New Marketing Svp at JCPenney

JCPenney Co. Inc. (Plano, Texas) has named a veteran of the consumer brand world as its new marketing chief.

Debra Berman, previously director of global brand strategy and customer engagement at Kraft Foods Group Inc. (Chicago) will become the retailer’s senior vp of marketing, reporting directly to ceo Mike Ullman.

“There is huge opportunity to remind America’s families why it is so great to shop at JCPenney while attracting new customers to the brand,” Berman said in a statement.

Berman will have the opportunity to create an entire new department.

In the last few months, Sissie Twiggs, a vp of media in digital marketing; Nick Wooster, senior vp of design and trends; and Lisa DeStefano-Orebaugh, vp of strategic marketing, have all left the department store organization.

The most high-profile departure during the regime of ex-ceo Ron Johnson was Michael Francis, a creative veteran at Target Corp. (Minneapolis), one of Johnson’s first hires in October 2011, then fired in June 2012.