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ICLP announces Mark Spicer as new General Manager, India
MUMBAI: Global loyalty marketing and CRM specialist, ICLP is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Spicer as General Manager for its India operation.
Based in Mumbai he will report to Dion Maritz, ICLP’s Regional Director for Middle East, Africa and India.
Mark joins ICLP from Aimia in the Middle East where he managed the leading telecom loyalty programme for Mobily in Saudi Arabia. He has in excess of 20 years’ experience in the loyalty and incentives industry across all sectors with previous roles at Maritz, Grass Roots and Skybridge Group. With particular experience in the telecoms and financial services sectors he has managed and delivered programmes for clients including T-Mobile (USA), O2 (UK) and Vodafone (UK) in addition to Nectar and other pre-plastic card products.
Mark will be responsible for managing existing client relationships and driving continued commercial growth in the country. The last few years has seen ICLP continue to invest in India and its comprehensive range of loyalty solutions and services will help develop the local loyalty market. ICLP provide loyalty solutions across varied sectors including Travel & Hospitality, Retail and Technology, Its client base has steadily increased to include both local and international brands such as Air India, Ethiopian Airlines and Café Coffee Day to name a few. ICLP in India is also a regional centre of excellence across the Middle East, Europe and Africa for data analytics, insight and operational services, supporting international clients such as Hilton and Avios.
Commenting on his appointment Mark Spicer, General Manager India, ICLP, said: “India’s vibrant market is going through considerable change and with consumers being even more aware and informed, competition between brands to acquire and drive customer loyalty is stronger than ever. ICLP research has shown that consumers are demanding greater value, instant gratification and choice, but also want communication that is more personalised. Brands have to adapt to the speed of the market to drive customer engagement on a more emotional level, but also to ensure the customer returns for that vital next purchase. Driving insight through data analytics is of vital importance in enabling engagement success and ICLP has a proven track record in analysing and understanding customer behaviour to increase loyalty and profitability for its clients.
Dion Maritz, ICLP’s Regional Director for Middle East, Africa and India said: “Mark’s background and depth of international experience will be a real asset to ICLP in India as we invest more in the region. We recognise the value our product and service offering has for the region and we plan to leverage our group skills and assets to capitalise on the increasing demand of companies and brands for best practice loyalty initiatives in local markets.”
Mark will be delivering a keynote presentation and is also a member of the judging panel at the forthcoming Loyalty Summit Awards on January 29-30th in Mumbai.
MAM
Three senior OpenAI infrastructure executives join Meta
Key members of Stargate project move to rival amid aggressive AI spending race.
MUMBAI: Three key architects of OpenAI’s ambitious data centre plans have switched sides and joined Meta Platforms, according to people familiar with the matter. Peter Hoeschele, who played a central role in OpenAI’s high-profile Stargate initiative, is among the new hires. He is joined by Shamez Hemani, who focused on computing strategy and business development, and Anuj Saharan, another leader in the computing organisation. The Information first reported their departure from OpenAI on Thursday.
The moves come as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to spend aggressively on AI infrastructure. The company is projecting capital expenditure of up to $135 billion this year alone, with hundreds of billions more expected before the end of the decade to support its Meta Superintelligence Labs and new models such as Muse Spark.
OpenAI, which is pushing ahead with massive data centre expansion, had described its early lead in securing computing power as a competitive advantage. Stargate, originally announced last year as a $500 billion venture involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, has since become an umbrella term for the company’s broader data centre ambitions. However, the project has seen recent adjustments, including a pause on its UK plans and the decision not to expand the Abilene, Texas site.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment, while Hoeschele, Hemani, and Saharan also declined to comment. OpenAI said it was grateful for the contributions of the three employees and remains focused on hiring talent for its infrastructure plans. The company recently brought in former Intel executive Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute efforts.
In the high-stakes race to build the future of artificial intelligence, talent is proving to be as valuable as computing power itself. Meta’s latest hires suggest the competition for top infrastructure minds is intensifying, even as OpenAI continues to scale its own ambitious projects. The move highlights how quickly the AI talent war is heating up across Silicon Valley.
