Who it is: Patrick Blair, appointed CMO of WellPoint, a health care provider that serves more than 60 million people
What’s his role: He will be responsible for leading all marketing initiatives and partnering with WellPoint’s leadership team to drive profitable growth across all WellPoint’s business segments including commercial, Medicare, Medicaid and specialty.
Where was he prior: Blair was most recently the chief marketing and development officer at Amerigroup, which was acquired by WellPoint last year. Previously he served as a health care industry consultant specializing in growth strategy, product development, and post-merger integration
Why was he appointed: “Patrick’s leadership and experience in both government and employer-sponsored health care will help position us for continued success, especially as we engage more directly with consumers,” says Ken Goulet, executive vice president of Commercial and Individual business at WellPoint.
Who it is: Chris Mancini, named CMO of Reply.com, a provider of online advertising to local businesses that recently announced attaining a level of one million ad space auctions per day.
What’s his role: He is being asked to apply his experience in online advertising and strategic partnerships to continue to serve the needs of advertisers during a period of substantial growth.
Where was he prior: Mancini was most recently EVP and general manager at QualityHealth, where he was responsible for consumer experience, client marketing, operations, media, client services and analytics. Before that, he was SVP and GM at QuinStreet.
Why was he appointed: “We’re thrilled to have Chris join the Reply.com team. We have seen significant increase in budgets from advertisers using our marketplace, and we anticipate this trend to continue in 2013 and beyond,” said Payam Zamani, founder and CEO of Reply.com.
Who it is: Mark Mortimer, named to the newly created position of EVP, Sales & Marketing, Chief Customer Officer at Annie’s Inc., a natural and organic food company.
What’s his role: Mortimer, who has been Annie’s Chief Customer Officer since 2010, will expand his responsibilities to cover all sales and marketing functions within the company.
Where was he prior: Before joining the company in 2006, he was SVP of Business Development at ConAgra Foods and VP of Sales for the club and mass channels at Del Monte Foods.
Why was he appointed: “Mark is an exceptional leader and a standard bearer of the Annie’s culture, mission, and values that are so important to us and to our consumers, and I am excited about the contributions he will make by integrating our strong sales and marketing capabilities to further drive success,” says Annie’s CEO John Foraker.
Who it is: Rob Pickell, named the first Chief Marketing Officer of Kareo, a cloud-based medical office software provider for small practices.
What’s his role: Pickell will be responsible for marketing, sales and strategic alliances.
Where was he prior: He was CMO and SVP of Strategy for HireRight, a human capital management SaaS provider. Previously, Pickell was VP of Worldwide Marketing at Quantum Corp. Earlier, EVP of Escrow.com, and VP of Partner Marketing for Stamps.com .
Why was he appointed: “Rob’s experience in software technology and marketing as well as creating and implementing growth strategies is perfectly aligned with our goals for 2013,” says Dan Rodrigues, founder and CEO of Kareo.
Who it is: Robert Paulus, promoted to CMO of LTC Global, a distributor of senior market insurance products.
What’s his role: He will oversee the marketing and agency sales functions of the company’s distribution subsidiaries, including ACSIA Long Term Care, United Insurance Group, and Senior Wealth Care.
Where was he prior: Paulus is a five-year veteran of LTC, and most recently managed its lead processing and distribution activities
Why was he appointed: “Bob has built an impressive record of achievement during his tenure at LTC Global, and this is a well deserved promotion,” says CEO Richard Pitbladdo.
