European Media Marketplace appoints industry veteran Christophe Parcot as Non-Executive Chairman
The European Media Marketplace (EUMM) has announced the appointment of Christophe Parcot as Non-Executive Chairman. Parcot brings more than 25 years of experience across the European technology, media and advertising ecosystem.
He has held senior leadership positions, including Head of Yahoo EMEA, global COO of Teads and Ogury, and CRO of Solocal (Yellow Pages). He is currently a Senior Advisor to McKinsey and to B2B European scale-ups as the founder of consultancy Sixt5 Partners. He has contributed to the EUMM working group since its inception.
In his role as Non-Executive Chairman, Parcot will support the coalition's governance and strategic direction, helping build alignment across its community of media owners, data companies, telcos, retailers, marketplaces, and advertising technology partners. He will also represent the coalition externally and support the expansion of its ecosystem as the marketplace moves from its launch to execution and wider market adoption.
Launched in summer 2026, the European Media Marketplace gives advertisers, according to a press release, “first-party data as well as direct access to premium supply across the open web (display, video, CTV and retail media) cutting unnecessary intermediary costs while improving revenue for European media and data owners”. The first founding partners include T Advertising Solutions (part of Deutsche Telekom), Equativ, Experian, lastminute.com, leboncoin and Kleinanzeigen (part of Adevinta), Orange Advertising (Orange France), Vinted, and Vodafone.
“Europe has no shortage of strong premium media, data and technology companies,” says Parcot. “The challenge is bringing that strength together in a way that can compete at scale. The European Media Marketplace was created with that ambition. The next step is to turn the model into something tangible for advertisers, agencies, and media owners: more direct access, distinctive audience data segments, and ultimately more value for every advertising euro. That means testing the proposition in market and proving the value it can deliver through real campaigns. With the foundations now in place, our priority is clear: move from ambition to execution.”
Arnaud Créput, CEO at Equativ, says: "Building the European marketplace has reinforced one of my strongest convictions: collaboration only works when every partner has an equal voice and nobody tries to control the outcome. That is why independent governance matters so much. Christophe has the experience and credibility to protect that spirit as we grow, challenge us when needed, and keep us focused on creating together what none of us could build alone."
Satya Vinnakota, Business Director of Ads at Vinted, comments: “The right leadership is required to align so many different stakeholders, from data owners and brands to adtech providers and publishers. Christophe will be instrumental in aligning the varying goals and expectations of the partners into one coherent platform with mutual benefits for advertisers and media owners.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Retail media will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
