An overhaul of the Direct Marketing Association’s staff — part of an effort by its new president/CEO to refocus the organization’s resources — resulted in the elimination of three senior executives, the DMA said yesterday.
The DMA is revamping its command structure so it can streamline operations. Gone are:
* Michael L. Faulkner, senior vice president of segments and affiliates.
* Christopher C. Gallagher, senior vice president of conferences.
* David M. Smith, senior vice president of marketing and business development.
The staff shakeup results from an operations review by new president/CEO John A. Greco Jr., who took over in mid-August. In an interview yesterday, Greco told DM News that the positions were not eliminated for performance reasons.
“These are the results of a fairly intensive review,” he said. “We’re better aligning and focusing our resources. We’re breaking down internal organizational silos and bringing together functions and creating value for the members.”
Greco also led a staff overhaul at the Yellow Pages Integrated Marketing Association, where he was president/CEO from 2000 to 2003. But Greco said he did not come to the DMA intent on a similar reorganization.
“Before I came in, I talked with the board and assumed I had the ability to do some things,” he said. “The board said, ‘We’ll support you.’ I reviewed everything with the executive committee. There was no mandate. The charge was to go in and take a look. If I needed to make changes, go ahead. If things were fine, I’d leave them alone. The feedback I heard from every circle was that we have to break down these silos.”
All full-time senior vice president positions make six-figure salaries, according to the DMA’s 2001 tax return, which was the last to list executive salaries. However, Greco said that saving money isn’t the goal of the reorganization and that the DMA could even wind up spending more money as it builds the new management structure.
A telephone call to Faulkner was not returned yesterday. Smith and Gallagher declined comment. All three will depart the DMA on Friday, a spokesman said.
Faulkner, formerly national product manager at Dun & Bradstreet, has been with the DMA for 12 years, initially serving as vice president of membership development. Gallagher, former senior vice president of conferences, administration and communications at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, joined the DMA in 1993 as senior vice president of conferences and international services. Smith, former chief marketing officer of Prefer Network, came to the DMA in 2001 as vice president of business and strategic development.
As part of the realignment, several DMA executives received promotions. These include:
* Patricia Kachura, vice president of ethics and consumer affairs, was promoted to senior vice president of ethics and consumer affairs.
* Stephen Michaele, director of information technology, becomes CIO and vice president of information technology.
* Kenneth P. Ebeling, director of membership development, received a promotion to vice president of membership development.
Ebeling will report to another senior vice president who will take over all membership functions and affiliate programs. That position has not been filled.
The DMA’s marketing and international business development and government affairs programs will report directly to Greco for the immediate future. The Internet Alliance will report to Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president for government affairs.
All conference, seminar and education programs eventually will report to a new senior executive in charge of education and conferences. Until that position is filled, Anne Schaeffer, senior vice president of professional development, training and councils, will oversee these areas. Schaeffer will play a “critical role in the continuing evolution of the association,” the DMA said.
Strategic information, library and research will report to Marcel Schloss, senior vice president and chief financial officer, until all senior positions are filled. Two other promotions, also part of the reorganization, were announced internally last week, the DMA said. These are:
* Louis Mastria, director of public and international affairs, is now vice president of communications.
* Robyn Brown was named manager of the office of the president.
