Zitcha appoints Tony Karp as Group COO amid global expansion drive
Zitcha has appointed Tony Karp as its new Group Chief Operating Officer alongside a restructuring of its senior leadership team, following growth in Asia-Pacific and international markets.
Karp brings a background spanning fintech, retail, and technology, having most recently served as North American President of digital gifting company Prezzee. His leadership there saw the company launch into the Canadian market and achieve revenue growth in the United States. Karp's prior roles include CEO at Prezzee and executive positions at David Jones, Principal Financial Group, and Jones Lang LaSalle.
As Group COO at Zitcha, Karp is tasked with ensuring that the delivery and operations of the company are scalable and tailored to clients' diverse needs across the retail media sector.
"I've always believed the power of any business lies in the strength of its strategy, its culture and its people. Zitcha has all three in spades. It's a world-class retail media platform with an ambitious vision and an energised team that genuinely cares about its clients' success. I'm looking forward to scaling the operational foundations that will support Zitcha's next phase of growth."
Karp's appointment is one element of a wider restructuring by Zitcha intended to align senior roles with the company's continued global expansion and to reinforce leadership in APAC. Co-founder and former Chief Operating Officer Jack Byrne has been appointed Chief Executive Officer for the APAC region. This change is designed to support Zitcha's ongoing engagement with retailers across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
Troy Townsend, Zitcha co-founder who relocated to the United States last year, has assumed the role of Group Chief Executive Officer. Townsend's responsibilities now encompass Zitcha's international growth strategy and oversight of the group's expansion efforts in North America and other markets.
"The addition of Tony to our global executive team comes at an important moment for Zitcha. We're expanding in North America and other international markets, and we need the right structures in place to scale efficiently while staying close to our clients. His experience in driving transformation and growth in North America and Australia will be key to strengthening our delivery and enable Jack and the APAC team to build deep, local partnerships with retailers and brands."
Byrne commented on his new role and the business's regional priorities:
"We are born in APAC, and have commenced our journey of global growth with boots on the ground in the UK and US. That requires focus not only on the business and the amazing staff who power it, but also the attention on our customers in this region who help shape our future. The APAC team is firing and this is a great opportunity to head into the next chapter and ensure our clients are supported by the most agile, focused and future-ready retail media platform in the market."
Karp's recruitment follows a series of recent strategic hires at Zitcha, including appointing Jim Kane as Vice President of Sales – Global, and Alberto Vergara as Head of Data and AI, a new role. These appointments are aimed at assisting retailers and brands to create retail media campaigns that are more targeted and predictive.
In October last year, Zitcha closed a Series A funding round, raising AUD $15 million (USD $10 million) led by US investment firm VMG Partners to facilitate its North American expansion. This capital injection underlines the company's broader efforts to strengthen its international presence.
Zitcha's activities are coordinated from its headquarters in Australia, and the platform currently works with a variety of retailers, retail media networks, and brands worldwide. The company's stated objective is to develop retail media campaigns that are closely aligned with the business models and visions of its clients, improving collaborative opportunities with advertising partners.
