AT&T, Volkswagen, Global Road Appoint New Marketing Executives

AT&T has named Kirk McDonald as the chief marketing officer to its newly formed advertising and analytics company, in anticipation of its merger with Time Warner.

“Kirk brings invaluable experience in the media and advertising technology space,” said Brian Lesser, CEO of AT&T’s advertising and analytics company. “He is a transformational leader—one of many who will join AT&T as we invest in and build a new kind of advertising business.”

McDonald previously was president at PubMatic, an adtech company, and before that was Time, Inc. president of digital.

Volkswagen has tapped Jim Zabel for the role of senior vice president of marketing for its American division, beginning later this month.

“We are excited to welcome Jim at Volkswagen of America,” said Derrick Hatami, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Volkswagen of America. “His experience in building effective, integrated marketing campaigns and leading brand development in the automotive industry will serve as an asset for our growth strategy in the US market.”

Before joining the company, Zabel worked in automotive original equipment manufacturing, managing accounts for Hyundai and Honda.

Jack Pan has signed on with Global Road Entertainment as president of worldwide theatrical marketing to focus on international partnerships.

“I have known Jack for many years and he has proven time and again to be a savvy marketer that not only understands the strategy and building blocks necessary to launch an effective campaign, but he possesses the ability to successfully market to established and prospective audiences,” Rob Friedman, Global Road’s CEO, told Variety.

Pan most recently served as president of motion picture marketing at STX Entertainment, where he led marketing efforts on films such as The Gift and Bad Moms.

Panera Bread has re-acquired Au Bon Pain, reuniting the companies after 18 years apart. Additionally, Panera’s CEO, Ron Shaich, will be stepping down, appointing Blaine Hurst as his replacement.

“Blaine has been a key player in our efforts to transform Panera during the past half-decade,” said Shaich. “He is very well known and respected in our organization and in our industry for his innovative thinking, technological savvy and ability to drive change.”

Blaine has been with Panera since 2011, working under the title of senior vice president of technology and transformation, and led the company’s efforts to build its e-commerce platform.

Heidi Ueberroth, current president of investment firm Globicon, has joined Electronic Arts’ board of directors.

“At Electronic Arts, we continue to expand our global reach with our network, esports competitions and growing ecosystems of content engaging more players and driving new opportunities with partners, sponsors and media,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA. “Heidi Ueberroth brings extensive executive experience across sports branding, entertainment and international growth.”

Ueberroth has also served at the NBA for almost 20 years, most recently as president of NBA International.

Megan Colligan, Paramount Pictures’ president of worldwide distribution and marketing, is departing the company, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. 

Colligan had been with the company for 11 years and held her current title since 2014.

Nick DiCarlo, vice president of immersive products strategy for Samsung, announced plans to leave the company.

“Samsung has a strong commitment to Immersive is mobile, PC & services. The teams working on them are amazing!” he wrote over several Tweets. “For the last 3yrs, I’ve been inspired by the knowledge, creativity and talent of this community.”

Shoneel Kolhatkar, current product management director at Samsung, will take over DiCarlo’s duties for the foreseeable future, leading the team behind the Gear VR headset.

MLB’s president of business and media, Bob Bowman, announced that he will not renew his employment contract when it expires next month.

“With the recent completion of the sale of a majority stake in BAMTech to The Walt Disney Company, and recognizing the enormous talent pool that exists at MLB and MLB.com, it is an ideal time for new leadership,” said Bowman.

Serving at the baseball league for 17 years, Bowman additionally held the title of CEO of MLB Advanced Media, where he led all aspects of the company’s digital strategy.

Marijuana tech start-up Leafly has filled its chief executive officer slot, hiring Chris Jeffery for the role.

“Building on Leafly’s established position as the world’s leading cannabis information resource, we are expanding our focus on providing consumers the tools they need to discover and purchase cannabis products,” said Jeffery. “With unprecedented momentum for legalization worldwide, we are uniquely positioned to help consumers navigate this new legal landscape with reliable information and a personalized experience that saves time and money when making purchasing decisions.”

Jeffery was a co-founder of OrderUp, a food delivery service that was acquired in 2015 by Groupon.

Steve Krenzer has joined Groupon as the company’s chief operating officer, where he will oversee the company’s global marketing and business operations.

“The opportunity to add a high-horsepower e-commerce leader like Steve doesn’t come along very often,” said Groupon CEO Rich Williams. “His combination of industry savvy, deep operational experience and intimate understanding of digital marketing is equally rare. Steve will immediately put those skills to work as we continue to advance our vast local marketplace.”

Krenzer most recently served as CEO of Core Digital Media, a digital direct-response advertiser.

Stock-photo provider Getty Images has brought on Bill Shapiro as editor and vice president of consumer media, another step in expanding the company’s B2B licensing business.

“Bill has unparalleled experience in building preeminent editorial destinations,” said Dawn Airey, CEO of Getty Images. “Combine that with his passion for imagery and brilliance as a wordsmith, and I know we have someone who will drive our early consumer content to a worldwide audience who will be surprised, delighted and engaged with imagery that moves the world.”

Shapiro signs on from Fast Company, where he held the position of director of editorial and new business enterprises. He has also held roles at LIFE magazine, and was a founding editor for LIFE.com.

ESPN has named Cary Meyers as its senior vice president of fan and media intelligence, a research and analytics role to build advertiser interest in non-traditional sports programming.

“Cary is a seasoned research executive with a proven history of media research excellence who also has a passion for the world of sports and its changing landscape for today’s sports fan,” said Wanda Young, ESPN’s senior vice president of marketing and consumer engagement in a statement made available to Variety. “He will bring his commitment and passion to ESPN to lead our talented team to further develop the fan intelligence required to drive our business forward.”

Before joining ESPN, Meyers worked at NBCUniversal as senior vice president of ad sales research and strategy, and before that as the NFL’s first-ever director of research.

Ecco, a Danish footwear manufacturer, has appointed Constanze van de Sand as its latest marketing director for central Europe, succeeding Matthias Schwarte, who departed the company in late August.

Before joining Ecco, van de Sand worked as regional marketing manager for Cartier’s fragrance and eyewear divisions in northern Europe since 2013.

(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated daily until Friday, November 10. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)

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