Wal-Mart is turning to its marketing chief in China to shape how it relays its message to shoppers in the U.S.
The world's largest retailer named Tony Rogers as chief marketing officer for the U.S. Friday. He will report to Greg Foran, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. division starting in mid-January. Rogers, a 10-year-veteran at the company, has been the head of marketing and social media in China for two years.
Rogers succeeds long-time marketing chief Stephen Quinn, who retires next month.
Wal-Mart has also beefed up its marketing muscle by hiring former Target marketing executive Michael Francis as consultant. Francis is best known for his nearly 30-year career at Target, where he helped create the discounter's cheap-chic image through whimsical advertising.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in a shift, is focusing on higher-income shoppers where it sees more growth. But it's still a tricky feat. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company announced in October that annual profit could fall as much as 12 percent for its fiscal 2017 as it invests heavily online and in its stores. The retailer is facing increasing competition from online players like Amazon.com and from dollar-store chains.
Prior to moving to China, Rogers worked for eight years in the Wal-Mart's marketing division. Before joining Wal-Mart, Rogers spent several years with Pepsi-Co's Frito-Lay division.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More