NBC Universal has named former Mars Inc. marketing executive Michele Kessler as its latest "chief marketing officer in residence," a rotating position that brings in outside marketers on a short-term basis to offer their marketing and branding expertise.
At Mars, Kessler was VP of global chocolate strategy; before that she was VP of marketing and CMO at Mars Snackfood U.S., overseeing such brands as Snickers and M&Ms. She also has held marketing positions at Kraft and Procter & Gamble.
The CMO in Residence program, launched in April, brings in marketers to work with NBCU's Integrated Sales Marketing team to create programs tailored to meet clients' needs across all NBCU media platforms.
Kessler follows Bill Stewart, the program's first CMO in Residence, who most recently led marketing efforts for K-Mart and now oversees marketing for two start-up companies, dot429, a social networking community, and Neuro Focus, a neuromarketing company.
"Our ISM team strives to create campaigns that seamlessly connect consumers and brands across a variety of media platforms," Maryam Banikarim, SVP of Integrated Sales Marketing for NBCU, said in a statement. "The opportunity to learn from a host of talented, creative and respected marketing experts enhances our ability to develop ideas and programs that more directly fulfill the needs of our clients."
