MarketPro Recruits CMO for Southern New Hampshire University

May 3, 2017 – Executive search firm MarketPro has recruited Alana Burns as chief marketing officer of Southern New Hampshire University’s (SNHU) online division. Ms. Burns most recently served as senior vice president of strategic initiatives, branding and marketing at the American Lung Association. Her previous experience in the non-profit sector made her especially well-qualified for this role, said MarketPro president Bob Van Rossum.
“It was great to work on this CMO executive recruitment with SNHU where mission drives everything they do,” he said. “The university is at the center of redesigning higher education, allowing greater access at lower cost for a top degree. It comes as no surprise they have been growing; our job was to find them a top marketing leader who could take them to the next level.”
SNHU wanted not only a top marketing leader, but its new executive had to have an authentic connection to the mission of improving the quality and availability of higher education,” said Mr. Van Rossum. “In both of those considerations, Alana was an exceptional choice.”
“Our search process with MarketPro was great. The quality of the candidates exceeded our high expectations,” said Amelia Manning EVP, College of Online and Continuing Education. “Every candidate presented added value to the overall process. We are thrilled to welcome Alana to our team, she is the right person to take our marketing to new heights.”
Mr. Van Rossum said he was able to bring the client multiple candidate options from across the country. “They were adamant in not wanting someone from a large, traditional university who was used to wading through bureaucracy and red tape. Our recruiters knocked it out of the park with this slate of talent.”
SNHU is a regionally accredited, non-profit, private university based in Manchester, NH. With 3,000 students enrolled on campus and more than 80,000 students online, SNHU is one of the largest online universities in the country. Headquartered in Atlanta, MarketPro is a woman-owned executive recruitment firm focused on finding chief marketing officers, matching high-performing marketers with clients who need their skills and experience.
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.
Current business landscape demands have increased the contribution from chief marketing officers, the latest research report from Forrester and Heidrick & Struggles reveals. The survey found that CMOs are building strong relationships with the head of product and research & development to prepare the organization for digital disruption.
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 Media archives:
- PFM Executive Search has placed Paul Hawes as chief marketing officer of destination marketing organization Tourism Victoria. Mr. Hawes has more than 22 years of progressive tourism marketing and sales experience, and arrived in Canada after leading Destination New South Wales (Australia) to successfully expand its presence in the European market.
- Caldwell Partners International recruited Ann Sung Ruckstuhl as chief marketing officer of publicly traded technology company Unisys Corporation. Jim Bethmann, managing partner and co-leader of the firm’s TMT & IT services and information security practices, led the search. Most recently, Ms. Ruckstuhl was CMO at SOASTA.
- HVS Executive Search recruited Mark Mears as CMO of Slim Chickens, a franchise restaurant operator with more than 40 locations in 10 states. CEO Court Williams led the search along with vice president Bill Conn. Previously, he served as chief marketing officer for Noodles & Company.
- BSG Team Ventures placed Robert Birdsong as chief marketing officer at the Human Capital Institute (HCI). Mr. Birdsong was previously 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.
- 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.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media