LPA Search Partners Assists Syniti with Chief Marketing Officer Search
April 14, 2021 – Anna McCormick, co-CEO of LPA Search Partners, recently assisted Syniti, an enterprise data management company, in the recruitment of Kate Reed as its new chief marketing officer. “Kate has a strong reputation for transformational marketing initiatives that stand out and grow demand,” said Kevin Campbell, CEO of Syniti. “Her appointment could not have come at a better time as we look to build on our record growth, continue our momentum with partners, and accelerate our engagement with enterprises to unlock the power of their data to make better decisions, faster.” Ms. Reed is a technology marketing veteran with over 15 years of experience building and growing customer acquisition programs that create both short and long-term business impact. She will oversee Syniti’s global marketing strategy and execution, including messaging and product positioning, customer engagement and experiential campaigns to drive pipeline growth.
Ms. Reed previously served as chief marketing officer at IBM Security, where she led more than 150 global marketers responsible for the company’s multibillion dollar portfolio of offerings and services. She also formerly held various leadership roles within IBM’s data management and database software groups and managed the marketing integration of several companies. “What drew me to Syniti was its customer-first mentality and software-led services approach that’s unmatched in the enterprise data management space,” said Ms. Reed. “Syniti’s complex data expertise gives enterprises unique tools to gain competitive advantage and grow faster, and I’m pleased to be a part of this exciting next chapter with our team, partners and customers.”
Syniti is a portfolio company of private equity firm Bridge Growth Partners LLC. It was founded in 1996 with the mission to solve business’ complex data challenges, bring synergy between data and business, and deliver confidence and progress along clients’ business transformation journey. Through a combination of unique data expertise, services, and intelligent software leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, Syniti helps clients manage their data journey from data conversion to data quality, data archival and replication, master data management, analytics, information governance and data strategy.
LPA Search Partners is a women-owned firm led by industry veterans Willa Perlman and Ms. McCormick Kelch. It offers expertise in the following industry verticals: Education, EdTech and knowledge services; information services and SaaS; digital media and publishing; data analytics; healthcare IT and services, professional services; non-profit; and board of directors. LPA specializes in searches for C-level executives and their direct reports. The firm is represented in New York, Chicago, Providence, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and London, offering complementary services to recruitment including interim placements, executive coaching, M&A consultation, and a board practice with a special focus on diversity and women candidates.
CMOs on the Move
If it seems like there were more chief marketing officer appointments last year than usual, that’s because there were, according to a new article in Ad Age based on research conducted by Russell Reynolds Associates. Announcements of CMO moves rose 25 percent across North America in 2020, with 523 publicly disclosed appointments, up from 420 in 2019, according to the research. And there was an uptick in hiring as the year progressed, with 282 CMO moves in North America coming in the latter half of 2020, up from 241 in the first six months of the year.
Chief Marketing Officers Gaining Momentum As Business Game Changers
Today’s CMO works with the CEO to accelerate the organization and drive transformation. CMOs also collaborate with other members of the C-suite, especially with a company’s top HR executive to shape the company brand.
The turnover came as companies overhauled their organizations during the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to reach consumers whose buying patterns are rapidly evolving. “It has challenged leaders to evolve quicker, innovate faster, and cope resiliently,” the report said.
Russell Reynolds also highlighted the number of newly-created roles that were filled, with 17 percent of appointments in the latest six months coming in positions such as chief customer officer, chief commercial officer and chief growth officer that were new at their organizations. Among chief customer officer appointments, 50 percent were into newly-created roles, with the other 50 percent replacing previous chief customer officers. It continues a trend that hit full stride in 2019 of companies crafting new titles that consolidate marketing duties with executives who have broader mandates that often include sales and commercial functions such as product development, retail oversight and more. Russell Reynolds also found a higher percentage of women filling top marketing roles when compared to other leadership roles.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
