Elisabeth Charles has joined Rodan + Fields as its latest chief marketing officer.
“Elisabeth’s strong track record as a marketer and strategic business leader make her a terrific addition to our leadership team,” says Diane Dietz, CEO of Rodan + Fields. “Her breadth of experience building successful global brands will propel Rodan + Fields forward during our next phase of growth as we strive to be the number one skincare brand in each market we serve.”
Prior to signing on with the skincare company, Charles worked as senior vice president and general manager at Old Navy, and has additionally been CMO at Athleta.
Edible Arrangements has announced a new CMO as well. Kaitlin Reiss has been promoted to the position, up until now serving as vice president of marketing and e-commerce.
“There are not many people that know Edible better than Kaitlin,” said Tariq Farid, Edible Arrangements’ CEO. “She has lived it every day for over a decade and her deep understanding of the brand, as well as her ability to anticipate and respond to emerging industry trends, make her the perfect person for this critical position as we prepare to enter a new phase of growth.”
Transamerica has appointed Frank Sottosanti to the position of chief marketing officer.
“Frank brings a wealth of knowledge and an impressive track record to this role,” said Dave Paulsen, executive vice president and chief distribution officer for Transamerica. “We are looking forward to him providing strategic leadership as CMO by further executing on the innovative and transformational brand and digital platform initiatives that we have in development to enhance our customer, advisor and employer experiences.”
Sottosanti has held senior marketing positions in a variety of industries over the last two decades, including service as CMO at Protective Life since 2012. Previously, he worked at Bank of America, the Coca-Cola Company and Wachovia Bank.
First Look Media has hired Stacey Politi to join the production network as senior vice president of marketing.
“We are at the exact right time to bring in a marketing specialist and Stacey is the exact right person for the role,” Michael Bloom, president of First Look Media told Deadline. “We’re making films, documentaries, TV and digital content with the best creative voices and partners, we’ve launched new consumer brands, and we’re making a big impact with our journalism and non-profit work, which is our hallmark.”
Prior to First Look Media, Politi worked at vice president of marketing at Crackle.
Tim Kendall, president of Pinterest, will be departing the company by the end of the year. Jon Alferness, currently senior vice president of ads and commerce, will take over the role once Kendall steps down.
“Tim has made important contributions to Pinterest and we are pleased that he will continue to serve as an advisor to the company,” a spokesperson wrote as part of a statement provided to Recode.
Blue Apron has appointed Brad Dickerson to the role of CEO, replacing Matt Salzberg, the company’s co-founder, who is stepping down.
“The board and I are confident that Brad is the right person to build on this momentum,” said Salzberg. “He is a seasoned leader with significant experience working with the public markets, operating efficiently at scale, and delivering value to shareholders.”
Dickerson has worked at Blue Apron since early 2016 as chief financial officer, and before that spent 11 years at Under Armour, culminating as CFO.
The New York Times Company has brought on Amber Guild as president for its T Brand marketing solutions division, where she will oversee the Fake Love internal agency as well.
“We’ve been speaking publicly for quite some time about T Brand Studio’s work evolving to be more agency-like and felt it was the right time to bring on an executive with the vision and experience to bring us to the next level,” said Sebastian Tomich, head of The Times Company’s advertising and marketing solutions group.
Before joining The Times Company, Guild served as New York managing director for The Martin Agency, and prior to that was president of the brand consultant agency Collins.
Kevin Roe has joined Fullscreen Media as senior vice president of client services for the company’s branded-content group, a newly created role.
“We’re thrilled to have Kevin as the newest member of our team as our clients recognize the need to reorient priorities from analog to digital, from one-way channels to social platforms and from interruptive advertising to authentic, entertaining content,” Tim Perlstein, Fullscreen’s senior vice president of strategy and insights, told Variety.
Prior to signing on with the Fullscreen team, Roe has worked at Razorfish, Edelman and New Media Strategies.
Fox News Channel has promoted ad sales executives Dominick Rossi, Frank Sorace and Sam Moser. Rossi will become senior vice president of eastern sales, Sorace senior vice president of sales planning and operations and Moser senior vice president of national sales.
