj.
Prior to joining MediaWhiz, Kats was EVP of online marketing company SilverCarrot. Raj said he did not look outside of the company to fill the role.
“Ed has one of the best strategic minds in the area of performance marketing and digital,” he said. “It made no sense to try and find someone else.”
Jonathan Shapiro, former CEO of MediaWhiz, left the company six weeks before the August 10 merger of integrated agency SolutionSet and online performance-marketing firm MediaWhiz to join PetCareRX as CEO, Raj told Direct Marketing News at the time of the merger. Raj said Shapiro’s departure had “nothing to do with the partnership.”
The merged company’s clients include Adidas, AT&T and American Express Co. The 700-employee agency has dual headquarters in New York and Mill Valley, Calif.
