This week: executive shakeups as Fox Searchlight Pictures Promotes a marketing vice president, Foresters Financial expands its global marketing leadership, Rosewood prepares to open a Hong Kong resort and Harrods finds a marketing and customer chief from A&E.
A study by the Pew Research Center has revealed that not only are women mostly excluded from executive positions at top-level companies, but that the problem is not likely to be solved anytime soon. Just 5 percent of the S&P 1500 have female CEOs, and only 11.5 percent of C-suite employees are women. Worse, their research found that women make up only 15 percent of long-term CEO candidates.
Fox Searchlight Pictures Appoints Roya Vakili Senior Vice President Of Marketing
Roya Vakili has been promoted to senior vice president of marketing for Fox Searchlight Pictures International.
“Roya has helped to build the campaigns for many of our most successful international box office hits,” said Rebecca Kearey, president of Fox Searchlight Pictures International. “She covers the whole gamut of marketing for our films, and her consummate creativity has made her an invaluable member of our team.”
Vakili, previously vice president of marketing, has been with the studio since 2006, managing marketing for both The Shape Of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Foresters Financial Hires David Longfritz As CMO
International financial services provider Foresters Financial has appointed David Longfritz as its global chief marketing officer.
“Foresters is very fortunate to attract someone with David’s deep skillset and vast experience,” said Jim Boyle, president and chief executive officer of Foresters Financial. “He is a passionate, collaborative and strategic thinker who will provide strong leadership to our global marketing teams.”
Previously, Longfritz served as senior vice president of marketing and retirement services at National Life Group.
Rosewood Appoints Simon Gilkes Marketing And Sales Director
Simon Gilkes has joined Rosewood Hong Kong as its director of sales and marketing, part of its pre-opening team for the Rosewood Hotel and Resorts based in the city.
“Simon is a vital addition to the Rosewood Hong Kong team, and we are delighted to have his valuable global expertise to steer sales and marketing strategies for the launch of our newest ultra-luxury property in Hong Kong,” said Marc Brugger, Rosewood Hong Kong’s managing director.
Gilkes has worked in hospitality for close to two decades, joining from SBE London, where he served as regional director of sales and marketing.
Theresa Lawrence Joins ERP Maestro As CMO
Provider of cloud-based and automated access control, security auditing and reporting solutions for SAP ERP Maestro has appointed Theresa Lawrence as its chief marketing officer to drive market growth.
“We are on a high-growth trajectory, and our new executive team members bring the skills and experience to help us accelerate on our path to expand into new markets and increase adoption of ERP Maestro’s disruptive, SaaS-based solution to manage internal security risks in complex and susceptible ERP environments,” said Jody Paterson, CEO of ERP Maestro.
Lawrence most recently served as chief marketing and customer officer for Fridayd.
The Rest Of The C-Suite
Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, May 4. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.
Harrods Signs Amanda Hill As Chief Marketing, Customer Officer
Retailer Harrods has appointed Amanda Hill as CM&CO, to lead the company’s brand strategy, marketing, communications and customer service efforts.
“We are delighted to welcome Amanda to Harrods, to take on this strategically important new role for the business. As we increasingly focus our business towards delivering unparalleled customer experience, Amanda’s vision as CM&CO will be integral towards building our strategy going forward,” said Michael Ward, Harrods’ managing director, to The Drum. “Her experience and valuable insight into today’s modern consumer will help us build on Harrods strong brand identity amongst our global customer base.”
The appointment comes on the heels of the retailer restructuring its brand and digital teams to account or the new role. Hill most recently worked at A&E Networks as its chief marketing officer.
Riversand Brings On Katie Fabiszak As Vice President Of Marketing
Riversand Technologies, a data management company, has appointed Katie Fabiszak to lead its marketing efforts.
“Katie is a proven executor and disruptor. Her experience in the development and execution of go-to-market strategies and building high performing teams will have an immediate and substantive impact on Riversand’s growth, ” said Upen Varanasi, CEO and founder of Riversand. “Katie also shares our conviction that a new breed of data management solutions are needed to drive digital transformation for our customers.”
Fabiszak has been in the data management industry for two decades, joining Riversand from Informatica, where she served as vice president of marketing, strategy and planning.
Gulf Oil Hires Sue Hayden As CMO
Sue Hayden has joined Gulf Oil as executive vice president and chief marketing officer, a newly created role.
“I am excited to welcome Sue to our company,” said Johnson. “Sue’s extensive commercial and retail experience combined with her passion make her the ideal champion for our mission to drive change and develop the Gulf brand along with our partners.”
Hayden has worked in the oil industry for over 35 years, most recently as vice president of fuel sales for North America.
Diageo Ships Edward Pilkington Overseas To Fill NA CMO Slot
As top leaders of Diageo’s North America business retire, the alcoholic beverage manufacturer is shipping in talent overseas to replace them, transporting Edward Pilkington and Claudia Schubert from Europe. Pilkington will take over as chief marketing and innovation officer, while Schubert will assume the role of president for Diageo’s US and Canada business.
