The American Marketing Association’s New York chapter (AMA New York) has unveiled the 2025 class of Marketing Hall of Fame inductees.

The seven honorees span sectors including sports, beauty, consulting, academia, and advertising. They will be recognized for their accomplishments across a range of categories during a ceremony on May 21 at Universal McCann’s global headquarters in New York City.

This year’s inductees are:

• Tim Ellis, EVP and CMO of the NFL, for Marketing Catalyst
• Keith Reinhard, chairman emeritus at DDB Worldwide, for Mentorship
• Jill Kramer, CMO and CCO at Accenture, for Technology Innovation
• Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. Beauty and president of Keys Soulcare, for Marketing for Purpose
• Esperanza Teasdale, former VP and GM of PepsiCo Beverages North America’s Hispanic Business Unit, for Marketing Excellence in DEI
• Fawn Weaver, CEO of Uncle Nearest, Inc., for Marketing for a Challenger Brand
• Russell Winer, professor emeritus at NYU Stern, named New York Choice

The ceremony will also include ‘CMO Conversations,’ a series of panels featuring leading marketers, kicking off at 1 p.m. ET. In these discussions, inductees will reflect on their professional journeys and share insights on the future of marketing.

This year’s ceremony is sponsored by Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s, Clear Channel Outdoor, Universal McCann, and GreenBook. ADWEEK is the official media partner.

In a statement shared with ADWEEK, Lori Johnson, AMA New York co-president, said: “This year’s Hall of Fame inductees are shining examples of talent, creativity, and drive—and their influence continues to shape our field in powerful ways. We congratulate each of them on this meaningful recognition.”

Founded by AMA New York in 1993, the Marketing Hall of Fame recognizes marketing leaders across all industries, celebrating both their current impact and lasting influence. Past inductees include GE vice chair Beth Comstock; TBWA\Worldwide chairman Lee Clow; and Apple’s Steve Jobs, who accepted the honor on the company’s behalf.

“We are recognizing marketing’s role in driving innovation, advancing purpose-driven work, challenging the status quo, fostering an inclusive workplace and industry, and affirming New York’s status as a marketing epicenter,” added AMA New York co-president Dorothy Crenshaw. “This year’s class truly exemplifies the pinnacle of marketing excellence.”

The Ad Council, a nonprofit organization known for public service campaigns like Smokey Bear and gun safety initiatives, has elected 17 new members to its board of directors.

Tara Walpert Levy, vice president of YouTube Americas, continues to serve as the board’s chair, while Carla Hassan, chief marketing officer at JPMorganChase, has been elevated to the role of vice chair.

The Ad Council’s board comprises 162 senior executives from across the media, marketing, tech, and business sectors. Members provide guidance, expertise, and financial support to help ensure the nonprofit’s campaigns address key national issues, such as mental health, substance use, gun violence, and hate.

This year’s appointees represent a wide range of industries—from retail and tech to sports and entertainment—and bring perspectives shaped by years of brand and platform leadership. Among them is Emily Wilcox, CEO of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, who said the Ad Council’s mission aligns closely with her own motivation for working in the industry.

“What we do for a living can be so powerful when deployed for the right causes and that’s why I am excited to get started and help the organization continue its mission,” Wilcox told ADWEEK. “It is what made me fall in love with this business and why I show up every day.”

Tim Clark, executive vice president and chief brand officer at NASCAR, also emphasized the opportunity to collaborate with other industry leaders to impact social good.

“The Ad Council Board of Directors… brings together leaders with exceptional expertise, resources, and access to platforms that can make a real, measurable difference in communities across the country,” Clark said.

Jackelyn Keller, chief marketing officer at Comscore, noted that the intersection of purpose and data-driven strategy makes the board’s work especially relevant.

“The Ad Council reinforces that when storytelling meets purpose, it can shape culture—and move people,” she said. “We know data makes that impact measurable and actionable.”

