Netflix Changes Chief Marketing, Communications Executives

20 Jan, 2012 By: Erik Gruenwedel

---

11-year CMO Leslie Kilgore joins Netflix board as rental service begins search for new CMO

Netflix Jan. 20 said it has appointed Jessie Becker, interim chief marketing officer and Jonathan Friedland, chief communications officer — both of whom report to co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings.

Becker, who was VP of marketing, replaces 11-year veteran CMO Leslie Kilgore who is joining Netflix’s board as a non-executive director.

“Leslie has been instrumental in our long-term success and our recent return to solid growth,” Hastings said in a statement. “We are delighted she is joining our board of directors and will continue to be a key part of Netflix.”

Friedland joined Netflix last February after a stint as SVP, corporate communications with The Walt Disney Co.

The changes could underscore ongoing fallout from last fall’s public relations debacles when Netflix implemented a poorly received price hike and attempted to launch a stand-alone physical disc rental service dubbed Qwikster.

In addition to the changes, a major criticism leveled at Netflix at the time was the way it communicated the changes, including dealing with the media during the subsequent subscriber backlash.

Netflix is conducting an external search for a new CMO.

Bookmark it: