Rice (pictured) joins the company from Lloyds Banking Group, where he was lead security domain engineer, supporting cyber and data security programmes.

In the newly created role, he will be responsible for ensuring Merkle’s continued compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in addition to preparing the company for further legislative developments and guidance. He will also serve as an independent advisor to the business, working with regulators.

Prior to his time at Lloyds, Rice was head of technology at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), leading and developing the regulator’s technical and information security.

Rice takes over from Mark Keddie, Dentsu Aegis Network’s data protection officer, who was appointed in 2017 and has temporarily covered the role for Merkle.

Michael Komasinski, president EMEA at Merkle, said: “Simon’s unrivalled experience in the data protection field will prove invaluable as we work towards the continuing development of our rapidly expanding business in EMEA.”