Who it is: Elizabeth Cundiff-Kluhspies, appointed CMO of Lowenstein Sandler LLP, a national business law firm
What’s her role: Cundiff-Kluhspies will play a leadership role in the firm’s core practice areas and national platform.
Where was she prior: Since 2005, Cundiff-Kluhspies was practice development director for the Americas Disputes and Competition practice at White & Case.
Why was she appointed: “Beth’s experience and personal attributes are a great fit for Lowenstein Sandler,” said Gary M. Wingens, chairman and managing partner of Lowenstein Sandler LLP. “She has all the experience needed to build and lead a growth-oriented marketing organization, and possesses clear leadership skills, strategic and analytical thinking, and a native ability to work with talented and successful people. We are delighted to welcome her as CMO and look forward to her leadership of this critically important function.”
********************
Who it is: Jessie Becker, appointed CMO of Room 77, Inc., a hotel shopping service
What’s her role: Becker will oversee all marketing activities for the organization, including branding, customer acquisition, PR, and social media.
Where was she prior: Prior to Room 77, Inc., Becker was interim CMO at Netflix. Previously, she has worked at Amazon.com, Oracle, and IRI Software.
Why was she appointed: “We are extremely excited to have Jessie on board, she is incredibly driven and, with her decade of experience at Netflix, understands what it takes to make a startup into a global brand,” said Drew Patterson, CEO of Room 77. “Jessie is a major talent and she will be incredible asset to the Room 77 team.”
********************
Who it is: Maureen Kelly, appointed CMO of GoodData
What’s her role: Kelly will lead marketing and product management organization at the cloud business intelligence company.
Where was she prior: Kelly joins GoodData from 2 Be Bold, a boutique marketing and sales enablement consulting firm that she founded in 2011. Before 2 Be Bold, Kelly was senior director of product marketing at Symantec.
Why was she appointed: “Maureen brings modern marketing to GoodData, — putting a sharp customer focus on our product, our brand and our culture,” said Roman Stanek, founder and CEO of GoodData. “She’s known throughout the industry for arming sales teams with the insight, messages and stories that connect with customers. We are thrilled to welcome her to the GoodData team.”
********************
Who it is: Rick Jackson, appointed CMO of Rackspace, an open cloud company
What’s his role: Jackson will lead Rackspace’s global marketing strategy and execution.
Where was he prior: Most recently, Jackson served as CMO at VMware, where he was responsible for leading the company’s global marketing strategy since early 2009. Prior to joining VMware, Jackson has held chief marketing roles at Borland Software and BEA Systems.
Why was he appointed: “We are thrilled to have Rick Jackson join the leadership team at Rackspace, given his background in cloud computing and personal understanding of the incredible potential of hybrid cloud,” said Lew Moorman, President of Rackspace.
********************
Who it is: Colin Bettam, appointed CMO of Kobo, an eReading company
What’s his role: Bettam will be responsible for building and expanding the brand internationally across multiple disciplines, including marketing, brand and advertising, marketing communications, public relations, events, sponsorship, and corporate social responsibility.
Where was he prior: Prior to joining Kobo, Bettam was the VP of Marketing at LG Electronics. Before LG, Bettam held senior marketing roles at Coors Brewing Company, XM Satellite Radio, and McCain Foods.
Why was he appointed: “Kobo is experiencing tremendous growth around the world and continues to reach the most passionate Readers through strong bookseller and retail partnerships as well as large-scale brand campaigns,” said Mike Serbinis, CEO of Kobo. “We welcome Colin to the team and look forward to working with him on taking Kobo’s brand to the next level to engage those people who truly make Reading a priority in their lives.”
********************
Who it is: Phil Granof, appointed CMO of Black Duck, a software development and consulting company
What’s his role: Granof will oversee all marketing all of the company’s marketing initiatives.
Where was he prior: Previously, Granof served as Chairman and Founder of Protobrand, a branding firm. Prior to Protobrand, Granof worked with IBM, Samsung and Sprint.
Why was he appointed: “Phil’s unique set of skills and track record of success make him the perfect fit for Black Duck as we take our company into the future,” said Tim Yeaton, CEO of Black Duck. “As CMO, Phil will be instrumental in advancing Black Duck’s mission to help our customers increase their strategic use of open source while simultaneously strengthening our collaboration with the greater community. We look to Phil to help Black Duck ultimately become one of the world’s most admired technology brands.”
