This week’s marketing moves include Buzzfeed’s CMO leaving the role in January 2020 to grow the experiential toy store partly owned by the publisher and Malaysia Airlines naming new head of global marketing. 

Also, former Kia Motors CMO joining Volkswagen America, CAA Veteran David Messinger becoming Activision Blizzard’s first corporate-wide CMO,ex-Sky chief marketing officer Luke Bradley-Jones heading to Disney, continued leadership shifts at Uber including the hiring of Thomas Ranese as VP of global marketing, as well as the appointment of Sara Tervo to the role of chief marketing officer for fashion retailer Express, Inc.


BuzzFeed CMO Exits The Role 

Ben Kaufman, BuzzFeed’s chief marketing officer, will be exiting the role to head experiential family retail store Camp. 

On Wednesday, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced in a memo that Kaufman is “planning to shift into an active advisory role at BuzzFeed, as Camp continues to expand and require more of his day-to-day attention.”

According to his LinkedIn, Kaufman held the role of Buzzfeed CMO for almost three years, previously serving as chief commerce officer. He is also CEO and co-founder of CAMP. 


Malaysia Airlines Appoints Global Marketing Exec

Wai Kuan Wong is joining Malaysia Airlines as head of global marketing. 

At MAB, Wong will be in charge of overseeing strategic branding and global marketing in promoting as well as strengthening MAB brand position, developing alliances and strategic partnerships, growing eCommerce and managing content, assets and paid media.

Before joining MAB, she worked at Themed Attractions Resorts and Hotels for over eight years, most recently as senior VP of group marketing. She served as assistant VP of branding at Maybank.

An airline spokesperson said about the hiring: “With over 20 years in brand and marketing, Wong has vast knowledge and experience in leisure and tourism industry, banking and FMCG.”


Former Kia Motors CMO Is Heading To Volkswagen 

Saad Chehab, who spent almost two years as CMO at Kia Motors, managing global marketing for Maserati, will join Volkswagen America as senior Vice President of VW brand marketing.

Chehab previously led marketing for the Chrysler and Lancia brands. At VW, he will be in charge of the marketing strategy at VW, including VW’s new brand campaign, “Drive Bigger.” Chehab will report to  Scott Keogh, the head of the VW Group in the U.S.


CAA Veteran David Messinger Becomes Activision Blizzard’s CMO

David Messinger will join Activision Blizzard as the company’s first corporate-wide chief marketing officer, Variety reports.

Messinger, a former 15-plus-year veteran of CAA will report to Coddy Johnson, Activision Blizzard’s president and COO and will manage will the global marketing operations across all of the video-game company’s brands.

Johnson said in a statement that Messinger’s “tenure in global entertainment and his expertise in strategic, award-winning marketing campaigns will help our communities to grow and further inspire our players to connect, compete and play.”


Luke Bradley-Jones Hired By Disney

Disney welcomed Luke Bradley-Jones, Sky’s former CMO, as new senior vice-president, direct-to-consumer and general manager for the region.

Bradley-Jones will report to Jan Koeppen, president, television and direct-to-consumer, Europe and Africa and Michael Paull, president, Disney streaming services and will oversee Disney+ streaming service in Europe and Africa.


Ex-Google Marketer Joins Uber As Global Marketing VP

In what seems to be the culmination of departmental upheaval and leadership overhauls, ex-Google marketer Thomas Ranese has been picked up by Uber to serve as VP of global marketing. 

Ranese will lead marketing for Uber internationally, including branding, creative and team management. His 10 years at Google included him leading global hardware marketing across a number of Google devices. 

Prior to a decade at Google, he served as chief marketing officer of New York State where he had a hand in re-launching the noted “I Love NY” campaign.


Express Appoints Sara Tervo To  EVP, CMO Positions

Fashion retailer Express, Inc. named Sara Tervo as executive president and chief marketing officer. 

According to the press release announcing her new role, she will be tasked with overseeing “all aspects of marketing and creative services with responsibility for brand strategy and positioning, customer insights and loyalty.”

Tervo joins Express, Inc. from Justice where she served as EVP and CMO since 2016. She also served as EVP of marketing for the Victoria’s Secret brand portfolio, in addition to other senior leadership positions for PINK..


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Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment is updated until Friday, August 16th. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.


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