“We are delighted to welcome two of Diageo’s most talented and experienced senior leaders to North America,” said Deirdre Mahlan, president of Diageo North America. “Claudia and Ed have both played critical leadership roles in the recent transformation of our Europe business, and both bring world-class multi-market experience that will help drive their respective functions forward.”
Pilkington has spent over 24 years at Diageo, and has led the company’s marketing efforts at separate times for Australia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.
Cenergistic Appoints Luis Pajares As Chief Revenue Officer
Energy-conservation tech firm Cenergistic has hired Luis Pajares as executive vice president and chief revenue officer, where he will oversee the company’s strategic growth, sales and marketing teams.
“Luis has proven experience in executive leadership at some of the world’s leading technology companies; he’s a strategy guy who will focus our sales effort, expand our offering and grow our business in current and future markets,” said Ray Hood, CEO of Cenergistic. “As we continue to invest in software development, sales and marketing, Luis will be instrumental in our transition to intelligent building solutions to complement our existing offering for energy conservation in schools, universities, municipalities and healthcare.”
Before joining Cenergistic, Pajares served as group vice president for Oracle Communications, handling the company’s worldwide sales operations.
Samantha Yanks Joins Douglas Elliman As CMO
Real-estate broker Douglas Elliman has hired former Gotham editor Samantha Yanks as its chief marketing officer, a role in which she will expand the firm’s sponsorship, such as Art Basel Miami, and magazine marketing efforts.
“She is a powerful marketer and branding expert, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the team,” Howard Lorber, Douglas Elliman chairman, said to Page Six.
Mattress Firm Hires Scott Thaler as CMO
Set to lead the specialty mattress retailer’s brand marketing and consumer engagement operations, Scott Thaler has joined Mattress Firm as its chief marketing officer.
“We are thrilled to welcome Scott Thaler to the Mattress Firm family. He brings a well-rounded marketing and business perspective and fresh, bold ideas that will help tell our story and demonstrate the value of a good night’s sleep,” said Steve Stagner, executive chairman, president and CEO of Mattress Firm. “He understands our culture, our industry and our customer, and will play a pivotal role in driving our continued retail transformation across all marketing channels.”
Prior to signing with Mattress Firm, Thaler spent 14 years at Zimmerman Advertising, serving at times as chief interaction, digital and client officers.
Keith Belton Joins Phynd As Marketing Vice President
Phynd Technologies announced a number of executive appointments today, including that of Keith Belton as vice president of marketing and Cathy Jones as vice president of sales operations.
“Phynd is pleased to bring aboard customer-facing leaders of Cathy and Keith’s caliber,” says Tom White, CEO of Phynd. “Together they bring a collective 40+ years of health care sales and marketing leadership to Phynd. We are counting on that experience and leadership to continue accelerating our growth as the leader in provider information management.”
Belton most recently led Nuance Communications’ Dragon Medical line of business, which during his tenure grew from $6 million to $180 million in annual revenue.
Intex Technologies Appoints Rajiv Bakshi CMO
India-based consumer electronics company Intex Technologies has tapped Rajiv Bakshi as its chief marketing officer, The Economic Times reports. In the role, Bakshi will oversee the company’s go-to-market strategy across its over 25 product verticals.
“We are delighted to have Mr. Bakshi amidst us and are certain that his diverse experience will go a long way in contributing to the growth of the company in India and international markets,” said Keshav Bansai, Intex Technologies’ director, in a statement. “His immense expertise in strategic marketing and brand management will augment Intex’s growth and profitability.”
Previously, Bakshi served at Discovery Networks for 13 years, rising to the level of vice president and head of marketing and products for the India and South Asia regions.
Scott Heimes Joins Zipwhip As CMO
Business-texting cloud platform Zipwhip is expanding its marketing suite, appointing Scott Heimes as its chief marketing officer.
“We are thrilled to have Scott join the Zipwhip team,” said John Lauer, CEO of Zipwhip. “His track record in B2B communications technology and proven results propelling startups to the next stage comes at the right time for Zipwhip.”
Before joining Zipwhip, Heimes served as CMO for SendGrid, a digital communications platform, where he helped drive the company’s 40 percent growth during his tenure.
Shangri-La Hires Irene Lin As Executive Vice President Of Marketing
Joining the company as its first-ever executive vice president of marketing, Irene Lin will oversee the hospitality brand’s global marketing efforts, Marketing reports.
Lin joins the company from Marriott International, where she served as vice president of digital, loyalty, partnerships and portfolio marketing.
Job Vacancies
| Events Producer | AList | Pasadena, CA |
| Director, Global Strategic Marketing | Johnson & Johnson | Irvine, CA |
| Senior Director And VP Of Marketing And Communications | adMarketplace | New York, NY |
| VP, Digital Marketing And Analytics | Herbalife | Los Angeles, CA |
| VP, Marketing And Communications | Yamaha | Buena Park, CA |
| VP, Digital Marketing Channels | Capital Group | Los Angeles, CA |
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