Who it is: Paul M. Okimoto, named CMO of Sports Authority
What’s his role: He’s responsible for leading the strategic development and oversight of the company’s overall marketing plans to drive traffic and sales at stores and through the e-commerce platform.
Where was he prior: Okimoto most recently served as VP of marketing at RadioShack. Previously, he served as VP of corporate marketing at The Nielsen Company and head of integrated marketing communications at AT&T Wireless.
Why was he appointed: “Paul’s expertise in acquiring and retaining profitable customers and identifying new market opportunities and strategic partnerships will be extremely valuable to Sports Authority,” says chairman and CEO Darrell Web.
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Who it is: Grant Johnson, named CMO of SDL, a marketing technology company
What’s his role: Johnson is charged with maximizing returns on marketing and sales investments SDL made in 2013 and improving the company’s execution.
Where was he prior: Until this appointment, he was CMO of Pegasystems. He previously served as director of marketing at Symantec and VP of marketing at both FileNet and FrontBridge.
Why was he appointed: “Appointing Grant is an important step for SDL. We have leading technology in social media management, marketing analytics, and content management, but we have historically under-invested in marketing,” says founder and CEO Mark Lancaster.
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Who it is: Maria Veltre, named CMO of Fifth Third Bancorp, which operates more than 1,300 full-service banks and 100 Bank Marts within grocery stores
What’s her role: She will be called upon to use her extensive digital marketing experience to help drive further progress in developing the bank’s brand.
Where was she prior: Most recently CMO for small business at Citibank, Veltre also held marketing leadership positons at JPMorgan Chase and GE Capital over 27 years in financial services.
Why was she appointed: “She has a proven track record in creating strategies to target untapped opportunities while leading high-performance teams,” says Todd Clossin, EVP and chief administrative officer.
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Who it is: Eric C. Mueller, named CMO of Electronic Commerce International, a provider of payment processing systems
What’s his role: He will work with sales to help define product packages that are relevant to merchants.
Where was he prior: He was most recently CMO of Post University in Waterbury, CT, and previously led SEM at Refinery, Inc. and was manager of strategy consulting at Medical Broadcasting Company (now Digitas Health).
Why was he appointed: “He is an incredibly talented executive with the rare ability to deeply understand technology, brand strategy, analytics, and the needs of today’s CMOs,” says CEO Jim Anderson.