New members of the board include:

• Zena Arnold, CMO, Sephora U.S.
• Molly Battin, SVP and CMO, The Home Depot
• Tyrone Brewer, president, U.S. Neuroscience, Canada & Puerto Rico, Johnson & Johnson
• Tim Clark, EVP, chief brand officer, NASCAR
• Anna Frable, VP, communications, Novo Nordisk U.S.
• Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, CRO, Condé Nast
• Jennifer Kattula, GM and CMO, Microsoft Advertising
• Jackelyn Keller, CMO, Comscore
• Michael Komasinski, CEO, Criteo
• Jarrod Martin, global CEO, Acxiom + KINESSO
• Catherine Newman, chief marketing and communications Officer, U.S. Soccer
• Nicolle Pangis, VP, Advertising, Netflix
• Thomas Ranese, CMO, Intuit
• Jessica Sibley, CEO, TIME
• Donna Speciale, president, U.S. advertising sales and marketing, TelevisaUnivision
• Andrew Swinand, CEO, Inspired Thinking Group
• Emily Wilcox, CEO, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York

The latest appointments follow the addition of 23 new board members in April 2024, as the Ad Council continues expanding its leadership. Late last year, the nonprofit raised a record-breaking $9.2 million at its 70th annual public service award dinner.

In addition to the board appointments, eight new members have joined the Ad Council’s leadership council. The group brings together senior executives across advertising, media, and tech industries who contribute their organizations’ resources and insights to support the Ad Council’s initiatives.

New members include:

• Elizabeth DeLuca, executive director, corporate brand and digital communications, Novo Nordisk U.S.
• Scott Goodson, founder and CEO, StrawberryFrog, MachWon, and Inplural
• Taylor Guglielmo, chief growth officer, Chemistry
• Stephanie Latham, VP, global brand partnerships and advertising, Roblox
• Matthew Lumb, VP, brand building integrated communications, Procter & Gamble
• Maggie Milnamow, CRO, Business Insider
• Christian Muche, global president and founder, Beyond Ordinary LLC / POSSIBLE
• Nicole Silver, CMO, ads and partnerships, Dotdash Meredith

Snap has appointed Grace Kao as its new chief marketing officer. She is being promoted after serving for less than six months as the company’s vice president of consumer and business marketing.

She will take the place of chief creative officer Colleen DeCourcy, who joined Snap in May 2022. DeCourcy will stay on as an advisor to help with the transition before departing the company later this year. 

Kao previously held marketing leadership roles at Spotify, Instagram, and Yahoo. She also worked at ad agencies TBWA\Chiat\Day and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners from the late ’90s through early 2010s, where she led projects for major commercial clients including Pepsi, Apple, Sony, and HP. 

She was behind Spotify’s Spreadbeats B2B campaign, which took home multiple Cannes Lions last year, including a Grand Prix in digital craft.

The announcement, made in an internal company memo from Snap CEO and co-founder Evan Spiegel, comes just two weeks ahead of the social media company’s Q1 earnings report and three weeks out from its NewFronts presentation. 

“Since joining Snap in December, Grace has already demonstrated significant impact across the marketing organization, and I’m excited to deepen our work together in her new role,” Spiegel said. “At the same time, we are incredibly grateful to Colleen for her contributions leading our brand work over the past three years, for her energy and creativity, and for her instrumental role in building our talented in-house creative team.”

Snap hasn’t had a CMO role since Kenny Mitchell departed in April 2023 to lead marketing at Levi Strauss & Co. DeCourcy has been leading the platform’s marketing since then. 

A spokesperson said Snap does not plan to fill the CCO role.

Less social media, more Snapchat

DeCourcy joined Snap in 2022 after nearly a decade at Wieden+Kennedy, where she ended her tenure as co-president and CCO. She took on the role at Snap six months after announcing her retirement from the ad industry. 

During her time at Snap, DeCourcy spearheaded a new brand campaign, “Less Social Media. More Snapchat,” which positioned Snap as a positive alternative to the toxicity found on other social platforms. 

Snap also released a campaign in January amid drama surrounding the potential TikTok ban reminding advertisers that they can find creators on Snapchat and promoting new creator tools.

Earlier this month, Snap expanded its agency partner program in a bid to get more performance media budgets. 

