Facebook has hired Google’s Andy Mihalop to head up the UK sales operation of its ad tech business Atlas – its equivalent to Doubleclick. Mihalop, who was Google’s head of network agencies and media platforms, and second in command for DoubleClick in the UK, is understood to be on gardening leave for the next couple of months. His remit once he takes up his new role in September will include scaling Atlas operations in the UK as well as helping develop the product itself, with Facebook understood to be harbouring an ambitious road map as it looks to compete head to head with Google for advertising spend. The Drum understands his remit also includes overseeing Atlas in Germany, but with primary focus on the UK, reporting to head of international sales Damian Burns. Commenting on the appointment Burns said: "The move away from cookie-centric marketing technology is gathering pace, with the most forward-thinking marketers transitioning to Atlas. "Unlike other ad server technologies - which have historically been viewed by advertisers as marketing cost - the unique measurement capabilities of Atlas are being viewed as marketing investment and a competitive advantage. Befitting the momentum behind Atlas, we are delighted to have the very best talent in the industry joining the team in our offices all around the world." Prior to his time at Google where he was most recently head of network agencies and media platforms reporting to Phil Miles, Mihalop was head of biddable media at MediaCom and before that was chief digital officer at Moneysupermarket where he spearheaded the launch of the comparison site’s in-house trading desk.
Facebook has hired Google 's head of network agencies and media platforms, Atlas , to head up Google 's UK sales operation of its ad tech business, Andy Mihalop . His remit includes scaling Atlas operations in the UK , and helping develop the product so Facebook can go head to head with Facebook for advertising spend.