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| Aaron McLear |
Open AI names former Edelman US chair, public affairs Aaron McLear as VP, communications. McLear most recently served as senior counsel at Bully Pulpit International. Before that, he was VP, communications and analytics at self-driving vehicle manufacturer Cruise and director of corporate, internal and production communications at Uber. From 2007 to 2011 he was press secretary for the office of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he also held senior communications posts with the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign. According to the Financial Times, OpenAI plans to produce its first artificial intelligence chip next year in partnership with U.S. semiconductor giant Broadcom.
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| Monica Trauzzi |
The Smart Electric Power Alliance, a 501(c)(3) organization with over 1,000 members that drives collaboration across the electric power industry to accelerate the transition to a clean, affordable and resilient electricity system for all, appoints Monica Trauzzi as CCO. Trauzzi joins SEPA from Invariant where, as a senior director, she developed and executed integrated communications and sustainability strategies for Fortune 100 companies and startups. Before that, she led external communications and climate finance strategy at the Nuclear Energy Institute. In her new role, Trauzzi will direct SEPA’s marketing, brand and external communications strategies, and lead the Public Utilities Fortnightly team at SEPA. “Monica is a dynamic communicator whose career has been dedicated to elevating energy conversations at the highest levels,” said SEPA president & CEO Sheri Givens. “As SEPA’s Chief Communications Officer, she will sharpen our brand and amplify our voice across the industry.”
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| Debbie Umbach |
M-Files, an AI-native document management system, brings on Debbie Umbach as CMO. Umbach was most recently CMO of Own, a data resilience, compliance and security solutions company that was acquired by Salesforce in February. She previously held senior global marketing leadership roles at Dynatrace and Bitsight. M-Files recently become the first document management vendor to offer native Microsoft 365 capabilities. “Her deep expertise across the entire marketing lifecycle, from building growth engines to elevating global brand presence, comes at a pivotal moment for M-Files,” said M-Files CEO Jay Bhatt.
The Walt Disney Company names Asad Ayaz to lead its newly established enterprise marketing and brand organization... Kaiser Permanente, which provides integrated healthcare services, is bringing on Beth Leonard as SVP and chief public affairs officer, effective Feb. 2. Leonard was most recently chief corporate affairs officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance... AIC Hotel Group, which operates such brands as Nobu Hotels, Hard Rock Hotels, AVA Resort and Spa and the UNICO Collection, hires Delia Osegueda as VP, global partnerships.
Sarah Knakmuhs, who formerly led H/Advisors Abernathy’s DC office, is joining the Financial Services Forum as chief communications and strategy officer.
Brian Hughes, chief of staff at NASA, has joined Mercury Public Affairs as a partner in its Tallahassee office.
Narrative Strategies brings on Stacia Tipton as managing director... Prosek Partners promotes Deirdre Bolton, Josh Clarkson and Jon Schwartz to partner... YAP Global, an international digital assets PR firm, promotes Otto Jacobsson, who has served as CFO of the firm since 2020, to CEO. 
Cindy Leggett-Flynn, who most recently led communications at Credit Suisse, is coming on board at Swiss multinational private bank and wealth management firm Julius Baer Group as group head of communications.
