Fetch’s Greg Grimmer to be the new CEO of Mediatel

The former global COO of digital agency Fetch, Greg Grimmer, is to take over as CEO of Mediatel from 1 July, when Derek Jones steps back to become executive chairman of the independent business.

During his five years at Fetch, Grimmer helped to build the brand globally; led the sale of the business to Dentsu, and made it one of the most respected of a new wave of agencies.

Earlier in his career he was managing director of Publicis Media agency ZED, which under his leadership became the UK’s fastest growing digital agency, before launching his own ad agency Hurrell, Moseley, Dawson & Grimmer.

“I’ve known Greg for a long time, and I was delighted and excited when he agreed to take on the CEO role,” said current CEO Derek Jones, who was one of the launch team in the business, co-founded by his father, Bob Jones, in 1981.

“Mediatel has a unique culture as a business, which he appreciates, and I am sure he will foster. His digital and global knowledge, and detailed experience of the client/agency relationship, will be hugely valuable in progressing some of our current growth opportunities, and I am sure he will identify others.”

“He inherits a business that has seen very positive growth in the last few years, and which boasts a strong and committed senior team, which we are about to strengthen even further.”

Jones also paid tribute to the current chairman, Mike Kirkham, who will be stepping down after presiding over Mediatel’s most successful years of growth.

Derek Jones

“I have learnt a great deal from Mike and hope to use some of that as I take on the executive chair role,” said Jones.

Commenting on his new role, Grimmer said:

“Having decided to take a well-earned rest after the five fantastic and high-octane years at Fetch I was determined to only accept a new role that would both excite and challenge me.

“Mediatel is a business I have known throughout my agency life, and Derek and his team are people I like, respect, and am looking forward to working with.

“Despite its continued financial success, the popularity of its news platforms, and recent expansion into new areas, parts of the Mediatel business remain something of a secret gem. Together with the existing management team we aim to change that, and make much more positive noise in the UK media industry and further afield.”

With media agency clients, Mediatel was originally conceived as a data and analysis business, however today it has diversified also into publishing, events and trading.

The London-based business publishes two news platforms, Mediatel News and Videonet, and runs a large global events operation, Mediatel Events, following a 2016 merger with Hubble Media.

Additionally, Mediatel provides a copy delivery service for the radio sector via Audiotrack in partnership with Peach, and has run J-ET, the radio industry’s trading platform, for almost 20 years.

Other parts of its business focus on the out-of-home sector where it runs SPACE, an industry standard database of UK OOH sites.