Prudential Financial will move communications and PR under advertising chief Colin McConnell on the 2015 retirement of chief communications officer Bob DeFillippo.
DeFillippo plans to step down in the first quarter of 2015 after 20 years with the Newark-based insurance and financial services giant.
Prudential said McConnell will take a newly created role of chief brand officer, overseeing global brand identity, PR, brand marketing and advertising, internal comms. and executive event planning.
DeFillippo was director of public affairs for AARP before joining Prudential in1994. He started out in journalism with the Poughkeepsie Journal before serving as press secretary to Rep. Hamilton Fish (R-N.Y.).
Prudential vice chair Mark Grier said DeFillippo was instrumental in shaping the company's reputation, noting his guidance through key events like its demutualization and IPO in 2001, the financial crisis, and its global expansion. "As he retires, Prudential is one of the most admired companies in the world," said Grier.
McConnell is another longtime Prudential hand who earlier. He joined in 1991 and took over advertising in 2009. He was also an executive speechwriter for the company. Grier said McConnell is "ideally suited" to join the resources of its global communications and advertising operations.
Agency vet Scot Hoffman is VP of global comms. and head of corporate and international business communications for Prudential.
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