Remi Kent
Remi Kent

Progressive Insurance names Remi Kent chief marketing officer, effective November 1. Kent comes to Progressive from 3M, where she most recently served as senior VP and global chief marketing for its consumer business group. Before coming to 3M in 2013, she held several executive marketing positions at Procter & Gamble. Kent will report directly to Progressive president and CEO Tricia Griffith and will serve on the company’s executive leadership team. She succeeds Jeff Charney, who annonced plans to retire in March. “With more than 20 years of marketing experience, she has a proven track record of working with and leading well-known global brands, and I'm confident she's the right person to continue to move our brand forward," said Griffith. "Her creativity and data-driven decision making aligns with ours and I know she'll be a great fit for our culture.”

The Food Group
Don Dunbar,
Meghan Flynn

The Food Group, a WPP company specializing in food and culinary marketing, hires Don Dunbar as executive creative director and Meghan Flynn as public relations director. Dunbar joins The Food Group from Chicago-based gyro, where he was creative director. He was previously associate creative director at DDB Chicago and has worked at Chicago Creative Partnership and Cramer-Krasselt. At The Food Group, Dunbar will lead the creative team and work closely with social, digital, and experiential leads. Flynn served as director of communications and community at specialty food retailer The Fresh Market and has held executive positions at Foodminds and Coyne PR. “We are thrilled to have such tenured experts in their respective fields who are also ingrained in the food world join our team,” said The Food Group CEO Mark Cotter.

Motion
Elizabeth Kennedy, Matthew Kowal

The Motion Agency hires Elizabeth Kennedy as executive vice president of strategy. Kennedy has served in marketing, advertising and omnichannel roles at agencies including DDB and FCB. She has a track record of supporting business growth across such categories as CPG, retail, personal care and healthcare. At The Motion Agency, Kennedy will leverage her experience in leading positioning, creative development, launching and relaunching brands, to develop strategies for the agency’s clidents. Matthew Kowal will also be joining the strategy team as vice president of strategy and planning. Kowal joins Motion from TracyLocke, where he served as strategy director. He has also worked at Havas, Ogilvy and Digitas. In his new position, he will provide thought leadership and identify new areas of growth. “I look forward to seeing how they guide strategy and planning for our clients,” said The Motion Agency founder and CEO Kimberly Eberl.

Marketing for Change
Aaron Metzger,
Emily Clarendon

Marketing for Change brings on Aaron Metzger and Emily Clarendon as senior researchers. Metzer was an associate professor in the department of psychology at West Virginia University, where he served as the principal investigator for clients including the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug Administration; the National Science Foundation; and The John Templeton Foundation. Clarendon most recently served as senior director of community engagement and qualitative research at the Rocky Mountain Partnership in conjunction with Girl Effect in Colorado.