“Their innovative insights and strategic partnerships have delivered record revenues for both networks and I am confident their leadership will help maximize our position in the marketplace and enhance our cross-portfolio capabilities,” said Marianne Gambelli, president of ad sales at Fox News Channel.
Rossi has been with Fox for the past decade and Moser for twelve years. Sorace has managed ad sales at Fox News Channel since its inception in 1996.
PetSmart has appointed a new executive vice president of marketing and customer experience in Joshua Kanter.
“Joshua is a highly experienced executive with a proven track record of building successful consumer-facing brands,” said Raymond Svider, executive chairman at PetSmart. “We continue to position the business for success as the leading brick-and-mortar and online company in pet specialty retail, and we are confident Joshua is the right leader to support our unique mission and brand.”
Kanter most recently served at Viking Cruises as senior vice president of marketing strategy, and before that was senior vice president of marketing at Caesars Entertainment.
Chipotle’s founder and CEO Steve Ells has announced plans to step down from the position once the company finds his replacement.
“While we are continuing to make progress, it is clear that we need to move faster to make improvements,” said Ells. “Simply put, we need to execute better to ensure our future success.”
Once the position is filled, Ells will assume the role of executive chairman.
Jeff Wachtel, current chief content officer at NBCUniversal, will leave his post to assume the title of president of NBCUniversal International Studios in London.
“The ability to produce for a local and a global audience is key to the future success of any major production company,” said Kevin MacLellan, chairman of global distrubtion at NBCUniversal. “Jeff is one of the few creative executives in the business who has proven time and again that he can deliver shows that work on both planes.”
Wachtel has been with NBCU for 16 years, first joining as an executive vice president of series and longform programming at USA Network in 2001. No replacement chief content officer has been announced yet.
Groupon has hired Colin Bodell as its chief technology officer.
“As Groupon’s marketplace continues to grow, we’re excited to bring on an engineering leader in Colin who can evolve our platform and help capture the immense opportunity in local,” said Groupon CEO Rich Williams. “Colin’s experience leading global engineering teams, building world-class software and deserved reputation as a strong advocate for diversity in engineering make him a tremendous fit to help lead Groupon’s continued success.”
Bodell has served as chief technology officer at both American Eagle Outfitters and Time, and has also worked as a senior engineer at Amazon.
Molly DeWold Swenson, RYOT co-founder and head of brand, will be departing the company by the end of the year.
“My departure comes at a time when RYOT’s impact and its future have never been more certain,” she told Variety.
Bob Reif has joined Millennial Esports Corp. as president, where he will attempt to forge ties between the esports company and traditional sports brands.
“I see many parallels between the growth of the traditional sports sector and the potential for growth in the emerging esports sector, with Millennial Esports leading the charge,” said Reif. “I’m confident my experience in the sports arena, particularly in the area of racing, will serve Millennial Esports well, and I’m excited to get started.”
Before Millennial, Reif served as executive vice president for the Indiana Motor Speedway and as CMO of the Indy Race League. Additionally, he was CMO of the St. Louis Rams.
Topgolf Entertainment Group has brought on new president Troy Warfield to replace Neil Allen, who is stepping down.
“Whether it’s through one of our venues or a driving range powered by Toptracer Range technology, Troy will advance Topgolf’s vision of being a global sports and entertainment community creating great times for all,” said Topgolf CEO Erik Anderson.
Prior to joining Topgolf, Warfield worked at British Airways as executive director of its management committee and director of customer experience, where he led more than 16,000 employees.
Tumblr CEO David Karp announced his retirement from the company after founding the website almost 11 years ago. Taking his place will be Jeff D’Onofrio, the company’s chief operations officer.
“I beg you to understand that my decision comes after months of reflection on my personal ambitions, and at no cost to my hopefulness for Tumblr’s future or the impact I know it can have,” Karp wrote in an email to Tumblr employees. “The internet is at a crossroads of which this team can play a fundamental role in shaping. You are in the driver seat, and I am so excited to see where you go!”
Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, announced that she will be stepping down from her position. Taking her place will be HPE’s current president, Antonio Neri.
“We have a much smaller, much nimbler, much more focused company,” Whitman said during a call with investors. “I think it is absolutely the right time for Antonio and a new generation of leaders to take the reins.”
Whitman has been with the company for six years, overseeing its bifurcation between its server and printer and PC businesses.
Unilever CEO Paul Polman will be retiring soon, and the company has announced a search for a replacement. Polman has led Unilever since 2009 and said that he does not expect to leave before the end of 2018.
The Golden State Warriors have hired Hunter Leigh as its head of esports, an entirely new role for the NBA franchise. So far, the team owns two esports teams, one for League of Legends and one for NBA 2K.
“I’m eager to hit the ground running as it relates to player acquisitions and building competitive teams for both League of Legends and the NBA 2K League,” Leigh said. “The Warriors have a proven model for championship success, and I am looking to bring their player development and analytical approach to the esports space.”
Before joining the Warriors, Leigh was head of esports operations at Yahoo, and prior to that worked at Riot Games as the North American League of Legends Championship Series product lead.
Mozilla is pushing to expand web-based social virtual reality, announcing a new VR and mixed reality platform team. The team will focus on producing hardware-agnostic tools for social VR.
“Unlike traditional online communication tools like text, voice and video, the promise of mixed reality is that you can be present with other people, much like real life, and engage with them in a more interactive way,” wrote Greg Fodor, Mozilla’s social mixed reality engineering manager. “You can make eye contact, nod your head, high five, dance and even play catch with anyone around the world, regardless of where you are.”
Yum! Brands has announced the appointment of Tanya Domier to its board of directors.
“Tanya’s extensive sales and marketing background, along with her leadership experience successfully running a customer-driven business, make her an excellent addition to the Yum! Brands Board,” said Robert Walter, non-executive chairman of Yum! Brands. “We’re thrilled to have Tanya join us during this exciting and transformative time for our company as we continue to evolve as the restaurant industry’s leading global franchisor.”
Currently, Domier has worked at Advantage Solutions since 2010 and as its CEO since 2013.
John Lasseter, senior creative executive at Pixar Animation, has announced taking a six-month leave of absence from both the studio and Walt Disney Animation.
“I especially want to apologize to anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of an unwanted hug or any other gesture they felt crossed the line in any way, shape, or form,” he wrote in an email reported on by The Wall Street Journal.
Helene Xu, SkySea’s vice president of marketing, has been promoted to senior vice president of sales and marketing, where she will be responsible for promoting the cruise line’s business in mainland China and the Asia Pacific region.
“Helene has rich experience in the cruise industry and is one of the earliest cruise management talents in China who has led the market to tremendous growth over the years,” said Ken Muskat, SkySea CEO. “Her promotion further supports SkySea’s commitment to the multi-homeport strategy in 2018 and our goal to further align SkySea’s shoreside sales and marketing teams to execute this strategy with success in the coming year.”
Prior to signing on with SkySea, Xu worked at Wyndham Hotel Group as vice president of marketing for the greater China region, and held the role of marketing director for Costa Cruises prior to that.
Peter Ruppe, Under Armour’s senior vice president of footwear, is departing the company after two years in the position and unchecked slowing of shoe sales. Ryan Drew, general manager for the sportswear company’s basketball division, is slated to serve as Ruppe’s successor.
Before joining Under Armour, Ruppe spent 20 years at Nike.
(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated daily until Friday, December 1. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)
Job Vacancies
| VP of Marketing | Fender | Los Angeles, CA |
| VP, Brand Marketing | Toys”R”Us | Wayne, NJ |
| VP of Marketing | Tender Greens | Culver City, CA |
| VP, Creative Development, New Platforms | Condé Nast | Seattle, WA |
| Sr. Director of Global Brand Licensing/Marketing | Ralph Lauren | New York, NY |
| VP, Brand Marketing | The Body Shop | New York, NY |
Make sure to check back for updates on our Jobs Page.
