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| Katie Welch |
Chanel names former Weber Shandwick EVP, global brands Katie Welch head of U.S. brand and company communications, a new role, effective Jan. 5. Welch was most recently global CMO at Rare Beauty. Before that, she served as general manager, beauty at The Honest Company and CMO at Hourglass Cosmetics. In her new post, she will oversee the integrated divisional brand communications teams and help amplify the Chanel Inc. story across the US. “Her deep understanding of brand storytelling, her collaborative leadership style, and her ability to connect with audiences through creativity and purpose make her uniquely suited to lead this next chapter for Chanel Inc. in the U.S.,” said Stéphane Blanchard, president of the U.S. region and Chanel Inc.
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| Marc Birtel |
Boeing is bringing former senior director, corporate communications Marc Birtel back to the company as director, employee and total rewards communications. Birtel was most recently director, international communications at Starbucks. He has also served as senior lead, executive communications at Micron Technology. In his first run at Boeing, which lasted over 20 years, Birtel held a variety of lead communications, media relations and brand management posts. He will now take on the company’s overall enterprise employee communication strategy, as well as partnering with HR leadership on the development and rollout of an all-new Total Rewards strategy.
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| Jess Berkin |
BARK Air, a dog-first hospitality and semi-private aviation brand, appoints Jess Berkin as VP of brand & marketing. Berkin was previously chief brand officer at real estate development, brand and design firm LEFT LANE. In addition to serving as global director of experiential marketing, luxury brands at Marriott International, she has held senior marketing and brand positions at Mint House, Porter & Sail and Makeready. At BARK Air, Berkin leads the brand’s end-to-end brand and marketing transformation—from a reimagined visual identity and editorial-forward social presence to the company’s first paid media strategy and new digital experience. “Jess brings a rare combination of creative vision, strategic rigor and a deep understanding of luxury hospitality that perfectly aligns with where BARK Air is headed,” said company president Michael Novotny.
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| Jamie Wolf |
SideChannel, a cybersecurity services and technology company, appoints Jamie Wolf as CMO. Previously, she led global marketing and partner teams at Cyderes, and she has headed up partnership-focused units at cyber-risk management companies Black Kite and Onapsis. In her new post, Wolf will work to elevate SideChannel’s brand, market growth, and go-to-market strategy. “Her experience connecting marketing, partnerships, and business growth will help us reinforce the trusted relationships that define SideChannel,” said SideChannel CEO Brian Haugli.
Steve Rice, who served as director of political mobilization for Boeing, joins DC-based bipartisan public affairs and strategic communications firm The Herald Group as SVP, overseeing its grasstops and 50-state field operations. 
Qorvis has named Victor Shiblie senior advisor to boost its international network and global business opportunities.
Pierre DuBois has taken the VP-public affairs post at AIB Data Centers, developer of the digital infrastructure for AI hosting and high-performance computing workloads.
Allison Worldwide names Victoria Brophy EVP, head of corporate and technology in Europe. Brophy comes to the firm from Golin Ketchum London, where as EVP she built and led the London Corporate Affairs practice... 
Signal Group, a DC-based public affairs firm, hires Josie Feron as director. Feron was most recently communications director for the Office of Congresswoman Deborah Ross (D-NC)... Moburst, a mobile-first digital agency driven by a proprietary AI program, appoints Etgar Shpivak as VP of marketing... Howard University hires Jasmine Gurley as senior director of public relations in the Office of University Communications.