The platform’s revenue grew 16% year-over-year in 2024 to $4.6 billion, per its Q4 2024 earnings report. Snap has more than 850 million monthly active users.

Zoom has hired Kimberly Storin as its new chief marketing officer (CMO).

The exec joins from Zayo Group, a communications and bandwidth infrastructure provider, where she served as CMO since 2021. Before that, she was marketing chief at software company RapidDeploy and held several marketing leadership roles at IBM, AMD, and Dell.

At Zoom, Storin will oversee the brand, communications, product marketing, enterprise marketing, and regional marketing teams. 

Storin succeeds Janine Pelosi, who left Zoom in 2023 to helm the chief executive officer (CEO) role at competitor brand Neat. Zoom did not reply to a request for comment about whether the CMO role has been vacant since Pelosi’s departure in time for publication.

“Long before stepping into this role, I was a passionate Zoom customer—both in business and personally. I’ve trusted Zoom for everything from critical enterprise meetings to large-scale all hands and SKOs to connecting with friends and family. I’ve seen firsthand how it transforms the way people work, collaborate, and communicate,” Storin wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

“Now, with AI at the core of a secure and trusted platform, Zoom is shaping the future of connection in ways far beyond video,” she continued. “I’m excited to help tell that story, alongside an incredible team, as we unlock the next chapter of growth and innovation.” 

Zoom is still on an upward trajectory, even as workers head back to physical offices. In February, the company reported a total revenue of $4.6 billion, a 3.1% increase year-over-year for its fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2025.

Storin joins as Zoom sets a mission to transform “into an AI-first company” this year with new products like Zoom AI Companion, Eric S. Yuan, Zoom’s founder and CEO said in the earnings report.

“As Zoom AI Companion becomes increasingly agentic, we look forward to continuing to help our customers fully realize the benefits of AI and discover what’s possible with AI agents,” he continued.

Chief marketing officer (CMO) Heidi Cooley is leaving Crocs to join Lovesac as its first chief brand and marketing officer, effective April 23.

Cooley had been CMO of Crocs since 2021. She’s held several senior marketing roles in her nearly 9 years at the footwear brand, helping it forge a lane in culture while driving record profitability. Before that, Cooley held several marketing leadership roles at the now-defunct sporting goods store Sports Authority.

“After 9 years of fan-first creativity and innovation, the Crocs team rewrote the playbook and co-created a foundation that is Croc-solid,” she wrote in a LinkedIn post today (April 11). “Being part of the Crocs brand transformation has truly been one of my greatest privileges and one of the most exciting and rewarding times of my career.”

At Lovesac, Cooley will lead marketing, e-commerce, and brand strategy. She will report to president and chief operating officer (COO) Mary Fox.

“Beyond her impressive track record, Heidi is also a strong cultural fit,” chief executive officer Shawn Nelson said in a statement. “She shares our values and our passion for Designed for Life products and tailored customer acquisition engines. I am confident she will be a significant driver to reaching our goals of three million Lovesac households by 2030 and building the most loved home brand in America.” 

Cooley said in a statement that she is looking forward to building upon Lovesac’s “fan-first marketing approach that drives meaningful consumer connections and long-term profitable growth.”

For its fiscal year 2025 (ending Feb. 2), Lovesac reported total net sales of $680 million, a 2.8% decrease year-over-year. However, it expects net sales between $700 million and $750 million for fiscal year 2026, which it said “incorporates the expected impact from tariffs in place prior to April 2, 2025.”

U.S.-based TikTok ecommerce global governance and experience team staffers were recently laid off. This is the latest restructuring to afflict the social media company, which underwent a round of layoffs affecting its trust and security team in February.

According to Business Insider, the global governance and experience team monitors product listings, seller compliance, and protecting intellectual property in TikTok Shop.

The number of staffers laid off is currently unknown, but this latest move comes as the unit’s performance comes under closer scrutiny. In February, TikTok’s ecommerce head, Bob Kang, highlighted the team’s shortcomings during an all-hands meeting. 

It’s been reported that some staffers within the department were hit with low scores during annual performance reviews and given performance improvement plans, while some were simply let go.

