Michael Francis, Target‘s executive vice-president, chief marketing officer and executive in charge of its Canadian expansion, has left the company.
His departure is effective immediately, and he will join JCPenney as president, effective Oct. 4. In his new role, he will report directly to CEO Ron Johnson. He will be responsible for all merchandising, marketing, planning and allocation, product development and sourcing. JCPenney continues to search for a chief marketing officer to replace Mike Boylson who departed this summer.
“[Francis] is an extremely talented executive with the vision and courage to re-imagine the department store experience,” Johnson said in a statement. “His ability to innovate and deep understanding of the industry will be invaluable as we set out to transform JCPenney into America’s favorite store.”
A Target spokeswoman said that a new CMO has not been named and that Francis’ direct reports will report to CEO Gregg Steinhafel in the interim. “We will certainly be looking at a more permanent solution. But we feel confident, because we have a strong management team in place,” the Target spokeswoman said. “We have a very sound strategy and a strong pipeline of innovative leaders.”
During Francis’ tenure he has overseen some of Target’s best known ad campaigns such as Design for All and Hello Goodbuy, as well as the marketing of designer partnerships with Michael Graves, Liberty of London and, most recently, Missoni. He also had a hand in Target’s experiential marketing, such as a vertical fashion show, which saw models traipsing down the side of 30 Rockefeller Center.
As Francis navigated the cheap-chic retailer through the recession, he overhauled the retailer’s agency roster and overall media approach. He named Wieden & Kennedy as Target’s first lead agency and began experimenting with 15-second spots for the popular “Life’s A Moving Target” campaign.
In January, Francis was also named to oversee the discount chain’s expansion into Canada, where it hopes to have 125 to 135 stores by 2013.
There’s more. To read the full article in Advertising Age, click here.
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