Brave Bison Strengthens Executive Team With New COO and CBO

Digital media, marketing and technology company Brave Bison has made some key changes to its Executive team.

Laura Crofton-Atkins has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer and the current Chief Operating Officer, Buster Dover has been promoted to the newly created role of Chief Business Officer. This move has been made to maximise operational efficiency, drive revenue and nurture talent in line with the company’s ambitious growth plans.

Previously Chief Operating Officer at Made to Engage when it was acquired by UNRVLD in 2022, Laura brings twenty years of experience in operations and delivery at the likes of Tribal DDB, POSSIBLE and Fortune Cookie to the team. She has shown her consistent ability to enhance agency operations, spearhead organisational change, and drive successful business transformations at scale over the years.

She joins Brave Bison following a year of big growth for the company, which acquired leading social and influencer agency SocialChain in March, and will be responsible for championing operational efficiency, streamlining delivery and unifying culture across its four business units; Brave Bison Performance, Brave Bison Commerce, Brave Bison Media Network and SocialChain. Laura will be leading on defining Brave Bison’s people strategy, with a primary focus on attracting, retaining and nurturing talent for continued growth, giving the business the ideal platform to scale further.

Existing Chief Operating Officer Buster Dover takes on the new role of Chief Business Officer as part of the executive restructure, which follows the recent appointment of Wavemaker’s Hannah Baker as Chief Marketing Officer in August. Buster is a seasoned agency executive and joined the team originally in September 2021 and has previously held leadership roles at VCCP, MullenLowe and Zinc Network.

As the company continues to rapidly grow and acquire and integrate new businesses and expand its global footprint, Buster will be working with key talent across he business on new and existing clients to build custom solutions. He will also be managing the company’s divisional leads – Hannah Kimuyu, MD of Brave Bison Performance, Pete Metcalfe, CEO of SocialChain, Ed Hornby, MD of Brave Bison Commerce and Adam Raw, VP of Audience Development for the Brave Bison Media Network—and will work closely with Crofton-Atkins and the rest of the leadership team to build a connected company culture.

Joining a company with so much ambition is truly exhilarating
Laura Crofton-Atkins

Oliver Green, Executive Chairman said: “A world where complexity is the only constant demands a new breed of company. At Brave Bison we are proud to be building a new model of media, marketing and technology company—one that is different by design. With Laura and Buster’s talent, versatility and experience applied to our operations and client growth, I’ve no doubt that we will not just deliver on our bold ambitions, but continue to surpass them.”

Laura Crofton-Atkins added: “Joining a company with so much ambition is truly exhilarating. I’m excited by the potential for our leadership team to drive innovation, build a truly unique culture and unlock new modes of growth for clients—and I can’t wait to apply my experience and collaborate with some brilliant people to achieve that.”

Buster Dover added: “I’m delighted to have Laura as part of the team, her knowledge and experience in driving operational success is well proven and the opportunity to fast track many of our ambitious plans with Laura and Hannah in place is huge. This progressive structure allows me to focus on where I can add most value to the business by helping our clients capitalise on the continued and varied digital complexity they face.”

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