In addition to the layoffs, several senior members of TikTok’s executive team have left the company in recent months, including global business solutions head Blake Chandlee, head of partnership solutions and global business marketing for Europe Lucy Banks, global head of music business development Ole Obermann, global head of litigation Emily Stubbs, U.S. general manager of agency business Jack Bamberger, and head of ad sales for North America Sameer Singh.

TikTok is facing challenging times in the U.S. market. It still has not found a buyer for its U.S. operations, leading President Donald Trump to declare a 75-day extension.

In addition, its parent company, ByteDance, is a China-based company caught up in the tariff wars between the two countries, which could further complicate TikTok’s divesture.

McCann New York is eliminating its top creative and growth roles as part of a restructure that will place oversight under regional North America leadership, according to an internal memo sent to staff Monday and obtained by ADWEEK.

As a result, chief creative officer Shayne Millington and head of growth Suresh Raj will depart the agency in mid-May and at the end of April, respectively.

The memo frames the changes as part of an effort to consolidate leadership under regional executives and prioritize roles directly responsible for delivering creative and strategic work.

“Our goal of partnering with our clients to help them find their truth and tell it well means our leaders and teams need to be closer to the work,” the memo reads. “To achieve this, we need to simplify our structure to reduce layers of leadership so that we can put more emphasis on roles that create the work.”

Millington, who has been at McCann NY’s for more than nine years and led the creative department for the past two, will not be replaced. During her tenure, she led work that made McCann New York the most awarded agency in the city at Cannes in 2023 and was named ADWEEK’s Agency All-Star Creative of the Year in 2024.

Britt Nolan, who joined McCann in January from Leo Burnett, will now oversee creative operations for North America, including the New York and Detroit offices. He will also join the agency’s executive leadership team and work alongside executive creative directors Leo Barbosa, Cuanan Cronwright, and Lance Parrish.

A spokesperson confirmed the changes to ADWEEK: “We are grateful for Shayne’s leadership over the years and for all that she’s done to help make McCann what it is today. We’re excited for what’s ahead with Britt at the creative helm, leading us into our next chapter.”

Meanwhile, Raj’s responsibilities will be absorbed by Michelle Tang, McCann Worldgroup’s North America chief growth officer, who is returning to lead the New York growth team in addition her regional oversight. Tang, who rejoins the executive leadership team, has played a key role in securing key accounts including TJ Maxx and Prudential, according to the memo.

The spokesperson also added that Raj chose to depart on his own terms to pursue a new opportunity.

“During his time with us, Suresh redefined how we approach new business, bringing in new brands for the network—and has been a champion for inclusivity and collaboration and pushed us to think bigger and bolder about how we grow,” the memo states.

The leadership shakeup comes amid ongoing business challenges for McCann, as the agency continues to cycle through high-profile client losses including Verizon and MGM Resorts.

The changes also come as IPG prepares for its proposed merger with Omnicom, announced in December 2024. The deal, which would create the world’s largest advertising holding company, is projected to generate $750 million in annual cost savings—likely through operational consolidations and reductions in overlapping positions.

“Please join me in welcoming Britt and welcoming back Michelle, and in wishing Shayne and Suresh all the very best in their new chapters,” the memo concludes.

Correction 4/7 at 6:20pm ET: This story has been updated to reflect that Millington will leave in mid-May, and that she has been with McCann for 9 years and was CCO for the past two years.

Jamie Siminoff will once again oversee Ring as Amazon named him vice president of product for its home security business. 

Siminoff, who founded Ring, returns to its parent company after a two-year hiatus. In this new role, his portfolio expands beyond Ring, as he will be in charge of Amazon’s Blink smart home camera unit, Key in-garage delivery operations, and the Amazon Sidewalk low-bandwidth, long-range shared network.

Ring chief marketing officer Mary Sagripanti left the company last week to become vp and CMO at Verizon Value.

Bloomberg reported that Siminoff replaced Elizabeth Hamren, who initially replaced him when he left the company two years ago to start another startup.

Hamren will look for opportunities inside and outside Amazon due to this change.

