Talon, the world’s leading independent out-of-home [OOH] media specialist, has taken steps to strengthen its presence in North America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East with new appointments in its leadership teams in the respective regions.
In recent weeks, Talon America has appointed Chris Greene in the new role of chief revenue officer to lead the growth of OOH in North America, while new offices and leadership were announced at its bases in Singapore and Dubai to further expand the firm’s global footprint.
Melanie Lindquist and Chadi Farhat have been tasked with leading Talon’s teams based in Singapore and Dubai respectively.
Chris Greene joins Talon America from Cooler Screens, where he served in the same role he is stepping into. Working from Talon’s local headquarters in New York City, Greene will oversee new client development, revenue growth, go-to-market development and execution, and marketing in the North America region.
Greene boasts in excess of 20 years of experience in business development and consultative revenue leadership in OOH advertising, media, and technology services. During his time at Cooler Screens, he led the sales team behind the largest digital in-store network start-up in the US, where he developed the go-to-market strategy and multi-channel partnerships with OOH specialist agencies, brands, shopper marketing, and other advertising channels.
Talon America CEO, Jim Wilson, commented: “Talon America is entering an accelerated growth phase in delivering data-led OOH creative, planning, buying, and proprietary technologies to advertisers.
“As we continue to scale the business to its next level to better serve national, regional, and local brands and agencies, Chris [Greene] brings an impressive track record in leading high-performing OOH, media, and technology revenue teams. I’m confident he will be a tremendous asset as we deliver on our mission to be the partner of choice for a comprehensive set of OOH services and solutions.”
After being appointed, Greene himself said: “Talon has built a trusted reputation for its focus on top talent, deep investments in technology-led OOH solutions, and for producing award-winning creative campaigns for renowned brands.
“I’m thrilled to join Talon at a time of accelerated OOH growth. Talon’s differentiated strategy will continue to pave the way for leading the industry transformation for ‘unsiloing OOH’ with precision targeting, outcomes-based measurement, and cross-platform execution.”
Over in Singapore and Dubai, Farhat and Lindquist are responsible in their new positions for accelerating OOH growth in those key regions for the business; ensuring clients realise the full potential of their OOH investment through Talon’s proprietary technology platforms and award-winning creative innovation.
Barry Cupples, Talon Group CEO commented: “With the continued growth of OOH revenues around the world this is the perfect time for Talon to expand our global presence. Mel Lindquist and Chadi Farhat are first-class operators and we are delighted to have them on board as we continue to deliver our market-leading independent position within OOH. APAC [Talon in Asia-Pacific] & MENA [Talon in the Middle East and North Africa] now have the very best talent, which coupled with Talon’s data-fuelled technology will bring game-changing opportunities for advertisers.
“Supported by clear measurement this will undoubtedly deliver strong client ‘outcomes’ and brand performance, and ultimately provide top and bottom-line growth for advertisers which is at the core of the service Talon strives to deliver.”
A decorated media professional, Lindquist has experience leading marketing, strategy, data and sales operations teams for more than two decades across radio, television, digital, eCommerce and OOH. She spent five years working in OOH in Australia directing client strategy, planning, data and sales operations teams, before relocating to Singapore in early 2021 where she continued to consult and advise on OOH and establish a full-service customer team for a leading Singaporean-based eCommerce technology company.
Commenting on her new position at Talon APAC, Lindquist said: “I am thrilled to be joining Talon to deliver scale, agility, and expanded capabilities to the Singapore and APAC region. For the first time brands, agencies and their clients will have the benefit of Talon’s global reach with full service, independent and data-backed expertise as the regional OOH industry develops at an exciting pace.”
Taking up his new position at Talon MENA in Dubai, Chadi Farhat has spent the previous 25 years working across media, marketing, and communication within leading media agency groups in the Middle East and North Africa. He has previously served as chief investment officer at Omnicom Media Group, during which time he orchestrated multiple mergers and acquisitions within the industry which helped fuel year-on-year business growth.
Farhat said: “I am hugely excited to be able to bring clients in the Middle East and North Africa region a unique OOH planning and buying offering they cannot find anywhere else.
“Talon will provide advertisers with world-class regional and international service, innovative technology capabilities, creative executions and high-touch collaboration to deliver measurable and optimised value, as well as the unmissable outcomes that only OOH can offer.”
Photo by Benjamin Child on Unsplash
