Unilever names Braams as new marketing head in expanded role

(Reuters) – Consumer goods giant Unilever Plc (L:) on Tuesday appointed Conny Braams to the new post of chief digital and marketing officer, expanding the scope of a role previously held by advertising industry veteran Keith Weed.

Weed retired in May after leading Unilever’s marketing and communications department for nearly a decade, managing the world’s second-biggest ad budget after Procter & Gamble’s (N:).

He has also been credited for highlighting issues such as ad fraud and the way metrics are measured by tech giants like Facebook (O:).

Unilever Chief Executive Alan Jope had previously said https://www.marketingweek.com/unilever-keith-weeds-replacement-cmo the company would not hire a direct replacement for Weed, and instead would tack on additional responsibilities to the role of chief marketing officer, a job he described as “CMO++”.

Braams, currently executive vice president of middle Europe, joined Unilever in 1990, and has held a variety of marketing and general management roles across key European and Asian markets, Unilever said. She will begin her new role on Jan. 1.

“As our new Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, her experience will be critical to the transformation of Unilever into a future-fit, fully digitized organization,” Jope, himself a longtime marketer, said.

Braams is also likely to be tasked with executing Jope’s vision of building what he calls “brands with purpose”, which involves aligning brands with specific social concerns and issues.

The Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream maker also named Fabian Garcia, former chief executive officer of Revlon, as president of Unilever North America, its biggest market.

Garcia replaces Amanda Sourry, who will retire to “pursue new opportunities” after 30 years with the company, Unilever said.

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