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| Julie McClain Downey |
Global Strategy Group names former US Department of Labor assistant secretary for public affairs Julie McClain Downey as VP in its Washington, DC office. Before joining the Biden Administration in February 2023, Downey was VP of strategic communications at Democratic PAC American Bridge, leading communications during the 2022 election cycle. She has also served as senior director of advocacy communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and senior director of campaign communications at EMILYs List. “Julie is an extremely talented communicator and team leader, who has the ability to both anticipate what’s coming around the corner and cultivate a longer-term vision,” said former acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, who worked with Downey at DOL.
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| Richard McLeod |
Merrell, a hiking and outdoor footwear brand, brings on Richard McLeod as CMO. McLeon was most recently VP, CMO at apparel brand Champion. Before that, he served as SVP of brand at Canada Goose and general manager at Foot Locker Canada, as well as holding senior marketing posts at LMVH, Pernot Ricard and Bacardi. In his new post, McLeon will lead Merrell's global marketing, working to further cement its position as a global leader in the outdoor active and lifestyle space. “Rich is widely recognized as a consumer-obsessed leader and builder of talent with a track record of growing brands through strong consumer demand creation and retail execution," said Merrell global brand president Janice Tennant.
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| Jess Grant |
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry appoints Jess Grant as VP of North America. Before joining RLYL, Grant held senior posts at BioStrata and Publitek North America. She has also worked as a marketing and communications consultant. Based with the lorries’ West Coast team, Grant will oversee day-to-day client servicing, spearhead strategy and support the growth of the agency’s B2B tech portfolio. “Her deep b2b tech experience across a range of sectors that we specialize in will be a huge asset for many of our U.S. and international clients,” said RLYL managing director of North America Meredith L. Eaton.
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.
