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| Joe Ellis |
BGR Group hires Joe Ellis, who most recently helped lead the planning for President Trump’s recent trips to Qatar and the NATO Summit in the Netherlands, as a VP. Ellis was previously chief of staff to Rep. Max Miller (R-OH). Before that, he was VP and head of US government affairs and external campaigns at BP, in addition to serving as head of state & local affairs and head of strategy & planning for BP’s government and public affairs organization. During the George W. Bush administration, he served as assistant secretary for administration and management at HHS. “His breadth of experience as a chief of staff, senior executive, and top advance man for three presidents makes him stand out in Washington. He will be a tremendous asset to the firm and our clients,” said BGR president Erskine Wells.
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| Matt Simon |
Wills Group, which operates Dash In convenience stores and Splash In car washes, appoints Matt Simon as CMO, a new position at the company. Simon was most recently CMO at online learning company Penn Foster Group. He was previously chief brand experience officer for supermarket chain The GIANT Company and has also held senior marketing posts at Auntie Anne’s and Hershey. At Wills, Simon will support Dash In and Splash In’s multi-state expansion, with a focus on Dash In’s growth in North and South Carolina. He will also work to elevate all aspects of the brand experience, including the guest loyalty and e-commerce platform, Dash In Rewards. “Matt’s passion for brand building, guest experience, and channel optimization will ensure that Dash In and Splash In continue to set new standards in convenience retail,” said Wills Group president and CEO Julian B. Wills.
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| Adrianna Burrows |
Avalara, an AI-powered tax and compliance platform, brings on Adrianna Burrows as EVP, chief marketing officer. Burrows joins the company from Shopify, where she was head of global marketing. She previously held the CMO spot at PayScale, Cornerstone OnDemand and Stack Overflow, in addition to serving as general manager, Windows global marketing at Microsoft. At Avalara, Burrows will lead efforts to elevate Avalara's global brand, expand market awareness, and drive demand for the company's compliance solutions. Avalara has also named Shahan Parshad as SVP, chief information officer, overseeing the company's global IT, business systems and data infrastructure. "Adrianna and Shahan's leadership will be key as Avalara advances our marketing and technology strategy to fuel growth and innovation," said Avalara president Ross Tennenbaum.
ROKK Solutions has named Amy Fox chief corporate communications officer to oversee its new corporate affairs unit.
Orchestra adds Andrew Bates and Kristen Orthman to its advisory practice. Both of them worked in the Biden administration... DeepIntent, a healthcare demand-side platform, appoints Ian Colley as CMO... Fanatics Commerce, a direct-to-consumer platform within sports apparel and fan gear company Fanatics, names Jamie Gersch CMO... Cboe Global Markets, a global markets operator and pioneer in equity derivatives, hires Julie Bauer as SVP, head of government relations.
August brings on Andrew Jarrell as a managing director in its New York office. Jarrell comes to the agency from Group Gordon, where he most recently served as chief strategy officer... PSD, which produces activewear and underwear worn by and made for professional athletes, hires Dan Harbison as SVP of marketing and Monica Lin as VP of brand marketing... UKG, an AI platform that combines HR, pay and workforce management, names Vitor De Souza chief communications officer. 
Dezenhall Resources brings on Jessica DeLoach as VP. DeLoach was previously deputy director of public and media relations at the Southern Poverty Law Center... Crowe Media hires Alissa Kasawdish as senior integrated PR manager. Kasawdish was previously an account supervisor at J/PR... Benefitbay, a SaaS platform that lets users make their own benefit decisions, names Lindsey Unterberger as VP of marketing.
Catherine Sullivan, global chief communications officer at Burson, has exited the WPP unit after a 12-year run.
