Burger King and Monster.com have both capitalized on the volatile job market this week, offering support for the newly fired and the upwardly mobile, respectively. The job-searching website released several spots featuring their new mascot, an enormous fuzzy purple monster that kidnaps people from their dead-end jobs and puts them in new ones that they deserve.
Burger King, to promote the way they “fire” (i.e. flame-grill) their burgers, offered a cheeky week-long deal: if you posted on LinkedIn about being fired with the hashtag #WhopperSeverance, they’d send you a severance package uniquely their own.
Let’s take a look at this week’s comings and goings.
Tony Weisman has been brought on by Dunkin’ Donuts as US chief marketing officer, where he will help oversee the brand’s attempts to shift its image from breakfast snacks to a competitor in the coffee beverage market.
“Tony is a highly experienced, much-admired business leader with a proven track record of building global brands. Very importantly, he also has a deep understanding of working with franchised organizations, including Dunkin’ Donuts having led the work on our account at Digitas for the past six years,” said president David Hoffmann.
Previously, Weisman was the North American CEO for DigitasLBI, a global marketing agency network, and before that served at Leo Burnett for 19 years.
Spotify has poached Courtney Holt from Disney, appointing the former executive vice president to the position of vice president and head of Spotify Studios and Video.
Previously, Holt worked as CEO of Disney-subsidiary Maker Studios until 2016, when he shifted roles to executive vice president of media and strategy at Disney proper. Holt is a longtime veteran of the music industry, having held positions at Atlantic Records, A&M Records, MTV Networks and MySpace Music in the past 20 years.
Graydon Carter has announced plans to retire from his position as editor of Vanity Fair, after 25 years in the role. He has yet to reveal any information on who might be replacing him.
His accomplishments as editor of the acclaimed magazine are too many to list here, but he leaves Vanity Fair and its parent company Condé Nast during an era of quickly shrinking advertising revenue and an even more quickly shrinking staff.
21st Century Fox has promoted Peter Rice to president, though he will continue his role as chairman and CEO for Fox Networks Group. In the newly created position, he will oversee both domestic and international subsidiary television channels on matters of strategic planning and business development.
“As part of our ongoing work to evolve and expand the 21CF leadership structure, we’re pleased to name Peter to this newly created position,” said 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch. “Peter has driven exceptional growth at Fox Networks Group during a time of real transformational change in the business, expanding our audiences and innovating new distribution models, from which the Company, our shareholders and our customers have benefited greatly.”
Rice has only ever worked in the 21st Century Fox conglomerate, beginning his career in the marketing department of the film division before transferring to Fox Broadcasting Company in 2009. During his tenure at Fox Networks Group, Rice was responsible for the expansion of FX into a three-network group, and led the creation of the Digital Consumer Group.’
MGM has announced the re-launch of the long-defunct studio Orion Pictures, selecting John Hegeman as president of the renewed distribution group.
“After working together, we saw first-hand John’s ingenuity in creating disruptive marketing campaigns with limited budgets,” said MGM Motion Pictures president Jonathan Glickman. “He is the ideal executive to lead Orion as he has proven that he can deftly craft strategies for releases, spanning all genres, to reach targeted audiences without the burden of high-cost traditional advertising.”
Most recently Hegeman was president of Blumhouse Tilt, a subsidiary of Blumhouse Productions, where he oversaw marketing for Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn’s horror thriller The Belko Experiment. Before that, he served as CMO for New Regency Productions and president of worldwide marketing for Lionsgate and Artisan Entertainment.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has hired Roma Khanna as CEO of his content creation studio Revolt Media and TV. In the role, Khanna will work to increase the brand’s global presence.
“After decades of building large scale businesses in TV and media, I am excited to have the opportunity to work alongside visionary Sean Combs to get hands-on and redefine content models with a view to building a modern, relevant, global cultural brand,” said Khanna in a press release.
Before her latest appointment, Khanna served as president of the television and digital group of MGM Studios, overseeing the production of several critically acclaimed shows like Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale and the Teen Wolf reboot. Previously, she was president of NBC Universal’s international networks.
Spotify’s head of video and podcasting operations Tom Calderone departed the company after its initial set of programming never gained traction. Instead, the company will refocus on its most successful playlists like Rap Caviar and Rock This.
Calderone worked at Spotify for more than a year, where he spearheaded the launch of a dozen original video shows, including the electronic dance music mockumentary series “Ultimate/Ultimate.” Previously, he spent eight years as the president of VH1.
Fox Entertainment president David Madden is leaving the company after three years in the position for the role of president of original programming and development at AMC.
Replacing him is longtime 20th Century Fox TV employee Michael Thorn, who will assume responsibility for scripted programming, development and casting. Previously, he was executive vice president of development for the subsidiary studio.
Warner Bros. Entertainment has promoted Adam Presser to international senior vice president. As a part of his expanded responsibilities, Presser will oversee the entertainment giant’s businesses in China, as well as the production of Chinese-language media for the company.
“Adam brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our efforts in China and around the world,” said Warner Bros. executive vice president Reg Harpur. “He’s been invaluable in helping us navigate the Chinese business and regulatory landscape as we launched joint ventures as well as our own in-country operations.
Prior to joining Warner Bros. in 2015, Presser served as senior director at Ticketmaster for the China region, and contributed to one of China’s first co-productions with his current employer, The Painted Veil.
Pharmacy chain Rite Aid announced the departure of its president and CEO Ken Martindale. The company has not announced a replacement, but packaged the news that it is promoting Bryan Everett to the new position of chief operation officer in the same press release.
Martindale, who had been with the company since 2008, will be assuming the new role of CEO of GNC health-supplement stores. Before joining Rite Aid in 2015, Everett worked for Target, Fleming Wholesale and Aldi, overseeing clinic and pharmacy operations.
MGM Resorts International hired Kelly Smith as their latest senior vice president and chief digital officer.
“As a global entertainment brand, with customers at the center of our business, our company’s commitment to digital innovation remains a critical part of our long-term strategy,” said MGM Resorts CMO Lillian Tomovich. “Kelly’s extensive digital expertise and demonstrated skill bridging software, design and emerging technology trends make for a valuable addition to our talented executive team.”
Before his appointment, Smith was vice president of global digital products for Starbucks, where he contributed on the company’s international expansion into the China region.
Roger Adams, chief marketing officer for the insurance and finance company USAA, will be retiring at the end of the year. Filling the role will be Wes Laird.
(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated daily until Friday, September 8. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)
Job Vacancies
| Director, Marketing | Razer USA, Ltd. | Irvine, CA |
| Director of Strategy, Marketing | Starbucks | Seattle, WA |
| Director, Marketing | Sony Music Entertainment | New York, NY |
| Brand Manager | BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. | Santa Clara, CA |
| Director, Product Marketing | Menlo Park, CA | |
| Sr. Product Marketing Manager | AT&T | El Segundo, CA |
Make sure to check back for updates on our Jobs Page.
