Dive Brief:
- The Athlete’s Foot has named Darius Billings as its new vice president of marketing, community engagement and its Strategic African American Retail Track program, according to a Tuesday press release.
- Billings, who has been with the company for 15 years, will continue to report to Matthew Lafone, The Athlete’s Foot’s president and general manager of Americas. Before joining the company, Billings held positions at Nike and AND1 Basketball, per the press release.
- The company promoted Cassidy Dansberry to marketing manager. The retailer also added two new positions, a social media coordinator and a marketing coordinator.
Dive Insight:
Billings spearheaded the Strategic African American Retail Track program, which The Athlete’s Foot launched in response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, to help economic disparities that affect Black Americans in the footwear industry and beyond. He also played a critical role in creating the company’s Impact Council, which sponsors and supports recreational sports leagues, playgrounds, college scholarships, clothing, food drives and other community initiatives.
“The Athlete’s Foot is proud to announce the much-deserved promotions of veteran team members Darius Billings and Cassidy Dansberry. They were both instrumental during the past year in driving consumer connectivity and leading TAF’s community-based grassroots initiatives,” Lafone said in a statement. “We are excited to build on the momentum from 2022 and are moving full speed ahead with several game-changing programs and concepts for 2023.”
Alongside The Athlete’s Foot, other retailers have recently brought on new marketing executives. Last August, Kohl’s appointed Christie Raymond as its chief marketing officer following the departure of its former chief marketer Greg Revelle. The following month, Lowe’s promoted Jen Wilson as its new senior vice president of enterprise brand and marketing, but the home improvement retailer’s chief brand and marketing officer, Marisa Thalberg, departed the company after joining in 2020.
Direct-to-consumer brands have also been sprucing up their marketing leadership. Peloton announced earlier this month that it hired Leslie Berland as its chief marketing officer. Earlier this week, Away appointed Carla Dunham as its new chief marketing officer, bringing her experience as Foxtrot's chief merchandising and marketing officer.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Tatiana Walk-Morris, Khareem Sudlow
