Brand management head joins Samsung from IBM

Samsung has appointed IBM marketer Max Bonpain as head of brand management for the UK and Ireland. The role is new and is part of an extension of the company’s marketing team.

Bonpain, who was previously a managing consultant within IBM’s global business services division, will be responsible for aboveand below-the-line activity, PR, events and sponsorship across all of Samsung’s product units, including mobile phones and flat-screen TVs.

One of his main areas of focus will be to maximise Samsung’s top tier sponsorship of the Olympic Games, its £50m deal with Chelsea Football Club and its local music strategy.

Prior to joining IBM, Bonpain held senior marketing roles at companies including Johnson & Johnson, Dairy Crest and Kimberly-Clark. He will report to Samsung UK and Ireland chief marketing officer Anthony Marsella in his new role.

Marsella, who also joined Samsung from IBM at the start of last year, says Bonpain’s appointment “is part of the strengthening of our marketing capabilities.

“He will be responsible for driving brand activity and will be looking at our flagship products and leveraging campaigns around them.”

Samsung is now the world’s second biggest mobile phone manufacturer behind Nokia, having overtaken Motorola earlier this year, and is the market leader in flat-screen TVs in the UK.

Marsella adds: “Samsung is a maturing brand and we are now putting the structures in place that you would expect from a top tier brand.”