Billups the leading independent Out-of-Home (OOH) managed services agency, today announced the appointment of four senior leaders to drive growth across the Australia and New Zealand, and Europe and Middle East regions. David Hawkins has been named Managing Director, Middle East; Wissam El Rayess as Business Director, Middle East; Nicci Loudon as Business Director, ANZ; and Kirstie Caldwell as
Account Director, ANZ. These appointments are part of a strategic expansion that includes
acquiring four OOH agencies worldwide in the past year and a remarkable 123% revenue growth
over the past three years. billups also recently named Claudia Valderrama as Global Chief
Operating Officer and Ben Milne as Chief Executive Officer for the Asia-Pacific region.
David Hawkins, previously with JCDecaux, brings a wealth of experience in the OOH media
industry. As Managing Director, he will lead the Middle East operations, focusing on expanding
billups’ presence in the region and delivering value to clients. Hawkins will be based in Dubai.
Wissam El Rayess, also joining from JCDecaux, has a strong background in agency relations and
commercial partnerships. As Business Director, Middle East, El Rayess will drive business
development initiatives and strengthen client relationships in this dynamic market. He will also
be based in Dubai.
Nicci Loudon, formerly at Talon Outdoor, has extensive expertise in client services and business
development. As Business Director, ANZ, Loudon will oversee regional operations and growth
strategies. She will be based in Melbourne. Kirstie Caldwell, with a successful track record at JCDecaux Australia and Talon, will serve as Account Director, ANZ. Caldwell will focus on enhancing client engagement and optimizing campaign performance for clients. She will be based in Sydney.
Hawkins and El Rayess will report to James McEwan, CEO, EMEA. Loudon and Caldwell will
report to Ben Milne, CEO, APAC, who recently joined billups from dentsu.
“David, Wissam, Nicci, and Kirstie each bring strong market expertise and talent to billups as we
continue our global expansion,” said David Krupp, Global CEO at billups. “Their appointments
represent a significant step in our mission to make all Out-of-Home advertising accessible and
accountable. With their leadership, we are poised to deliver even greater value to our clients by
providing consistent in-house billups services and measurement across international activations.”
“billups has an opportunity to elevate the Middle East’s Out-of-Home advertising potential
through advanced technology and data-driven insights,” said David Hawkins, Managing
Director, Middle East at billups. “As the Middle East embraces digital transformation, billups’
expertise in programmatic buying and analytics will help our clients effectively reach their target
audiences. Wissam El Rayess and the team will leverage our experience to support growth and
impactful campaigns in this pivotal time for the industry.”
” look forward to returning to Australia and supporting billups’ focus on Out-of-Home
optimization and analytics by applying my local and international experience” said Nicci
Loudon, Business Director, ANZ at billups. “Ben Poole, Rohan Prasad, Kirstie Caldwell, and I
will foster a collaborative culture with clients in the vibrant OOH sector.”
