Megan Clarken (born 30 October 1966) is a media executive and former youth athlete from New Zealand. [1] [2] In November 2019, Clarken was appointed chief executive officer at Criteo, an ad-tech company based in France. [3] She has received several accolades, including being recognized as one of HERoes 100 Women Role Model Executives for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023. [4] [5] [6] [7] She is also a current member of the Capgemini Group Board of Directors. [8]
Clarken grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, one of four children and spent her youth focused on track and field. [9] She represented New Zealand [10] from a young age in the 100M, 200M, high jump, long jump and heptathlon events. When she was 12 years old, she broke a world age record in high jump. [11]
In 1984, Clarken represented Oceania at the World Cup in Canberra, Australia. Although aiming for Olympic and Commonwealth selection, Clarken suffered a serious injury to her left knee and retired from track and field. [12]
Clarken still holds four records in long jump and 100M in New Zealand. [13]
Clarken has held senior leadership positions for large publishers and online technology providers in Australia, including Akamai Technologies and measurement company Nielsen, [14] which she joined in 2004. [15] She worked for Nielsen until 2019, having risen to the position of chief commercial officer for Nielsen Global Media. [16] In 2019, Clarken became chief executive officer at Criteo, and was added to Criteo’s Board of Directors in 2020. [17]
Clarken has received leadership awards including the 2015 Cynopsis Media: Top Women in Digital Industry Leaders, [18] the 2016 Multichannel News: Wonder Women [19] and the 2019 National Organization for Women: Women of Power and Influence. [20]