Alice Zea, chair of list management and brokerage firm AZ Marketing, Cos Cob, CT, has sold shares to six new owners as part of restructuring of the company she founded in 1976 to prepare it for emerging opportunities in the direct marketing industry.
The restructuring will ensure the continuity of AZ as a company and allocate the proper personnel and resources to deal with growth, said president and chief operating officer Richard Holpp.
AZ has appointed Theresa Horn senior vice president of list brokerage; Elyssa Cunningham, senior vice president of list management; Margaret Kabasakalian, vice president of human resources and corporate services; and Tim Falvey senior vice president of corporate strategy and client development. Falvey will work with Holpp to identify new areas of revenue growth and determine where AZ should be in 2005 and beyond.
Holpp, Horn, Cunningham, Falvey and Nick Schellong have been granted shares in the company with Zea retaining majority ownership. Zea, who has wanted to play less of a role in day-to-day operations, will retain the title of chairman while Holpp takes over many of her duties.
“We went from a diverse to a structured hierarchy,” Holpp said. “We needed to find out what else can we do for our client base and industry and where is the direct marketing business going in the years to come. This whole business is changing so dramatically because marketers want more efficient ways to reach their client base.”
These shifts will open up opportunities for companies like AZ, Holpp said.
