Rick Waters
Rick Waters

Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm, hires Rick Waters as managing director, China. Waters will be based in Washington, DC. He joins Eurasia Group after a 27-year career at the US State Department, where he most recently served as China coordinator and secretary of state for China and Taiwan. He also oversaw the creation of the Office of China Coordination, informally known as China House. At Eurasia Group, Waters leads the firm's China expertise and client offerings. His research interests include China's global and regional diplomacy, US-China relations, and China's domestic political economy. “His deep analytical understanding of the issues and hands-on experience negotiating with Chinese authorities will help our clients grasp the complexities of China's relationship with the world,"

Dan Lowden
Dan Lowden

Blackbird.AI, a narrative and risk intelligence company, brings on Dan Lowden as CMO. Lowden most recently served as CMO at cybersecurity firm HUMAN, which was named to the TIME100 Most Influential Companies of 2023. He has also held the CMO spot at cybersecurity companies Digital Shadows and Invincea, as well as leadership positions at vArmour, IBM ThinkPad, NEC Technologies and Sharp Electronics. Lowden will lead Blackbird's global marketing efforts, working to share the company story and build strategic relationships with chief communications officers, chief information security officers and other decision-makers. “His cybersecurity expertise will be key to the creation of this new category and telling the real-world stories behind it so that prospective customers better understand the threats they're up against,” said Blackbird.AI CEO and co-founder Wasim Khaled,

Oakberry
Bruno Cardinali,
Leandro Gasparin

OAKBERRY, which sells açaí bowls and smoothies at more than 600 locations in 35 countries, names Bruno Cardinali as global head of marketing and Leandro Gasparin as head of business, North America. Both were most recently at Restaurant Business International, where Cardinali served as CMO at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Gasparin was VP, franchise operations for the US & Canada. They both previously worked for RBI’s Burger King brand. In their new roles, they are tasked with guiding Oakberry through aggressive expansion plans in the U.S. and globally, including more than 150 new stores in 2023. “By bringing Bruno and Leandro onto our team, their experience and leadership will fast-track our expansion both in the U.S. and globally," said Oakberry founder and CEO Georgios Frangulis.