London, 6 August 2026 — Croud, the global media, data, and creative agency, today announces the appointment of Josh Preston-White as Managing Director of Integrated Search. Reporting to EMEA CEO Debbie Ellison, Preston-White takes on a newly created role that unifies the agency’s search offering across paid, organic and AI-driven discovery.
As AI fundamentally reshapes how consumers discover brands, Preston-White will drive a step-change in Croud’s search proposition, joining up paid, organic and AI search to deliver a true Return on Intelligence for brands. That approach already underpins SearchAnywhere, Croud’s own service powered by its BrandCI tool, which gives brands insights and recommendations around how they appear across LLMs like Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini. He will combine data, technology and human expertise to break down channel silos and deliver performance-led outcomes for clients.
Preston-White joins after 14 years at Jellyfish, most recently as VP Paid Search, where he built deep expertise across PPC, search strategy and client leadership. He brings a rare combination of hands-on channel mastery and the senior client experience needed to lead Croud’s search offering into its next era.
“AI is rapidly reshaping how people discover, evaluate and choose brands, and our forthcoming global research shows how significantly behaviour has changed in just six months,” said Ellison. “The winners will be the brands and agencies who can connect media, social, content, creative, data and technology together rather than treating them as separate disciplines. Josh has the search expertise, commercial instinct and ability to unite brilliant teams needed to lead the next phase of Integrated Search and continue to bring our Return on Intelligence proposition to life for clients. I’m delighted he is joining us at such a pivotal moment.”
“Croud is already ahead of the curve in AI-driven search, and joins up creative and media in a way that genuinely changes what’s possible for clients,” added Preston-White. “What sets Croud apart is its market-leading proprietary tech and tools, combined with the calibre of talent across the business. Helping to take that further is exactly why this role excited me. What sealed it was the team – the ambition and skill here are second to none, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Preston-White’s appointment continues a period of significant momentum for the business, following a series of senior leadership hires, including Valerie Davis as US CEO and Cal McCahon as Chief Strategy Officer, and a run of new client wins including ITV and Global, Formula E, and Ooni.
