Dive Brief:
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Sharon Otterman has been named chief marketing officer of Macy’s, effective Dec. 11. She will report to CEO-elect Tony Spring.
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Most recently, Otterman held the same role at Caesars Entertainment, where her duties included leadership of the sports betting and gaming brand experience. Before that she was at Madison Square Garden Company, NBCUniversal’s news division and ESPN.
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Otterman replaces Richard Lennox, who switched out of the role to become chief customer officer three years ago; he has since left the company. Abby James served in the interim, a Macy’s spokesperson said by email.
Dive Insight:
Spring is assembling his team ahead of the new year, as he prepares to lead the country’s biggest department store and one of its major retail companies.
Earlier this year, Spring, who had been Bloomingdale's CEO, was tapped to replace Jeff Gennette, a fellow company veteran who had similarly moved up the ranks. Both started at the store level and reached top leadership. For the chief marketing role, however, Macy’s is looking to an outsider, with what Spring called “a diverse background in media, entertainment, and digital transformation.”
“We are excited to leverage her expertise to bring more retail theater across our shopping experiences,” he said in a statement. “She is a passionate strategist and has a successful track record of evolving brands, developing creative marketing campaigns, and driving profitable growth.”
Macy’s is in the midst of major transitions, including a shift away from some of the malls it has long anchored. Instead the company is establishing more small-format locations in strip centers, for both its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s businesses.
In its most recent quarter, sales and profits declined, but Macy’s defied expectations, including reporting healthy margins. The company continued to lose market share in the period, however, according to GlobalData research.
