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| Christine Baratta |
Global Situation Room hires Christine Baratta as director of news and editorial content. Baratta joins GSR from Bloomberg, where she led the radio production of its broadcast political shows from Washington, DC. She was previously communications director at DC-based public affairs consulting firm Allegiance Strategies. In her new role, Baratta will oversee GSR’s current podcasts and the development of new shows. “Christine brings the kind of extraordinary experience that can turbocharge our work on high-quality podcasts,” said GSR founder and president Brett Bruen. “She brings the skills and knowledge to help grow a world-class team of journalists and communications professionals.”
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| Melanie Upton |
History Factory, which helps organizations leverage their history and heritage to enhance their strategy, brand positioning, marketing, and communications, brings on Melanie Upton as VP of business development. Upton was most recently director of business development at IT services and consulting company Randall Reilly. Her areas of expertise also include recruiting and risk management. At History Factory, she will support the agency’s long-term goals for scalability and innovation driven by the needs of its clients and the marketplace.
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| Sean Gleason |
CEC Entertainment, LLC, appoints Sean Gleason as CMO for its flagship brand, Chuck E. Cheese, and virtual kitchen brands, including Pasqually's Pizza & Wings. Most recently, Gleason ran his own consulting firm, which worked with public- and privately held food & beverage brands. Before that, he was CMO at Dave & Buster's; served as senior VP, strategic marketing communications for Dr Pepper Snapple Group; and was VP of marketing communications at Pizza Hut. In his new post, Gleason will lead all marketing functions, menu innovation, guest insights and communications, as well as the brand's digital marketing and consumer journey initiatives.
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| Annalyse Keller, Kris Fetterman |
Seven Letter promotes Annalyse Keller to managing director and Kris Fetterman to senior director. Before joining Seven Letter as a senior director in 2021, Keller served as communications director for Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI). She currently co-hosts Seven Letter’s “Control” podcast alongside agency partner Brendan Buck. Fetterman, previously a director at Seven Letter, has worked as a writer for Melinda French Gates and her investment and incubation company, Pivotal Ventures and as speechwriter for U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).
Actum has hired Cecelia Prewett, who was president of DC Public Affairs at SKDK during a nearly 13-year run, as senior managing director in its Washington office.
Franz Paasche, who was most recently EVP for public affairs and communications at Columbia University, will join Verizon as EVP, corporate affairs, effective Nov. 10.
Horizon Family Brands, which includes Horizon Organic and Wallaby Organic yogurt, hires Andrew Springate as CMO... Wake Tech, a Raleigh, NC community college that serves over 70000 adults annually, brings on Lisa Marie Ferrell, who previously led North America communications at Lenovo, as VP of communications and marketing... Golin brings on executive creative director Meg Farquhar in Chicago, and EVPs of strategy Tom Howells (Western Region) and Martin Coomber (New York).
Hotwire Global appoints Burson global chief digital & intelligence officer Grant Toups as global CEO, effective in January.
Bader Rutter, which works with clients in the agriculture, food, beverage and pet care sectors, appoints Demar Anderson as CMO... Acceleration Community of Companies appoints Michael Moschella to lead its new insights division, ACC Intelligence... Luminate, a London-based shop focused on infrastructure and energy sectors, hires Osman Dervish as director—head of development... The Alpine Group promotes Alison Graab to principal from SVP.
