Digital marketing people on the move: GE has a new CMO
This is a roundup of new hires and promotions in the digital marketing industry during September of 2015.
Last September, the biggest recruiting news was perhaps Linda Boff’s promotion to chief marketing officer (CMO) at General Electric (GE). In addition to GE, Spotify, DDB Worldwide, and Viacom aggressively hired marketing talent as well.
Linda Boff Replaces Beth Comstock as CMO at GE
GE has promoted Linda Boff to be the company’s CMO. According to a statement from GE, in this position, Boff will “lead the company’s digital industrial marketing strategy, intensify commercial and customer impact, and continue to accelerate GE’s brand.” Additionally, Boff will report to former CMO, Beth Comstock, who is now the first female vice chair at GE.
Boff joined GE in 2003, where she most recently served as executive director of global digital marketing. Her experience also includes CMO at NBC’s iVillage as well as director of marketing and communications at Citigroup.
Brian Benedik Leads Advertising Sales at Spotify
Spotify has promoted Brian Benedik to the newly created position of global head of advertising sales. In his new role, Benedik will spearhead the sales strategy and organization across Spotify’s 58 markets.
Prior to this promotion, Benedik served as vice president of North American ad sales for Spotify, where he grew the advertising business exponentially and built a team across the U.S. Before that, he was president of Katz 360, the digital sales arm of the Katz Media Group. Here he helped build the largest online audio sales network and created the emerging Digital Audio Ad marketplace.
New Management Structure at DDB Worldwide in Asia Pacific
DDB Worldwide has a new management structure in the Asia Pacific region.
John Zeigler, who was chairman and chief executive (CEO) of DDB Asia Pacific India and Japan, has announced his retirement from the agency. On October 1, 2015, he accepted the role of chairman Emeritus of DDB Asia Pacific.
David Tang has been appointed as CEO of DDB Asia, and he will be responsible for managing DDB offices in Southeast Asia, Greater China, Japan, and Korea. Tang will report to Chuck Brymer, CEO of DDB Worldwide.
Prior to this promotion, Tang was CEO of DDB Group in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO and managing director (MD) of DDB Mudra Group in India, will now report directly to Brymer. Martin O’Hallaran, chairman and CEO of DDB Group in Australia and New Zealand, will also report directly to Brymer.
Julian Zilberbrand Named Executive Vice President of Audience Science at Viacom
Viacom has appointed Julian Zilberbrand as executive vice president of audience science. Beginning October 19 of this year, Zilberbrand will oversee three key areas in the data strategy division: Audience Onboarding and Segmentation, Advanced Analytics, and Digital Media Executions. He will report to Kern Schireson, executive vice president of data strategy and consumer intelligence.
Before Zilberbrand joined Viacom, he served as executive vice president of activation standards, insights and technology, at ZenithOptimedia, where he managed the activations standards, digital operations, analytics, technology, and strategic partnerships groups. Prior to this position, Zilberbrand was senior vice president and global digital director of strategic partnerships and technology solutions at Starcom Mediavest Group. Zilberbrand’s experience also includes product development and operational roles at Eyeblaster and Doubleclick.
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