Damian Cox is Global CEO and Founding Partner of Wildstone. A serial entrepreneur, he started his career in outdoor advertising in 1999 for BlowUp Media, before setting up his own advertising company in 2001.
After selling this business, E.K. Straas Ltd, to Clear Channel UK, he founded Ocean Outdoor in 2004. Ocean quickly established itself as the market leader in high-profile digital outdoor advertising.
Damian sold the business to Smedvig Capital in 2008 and his remaining stake in the company in 2012, when the business was acquired by Lloyds Development Capital. Damian founded Wildstone in 2010.
Created to provide property owners, public and private, with a resource to assist with the capitalisation of land that could be utilised for outdoor advertising, Wildstone focused on design and visionary implementation. As a result, the company has been responsible for developing the large majority of high profile and iconic outdoor advertising sites in the UK. In 2015 Damian decided to expand the company and focus on the purchase of leasehold and freehold outdoor advertising assets.
The company alongside its France based financial partners are en route to become the largest aggregator of outdoor media infrastructure assets across Europe.
Carl Leaver is Non-Executive Chairman at Wildstone. With a distinguished career in executive and non-executive roles, he brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of driving substantial shareholder value across diverse industries.
Carl currently also serves as Chairman of Lebara, a European mobile phone operator, and TopHat, a manufacturer of modular homes. His previous role as a non-executive director at Europcar Mobility Group, concluded with the company's sale to a consortium led by VW. Prior to that, he served as Chairman of Eircom Group in Ireland, providing strategic leadership until a successful sale in 2018.
In his last executive role, Carl served as Group Chief Executive of Gala Coral where he orchestrated a successful turnaround before merging with Ladbrokes plc in 2017 and negotiating the sale of the combined group to GVC plc as he left the company.
His broad leadership experience spans telecommunications, housebuilding, manufacturing, retail, hotels & leisure, investment banking, and FMCG.
Carl's proven ability in corporate M&A and driving shareholder value aligns seamlessly with Wildstone's goals.
Jonathan has been at Wildstone since 2013 when he joined as Development Director prior to which he ran the advertising estate for Transport for London.
He is now the UK Managing Director and works with the senior management team to help achieve the company’s long term business plan.
As a Chartered Surveyor, Jonathan brings professional property management expertise with public and private sector real estate experience.
Jennifer is CFO at Wildstone, responsible for the financial activities and capital allocation of the company. Jennifer joined Wildstone in 2020.
She held previous CFO roles at cybersecurity platform Dark Cubed and at fibre network operator euNetworks, where she came to appreciate the unique value of an infrastructure-backed business driven by the momentum of digital growth.
Jennifer has over 15 years of financial and transaction experience, and has held roles in Corporate Development, Strategy & Competitive Intelligence, General Accounting, and Financial Planning & Analysis.
She started her career in Bank of America’s Corporate Debt Products team as a Media & Telecoms analyst. Jennifer holds a dual degree in Finance and Accounting from Texas A&M University (USA), and a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD (France / Singapore).
Jill is responsible for the delivery of the digitalisation program across the UK, setting high standards for quality and streamlining process and supply chain for efficiency.
She also heads up the marketing team with responsibility for Wildstone marketing strategy and execution, driving the European expansion plans.
She combines creative thinking with a highly organised work ethic. Her drive, and enthusiasm supports our successful business model and strong reputation in the market.
She began her career at Saatchi & Saatchi and has held several senior management positions with significant experience across the retail, media and entertainment sectors leading complex projects, marketing, communication, and development initiatives.
Laura Stoker is Strategic Projects Director at Wildstone.
Laura is responsible for the day to day management of the property portfolio, overseeing the protection and maintenance of existing sites.
Laura joined the Insite Group in 2008, initially running the finance department before moving into the commercial operations side of the business.
She was a key member of the due diligence team for the recapitalisations in 2012 and 2017, a 500 site portfolio purchase in 2014 and latterly the sale of the business to Wildstone in 2020.
Prior to entering the outdoor industry Laura was Operations and Finance Director for a 43 bedroom hotel in the Cotswolds with a team of 50 staff.
During her tenure she managed a £1m investment program and subsequently sold the company in 2008 at above market value.
Philip is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Planning Director at Wildstone.
As COO Philip is responsible for overseeing day to day administrative and operational aspects of the business.
In his role at Planning Director he leads the planning and design team providing support to the acquisition and estates teams digitalisation programmes.
Philip reports to Jonathan Chandler the Group Managing Director. He joined Wildstone in 2011 as Planning Director to set up the planning and design teams to support the development and consultancy sides of the business. Philip has helped to create the most experienced and successful planning team in the industry. He became COO in 2017.
Prior to joining Wildstone Philip was a Partner at Planning Perspectives a London based town planning consultancy where he advised on a variety of commercial sectors. Philip has a bachelor’s degree and diploma in Town and Urban Planning from the University of Sheffield and is a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. He has over 20 years of town planning experience.
Alex is responsible for delivering on the growth strategies for Wildstone, working across the business and with our media customer base fulfilling the digitisation and partnership development initiatives.
He joined Wildstone in 2020 after extensive experience with media owners, ranging from PLC companies to entrepreneurial start-ups.
Always being at the forefront of innovation and development of roadside Outdoor Advertising, from pioneering new premium formats to developing Iconic digital sites and working with companies through their growth stages.
Following an earlier career in the property investment sector, Alex returns to real estate, combing his media knowledge to assist on the digital evolution.
Michael Smith is Commercial Director for Wildstone, leading in the acquisition of portfolios, high value assets and driving both public and private sector growth across the UK and Ireland.
Whether it’s through strategic M&A, the acquisition of high value single sites, or the development of new opportunities, Michael is responsible for ensuring Wildstone are able to deliver not only their own growth strategy, but also guarantee commercial partners are receiving the strongest possible value for their assets.
Michael joined the business in August 2018, having spent seventeen hugely successful years at JCDecaux restructuring and developing their vast billboard and small format estates right across the UK. His role there also involved securing key corporate partnerships across the business.
Prior to that he spent ten years with Trainer Advertising in Scotland during a very aggressive growth phase, organically sourcing and developing new sites; in his time there the asset base grew tenfold.
Michael has spent his entire career in OOH and enjoys extensive experience in this asset class.
In his role as Partnerships Director at Wildstone, Andrew leverages his vast industry knowledge to cultivate and nurture valuable relationships, playing a pivotal role in driving collaborative success with our media operator partners.
Andrew is a dynamic and highly motivated professional with over 30-years of experience in Out-of-Home sector. Prior to joining Wildstone in 2021, he accomplished two successful trade sales and built a bespoke regional business with a portfolio of outstanding quality and profitable displays.
A dedicated leader known for his strategic insights and commitment to cultivating meaningful connections within the outdoor media industry.
Priticka Patel is the Director of People and Culture taking the lead on people, engagement, performance, and culture at Wildstone. Priticka is in charge of the HR strategy of the company, ensuring that it is in line with the overall business strategy.
Prior to joining Wildstone in November 2020, Priticka was Head of HR at Remedium Partners where she led the people strategy, employee engagement and leadership plan in the business.
She was also Global Head of HR at Atlantis Healthcare, working across 6 countries worldwide and part of the leadership team working on the integrated People agenda, Diversity & Inclusion and Engagement.
Priticka holds both bachelor’s and master's degree in Business Management & Human Resources. She qualified as a Chartered Member of the CIPD in 2009 (MCIPD) and was later awarded her professional Chartered Fellowship from CIPD (FCIPD) in August 2018.
