Nagisa Manabe, the Procter & Gamble-trained consumer marketer brought in by the Postal Service three years ago, officially resigned as CMO in mid-March. Her last day on the job will be May 22.
The former brand manager of Ivory Soap who went on to burnish her credentials in CPG marketing at Diageo and Johnson & Johnson was the force behind the USPS‘s “Priority: You” branding, as well as the “This Is Our Season” campaign to increase package business share during the most recent holiday season.
“Nagisa has been a strong contributor to our team,” said Postmaster General Megan Brennan in a letter announcing her plans to leave. “She elevated our approach to pricing, product and service development, and marketing strategy, and brought the organization closer to our customers through a higher level of engagement.”
Addressing Manabe’s departure at the Catalog Forum in Washington today, American Catalog Mailers Association president Hamilton Davison noted that both the Postal Board of Governors and the Postal Regulatory Commission encourage USPS management to bring in outside talent, but that it’s often easier said than done.
“The Postal Service tries to bring people in from the outside, but it’s intimidating for them. It’s really hard to come into the Postal Service from outside and be successful,” Davison said. “What I can say about Nagisa is that she got it about catalogs.”
The Postal Service has not announced any information concerning a possible successor.
