BSG Team Ventures Recruits Marketing Chief for Human Capital Institute

October 13, 2016 – Executive search firm BSG Team Ventures has placed Robert Birdsong as chief marketing officer at Human Capital Institute (HCI).
In this role, Mr. Birdsong will lead the strategy and execution of all marketing functions, positioning the HCI brand as a source of thought leadership for talent management leaders. His team will oversee all aspects of marketing, including content marketing, lead generation, data analytics, branding and event marketing.
Prior to joining HCI, Mr. Birdsong was with CEB Global where he developed and led marketing strategy to achieve product positioning, brand awareness and lead generation for CEB’s talent management solutions. Before that, he was vice president of marketing at SMS Holdings.
HCIÂ is a global association for strategic talent management and new economy leadership, and a clearinghouse for best practices within the sector. Its network of practitioners, Fortune 1000 and Global 2000 corporations, government agencies, global consultants and business schools contributes a stream of talent information.
In a related search, BSG Team Ventures recruited Courtney Vital to serve as chief learning officer at HCI. Todd Hand, a managing director at BSG Team Ventures, led that search. In this role, Ms. Vital will lead the function that provides professional development, certification, and training to HCI’s individual and corporate members. Her team oversees all aspects of educational strategy, program development, instructional design, delivery platforms, faculty management, and operational execution.
Founded as Boston Search Group in 1997 and rebranded in 2008, BSG Team Ventures focuses on identifying senior level leaders. The firm serves a wide range of clients, including public companies and not-for-profit organizations, but the greatest concentration of its work is with private equity firms and their portfolio companies to expand or upgrade management, and with venture capital firms and entrepreneurs to build teams for early stage businesses.
For almost two decades BSG Team Ventures has been an active participant in the growth of the education industry, with a track record that includes conducting more than 250 senior level searches.
Recruiting Chief Marketing Officers
As business becomes more global and complex, and power shifts from producers of goods and services to consumers, a CMOs responsibility of planning and coordinating an organization’s marketing activities has become much more challenging, according to recruiters specializing in the function.
With that said, companies continue to use executive search firms to fill this important C-level position. Here’s a look at a few recent assignments taken from the Hunt Scanlon archives:
- Polachi Inc. placed Julie Ginches as CMO of ViralGains, a leader in consumer-centric video distribution. Managing director Peter Polachi led the search. As a chief marketing officer with over 20 years of marketing experience, Ms. Ginches is recognized as an innovative digital change agent with a proven track for creating world class brands and marketing organizations.
- DHR International tapped Andy Donkin as chief marketing officer of Under Armour. Carlos Cata, a DHR managing partner in charge of the firm’s global CMO practice, and retail and consumer sector managing partner Frank Spencer, along with partner Julie Eakers, led the search. Mr. Donkin joins Under Armour from Amazon, where he served as head of worldwide mass and brand marketing.
- Calibre One recently recruited Jo Scarlett as chief marketing officer of PA Consulting Group. She joins from BT, where she was chief digital and marketing officer of the company’s global services division, leading an integrated marketing and communications function to support BT’s business in more than 180 countries around the world.
- Pi Executive recruited Angelique Bellmer Krembs as chief marketing officer of News America Marketing (NAM), a marketer and influencer for online and offline shoppers in the U.S. and Canada. Ms. Bellmer Krembs brings with her 22 years of expertise from PepsiCo, where she was known for leading iconic brands, including Pepsi, Mountain Dew and SoBe.
- Hanold Associates placed David Sarjantson as chief marketing officer at Denver-based Fortis Private Bank. Formerly with Microsoft as director of search engagement and relationship marketing, Mr. Sarjantson has extensive marketing experience in both transformative and growth environments.
- Accelent recruited Maria Pousa as chief marketing officer of Integral Ad Science (IAS). Most recently, Ms. Pousa served as senior vice president of global marketing at Mediaocean.
- Work&Partners LLC placed Mark Lewis as the first chief marketing officer for Clarity Solution Group, LLC. Mr. Lewis was formerly the practice lead at Slalom Consulting where he led marketing and development of the company’s products.
- Howard Fischer Associates placed Ruth Gaviria as chief marketing officer of Entercom Communications. Ms. Gaviria was previously executive vice president of corporate marketing at Univision, where she structured an integrated marketing organization, directed the brand strategy and architecture for the company’s portfolio of brands, developed an audience strategy and executed three highly successful Upfront presentations on the road to the company’s intended IPO.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media