Dive Brief:
- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced on Twitter on Tuesday morning that the micro-blogging site has named former American Express executive Leslie Berland as its new CMO.
- The news comes after last week's drop in stock price for the company and a series of senior executive departures over the weekend.
- In his tweet, Dorsey said Berland will join the company "to help tell the stories of our iconic product."
Welcoming @leslieberland to Twitter! She will join as our CMO to help tell the stories of our iconic product!
— Jack (@jack) January 26, 2016
Dive Insight:
After a months-long search, Twitter has finally filled its CMO role. Berland, who was previously the senior vice president of global advertising, marketing and digital partnerships at American Express, joins Twitter as the company needs to find its identity if it wants to satisfy investors and grow its user base, which has stagnated for a while now. Berland's main task will be to build up the social media company's brand at a time when Twitter appears to be struggling to resonate with new users.
Berland takes over the CMO spot from CFO Anthony Noto, who was working as CMO on an interim basis. According to Re/code, the new CMO will report directly to Dorsey. Re/code pointed out that Berland spearheaded digital efforts while at American Express and is both well-known and well-liked in Silicon Valley. Bloomberg reported that Berland has spent the past few years at AmEx working on an ad campaign centered around Facebook, Twitter and Apple’s iAd mobile platform.
Thanks @Jack! Excited to join you and the amazing teams to bring to life the power, uniqueness and magic of Twitter! https://t.co/cjlVcCtMjs
— Leslie Berland (@leslieberland) January 26, 2016
Twitter will look to Berland to help reboot growth for the brand. The San Francisco-based company has struggled to position itself at the top of the social media landscape and its stock price has recently fallen to new lows. Just this weekend, four top-level executives departed the company by choice, including its vp of global media, svp of engineering and svp of product.
According to sources who spoke with Bloomberg, Twitter is expected to name two new board members this week. One of the biggest new moves that Twitter has pushed in recent months is its Moments feature, but the jury is still out on whether the product is a success. Other changes expected to come soon to Twitter include an expansion of its iconic 140-character tweet limit and product developments that make it easier to use for newcomers.
In my role, I get to talk to the best and brightest in mktg. So when we originally drafted our dream list of CMOs, @leslieberland was #1.
— adam bain (@adambain) January 26, 2016
