Reporting to the chief technology officer, Furze will lead IAS’s global data science, AI and analytics strategy, partnering with the company’s product, engineering and commercial teams on innovation, protection and performance capabilities.

Furze was previously at LinkedIn, where she was global vice-president of customer science for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions and part of the department’s executive team, reporting to the chief commercial officer.

At LinkedIn, Furze built and led the customer science organisation, which brought together analytics, research, data engineering, AI development, measurement and solutions engineering into a single global function.

Furze was also the commercial lead for data privacy and measurement programmes, covering trust and governance across global data solutions. 

Lisa Utzschneider, chief executive at IAS, said: “Mel brings an exceptional combination of deep technical expertise, global leadership and commercial impact.

“Her experience building AI-powered data organisations and translating insights into real customer value will be instrumental as IAS leans into our AI-first strategy.”