Instagram steps up brand partnerships charge with senior recruit

Instagram is stepping up its brand partnerships charge with the appointment of James Quarles from parent company Facebook to the new role of global head of business and brand development.

Instagram
James Quarles to become Instagram’s first global head of business and brand development

Quarles will be responsible for “building a broad asset of solutions for brands of all sizes on Instagram” and for the overall growth of the business, Instagram says in a statement.

He will relocate from London to Instagram’s US headquarters and report into the company’s founder and CEO Kevin Systrom when he moves into the role this autumn.

Instagram has been “deliberately” slowly rolling out advertising on the app since it first began trialling ads with a small group of brands in the US last November.  The trial extended to the UK in June this year.

Facebook has yet to break out separately Instagram’s revenue figures in its quarterly financial results. The app has 200 million monthly active users, who share an average of 60 million photos each day, according to Instagram.

Quarles joined Facebook in 2011 as a regional director for the France, Italy, Benelux and Iberia regions. He also had a brief stint leading Facebook UK’s client and agency relationships following the departure of former UK commercial director Stephen Haines in June last year, before Steve Hatch was appointed to become the company’s UK and Ireland regional director in November.

Prior to working at Facebook, Quarles worked at Dell for more than six years, first in the role of EMEA executive director of marketing before being promoted to UK executive director and general manager for the computer giant’s public sector portfolio.

Instagram’s Systrom says in a statement: “I’ve gotten to know James over the last several months and I’m impressed by his leadership, his energy, and his experience. He has worked closely with the top brands in the world, he’s built a fantastic team globally, and most important, he understands the Instagram community, our values, and our goals for marketers on the platform.”

Want to know more about Instagram and its brand partnerships? Instagram’s European communications manager Will Guyatt will be speaking on how to create shareable visual content at our Festival of Marketing this November. Click here to book tickets.

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