THG Ingenuity has appointed commerce and media specialist Gemma Spence as its new Chief Executive Officer, with Spence set to join the business in December and lead its next phase of growth.
The appointment comes as THG Ingenuity positions itself as a commerce technology business focused on helping global e-commerce companies operate at scale. The company describes its platform as a commerce operating system that brings together technology, automation and robotics.
Spence brings more than 17 years of experience working across technology, commerce and business growth. Her career has included leadership roles on both the agency and client sides, giving her experience in developing and scaling commerce solutions from different perspectives.
She previously became one of the youngest CEOs within Omnicom, where she founded and grew its e-commerce consultancy across EMEA. The consultancy worked with some of the world’s largest brands.
More recently, Spence served as CEO and country manager for VML and WPP Luxembourg. In that role, she also led the company’s Marketplace and Amazon Centre of Excellence.
Her appointment comes as the commerce industry moves toward greater use of artificial intelligence and automation. THG Ingenuity said the industry is progressing from connected technology towards what it describes as agentic and eventually autonomous commerce, where AI can increasingly make and carry out business decisions.
Spence said she sees significant potential in connecting different commerce capabilities through a common decision-making layer. She believes businesses will increasingly need technology that can move quickly from an idea to a fully scaled capability.
John Gallemore, who has been involved in building THG Ingenuity, will move into the role of chairman as part of the leadership changes.
Gallemore said the company was created to help ambitious e-commerce businesses scale through data-led technology, automation and robotics. He added that the next stage would focus on making these platforms faster, smarter and more connected.
He also welcomed Spence’s experience in building commerce businesses and understanding the needs of brands looking to grow.
The leadership changes will also see Alistair Crane move into a strategic consultant role with THG Ingenuity.
With Spence taking over as CEO, THG Ingenuity is entering its next stage, focusing on technology, automation and AI-driven commerce. Her experience across media, marketplaces and e-commerce is expected to play an important role as the company develops its commerce platform and works with businesses operating in an increasingly automated digital market.
