Forbes names Sibley its chief sales officer

Forbes chief revenue officer Mark Howard sent out the following announcement on Thursday:

Team –

With the final two months of the year upon us, I want to take a moment to celebrate our recent successes and look ahead to the initiatives that will allow us to enter 2019 with continued momentum and confidence.

Just as our trusted brand now engages more people than ever before in its history across every platform, our sales and marketing organizations are pivoting in real-time, staying ahead of a rapidly changing marketplace, outshining competitors and delivering strong value to existing clients while bringing new marketers into the Forbes family.

Over the last 10 months, we’ve introduced several industry-leading innovations, including a new fluid ad format, an instant success in the marketplace, and a new hero ad, which is sold out for the rest of the year. We’ve established new LIVE events and expanded the global reach of signature franchises like Under 30. We’ve unleashed our distinctive Insights thought-leadership platform to sharpen our customers’ voices. We’ve positioned Intel as an authority in artificial intelligence with “Forbes AI.” And we’re attracting new advertisers in new categories while also driving bigger programs with our top customers.

In short, we are harnessing the full power of our offerings across all platforms – online, mobile, social, print, BrandVoice, Insights and LIVE – for our marketing partners.

As we look ahead to 2019, I’m pleased to announce new changes throughout the team to ensure we continue delivering exceptional results. These changes include the promotion of Jessica Sibley to the newly created role of Chief Sales Officer and an expanded role for our Chief Marketing Officer, Tom Davis.

Within each area, I’m also pleased to announce promotions and new areas of responsibility for our talented staff that will help us go to market faster and ensure the best experience for our advertisers.

As our new Chief Sales Officer, Jessica Sibley will oversee an expanded team that now includes the entire customer journey, inclusive of sales, brand strategy, program services and licensing. Over the last several years, Jessica, as our Senior Vice President of Ad Sales, has been instrumental in helping us become a forward-leaning, idea-driven organization that views every client interaction as an opportunity to advance their business goals.

Reporting to Jessica are:

• Sherry Phillips, who has been promoted to Senior Vice President of LIVE.
• Senior Vice President Janett Haas, who again takes on responsibility for overseeing West Coast ad sales, while continuing to lead strategic partnerships and our CMO practice.
• Vice President Kyle Vinansky, who assumes responsibility for the East Coast and Midwest regions. Additionally, Paul Reiss has been promoted to Vice President and, in addition to his current role, is also charged with helping us further grow our presence in financial services.
• Merryl Goffin, our Vice President of Brand Strategy, who will play a critical role in the pre-sales process, ensuring that we are bringing to market new and innovative offerings.
• Brian McLeod, who most recently led Insights and who now takes on the role of Vice President of Content Solutions to ensure that we are delivering the right branded content programs – from BrandVoice to Insights.
• Claire Robinson, now Vice President of the newly named Program Services group, who is charged with ensuring that our content programs are best-in-class and performing at a level that exceeds our clients’ expectations.
• Doug Lopenzina, who has been promoted to Vice President of Content Licensing, reflecting continued strong growth in this area.
• And Abbey Smith, who takes on a new role of Executive Director of Account Management, overseeing sales planners and account managers, helping ensure that we exceed clients’ expectations and focus on renewing business.

As we reimagine sales, we are also re-imagining marketing under the leadership of Tom Davis, who has a proven track record of delivering successful partnerships that deliver results.

Marketers today are increasingly tasked with identifying diverse revenue streams for their brands, and this is a strategic imperative for our own company. As you heard Tom mention at last week’s all-employee Town Hall, we are embarking on an exciting global business called Forbes 8, which will allow us to leverage the power of our premium video content and directly engage growing communities of entrepreneurs worldwide.

In addition to Forbes 8, Tom will bring to life other new businesses, while also continuing to lead the team, which includes:

• Vice President of Integrated Marketing Jay Webster, who will expand our focus on proactive ideation and focus on top-account selling.
• Brand Marketing led by Vice President Liz Walsh, who will continue to develop full-funnel marketing initiatives and lead-nurture programs.
• Project Management of our top accounts, led by our Vice President of Client Success Mary Baru. As we continue to focus more of our sales efforts around top accounts, Mary will play a critical role in delivering the exceptional customer support and program management of our biggest clients.
• And Design, headed by Executive Creative Director Dan Hennessy, who will continue to support the Brand, Marketing and Sales teams, while also launching innovative ad products that have been a major success this year.

In addition, as marketers continue to evolve as strategic storytellers, I’m pleased to recognize Josh Robinson for his continued leadership of Special Features. By year’s end, this defining group of designers, editors and researchers will have produced more than 50 Insights, special edit and BrandVoice features – the most we’ve ever delivered in a year.

On the programmatic front, 2018 continues to be strong for us, with revenues growing significantly year-over-year, under the leadership of Achir Kalra, our Senior Vice President of Revenue Operations and Strategic Partnerships.

Over in London, Charles Yardley will continue to grow our presence across Europe through the expansion of our LIVE business and other key programs. He also will continue to work in partnership with Alex Wood and our Forbes Europe editorial staff to ensure we are engaging the widest audience possible.

Finally, David Johnson, our recently appointed Vice President of Business Intelligence, continues to work closely with all departments, including editorial and audience development, to unearth the insights that allow us to deliver high-value audiences to our marketing partners.

Everywhere I look, I see individuals embracing the entrepreneurial spirit we foster while working together as #OneTeam for the benefit of our clients. This new strategy will only enhance our go-to-market capabilities, allow us to deliver the big, engaging ideas our clients demand, and aggregate and motivate audiences that move their business.

Congratulations to those who have been promoted and a big thank you to everyone for your continued hard work and dedication. Every interaction across every aspect of this journey is an opportunity for us to signal a deeper commitment to driving our clients’ businesses and to further distinguishing Forbes in a dynamic landscape.

Mark