Siminoff explained his two-year hiatus in an Amazon blog post, saying, “It was simply time for me to take a breath and explore the world beyond Ring. What I found only reaffirmed my belief in the opportunity we have here at Amazon to change the world.”

He added, “ When I think about the importance of the work we do, I’m inspired to keep inventing, so I’m excited to be back innovating alongside the Ring, Blink, Amazon Key, and Sidewalk teams.”

Amazon acquired Ring from Siminoff in 2018 in a deal reported to have cost $1 billion.

Since then, Ring’s product lineup has increased beyond doorbell cameras to include ​home cameras, exterior smart lighting, home security systems, flying indoor security, and a dashboard camera.

The National Basketball Association’s chief diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officer Lesley Slaton Brown is stepping down from her role, according to an internal email obtained by ADWEEK.

Per an email sent April 2 to all NBA staff, Brown informed the league that she plans to leave the post and relocate back to the West Coast at the end of the current season in June.

According to a source familiar with the departure, the chief DEI officer role will be backfilled as the league remains committed to DEI. “The values of diversity and inclusion are central to the culture of the NBA, WNBA, and our other leagues and will remain core to our business and our workplace,” the email said.

Brown’s team will also remain part of the NBA’s Social Responsibility and Player Programs Department.

“We are grateful for Lesley’s many contributions, including working directly with our teams and colleagues at the league office on a number of initiatives to foster a more inclusive workplace and drive our business forward,” read the email.

The NBA didn’t provide a statement in time for publication.

Brown joined the NBA as chief DEI officer in 2023. During her tenure, she worked with the league’s chief people officer Sabrina Ellis and the teams’ diversity and inclusion leaders to implement and advance DEI processes like recruiting diverse talent and developing employee resource programs.

Before the NBA, Brown served as chief DEI officer at HP since 2015, where she helped develop the company’s long-term DEI goals and strategy. She also led inclusive talent acquisition programs and partnerships and developed training and education for HP leaders and hiring managers globally.

Brown joins a growing list of chief DEI officers at brands and agencies who have left in recent years.

Brands like Chipotle, Nordstrom, Boeing, and NPR have all seen their DEI leads exit, while companies like Publicis Groupe, PepsiCo, AT&T, and Yelp have either pivoted or gotten rid of the role altogether.

McCann Worldgroup executive creative director (ECD) Ioana Filip is leaving to launch her own creative agency called International Waters, ADWEEK has learned.

The exec has spent nearly 20 years at global advertising agencies such as McCann, MRM, and Energy BBDO, working as an ECD in markets including Chicago, London, and now her hometown of Bucharest, Romania.

“I’ve had incredible opportunities for growth within the networks which I was always grateful for, but I knew one day I would take the leap into entrepreneurship,” Filip told ADWEEK. “This moment felt right, not because of any specific circumstance, but because it was the right time for me.”

International Waters will target mid-sized clients with revenues between $20 million and $1 billion; Filip declined to disclose any current client relationships. The agency is headquartered in Bucharest with U.S. operations in Chicago and plans to expand to the middle east and other locations in Europe by 2027.

Filip and her leadership team of five, whom she declined to name, will split their time between the current office hubs.

Elevating talent in offshore markets

As a Romanian woman, Filip said she encountered discrimination early in her career for being young and foreign.

With International Waters, she wants to combat those stereotypes by focusing on traditional offshore creative markets like Romania and Brazil in order to challenge “outdated geographical bias that often stands in the way of creativity for global brands.”

“As I got into a global role, sometimes we would work with ‘offshore’ [markets] and they were amazing companies,” she said, citing Brazil, which was the third most awarded market at Cannes Lions in 2024, with 78 wins.

She continued: “Many of these creatives remain in their home countries. The notion that talent must relocate to thrive is outdated. There’s a lot of talent in these markets that don’t have access to big brands, but they’re brilliant. I want to give global business to global talent, and the other way around.”

To support this goal, International Waters will operate on what Filip describes as a “chartered creativity” model, where it will curate custom teams of creatives on a full-time and project-basis across different markets, depending on clients’ needs.