Digital people on the move: StubHub and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf have new marketing leaders

Now that Halloween has come and gone, it’s time again for us to round up major new hires and promotions in the digital marketing space. While brands and agencies are busy preparing for this holiday season, StubHub, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Havas Worldwide, EVB, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) recruited digital talent over the past month to accelerate innovation.

Jennifer Betka becomes the new chief marketing officer at StubHub

Ticket marketplace StubHub has appointed Jennifer Betka as chief marketing officer (CMO). In her new role, Betka will spearhead the team to deliver a more personalized experience to StubHub users, ultimately helping StubHub move beyond being a purely transactional company and into a more end-to-end platform.

Prior to StubHub, Betka served as senior vice president (SVP) of Wikia, where she developed and directed all consumer and B2B marketing strategies to position and grow the brand, tripling its user base. Before that, she held strategic marketing and management roles with major media companies such as the Los Angeles Times, Sirius Satellite Radio, Time Warner, and AOL.

Along with this new hire, StubHub has named Estanis Martín de Nicolás the international general manager. He most recently managed PayPal for Spain and Portugal. Earlier in his career, he held a multiple senior marketing roles at eBay.

Adam Tabachnikoff oversees the global marketing team at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Specialty coffee and tea retailer The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has made Adam Tabachnikoff the SVP of global brand strategy. Tabachnikoff will be in charge of the company’s new product innovation, merchandising, advertising, local store marketing, Web and digital services, loyalty platforms, as well as internal and external communications. He will report directly to CEO, John Fuller.

With more than 20 years of experience in marketing, Tabachnikoff most recently served as VP of marketing activation and product innovation at Church’s Chicken, where he helped with the company’s new brand positioning and launch of a new digital marketing platform. He also oversaw new product development, calendar planning, merchandising, strategic partnership marketing, promotions, and public relations.

Prior to Church’s Chicken, Tabachnikoff held a few senior marketing roles at Burger King Corporation.

The IAB promotes Joe Laszlo to VP of industry initiatives

The IAB has elevated Joe Laszlo to the role of VP of industry initiatives. Laszlo will help set the agenda for critical industry groups and ensure the high quality of their deliverables in the form of research, best practices development, thought leadership seminars, white papers, and other activities. He will report to Anna Bager, SVP and general manager of mobile and video at the IAB.

Laszlo previously served as senior director of the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. Before the IAB, Laszlo worked for Jupiter Research, conducting research and writing about mobile interactivity.

Two key hires at Havas Worldwide

Toygar Bazarkaya has joined Havas Worldwide as chief creative officer for the Americas. For this newly created position, Bazarkaya will focus on strengthening the agency’s creative capabilities and building a community among creative teams throughout North and South America.

Bazarkaya came to Havas Worldwide from BBDO New York, where he served as executive creative officer for six years. Before that, he was chief creative officer of BBDO in Germany. To date, Bazarkaya’s work has won more than 600 awards for his clients, including over 20 Cannes Lions for numerous brands.

Additionally, Matt Howell has been hired as the new global chief digital officer of Havas Worldwide. Previously, Howell served as global chief digital officer for Arnold Worldwide beginning in 2011, and then for Havas Creative Group from 2012 to 2014. His experience also includes more than three years at R/GA, where he oversaw the creation of NIKEiD and Nike+.

Valerie Carlson joins agency EVB from SapientNitro

Valerie Carlson has been named the new executive creative director of design innovation at EVB. In this role, Carlson will be responsible to create innovative solutions for the agency’s clients. She will work out of EVB’s Oakland office and report to founder and CEO Daniel Stein.

Prior to EVB, Carlson held the role of global innovation lead at SapientNitro in Los Angeles, where she oversaw the experience, design, and content teams. Her prior experience also includes serving as VP of creative at Razorfish for 13 years, where she created marketing and product solutions for a range of global brands. Carlson also spent seven years teaching graphic design at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.

Homepage image via Flickr.