Kimberly-Clark extends chief marketing role

Kimberly-Clark chief marketing officer Tony Palmer is adding responsibility for innovation to his role. The changes are part of a wider management reshuffle.

Palmer, who joined K-C just over eighteen months ago as its first-ever global marketer, says he has concentrated on harmonising global efforts and establishing a core competency within K-C to transfer successful examples of local marketing to other markets (MW 7 February).

The company says Palmers’s additional role as leader of its innovation organisation is a “natural progression” and will enable the new product development division to integrate more closely with the marketing and brand building teams.

The reshuffle follows the retirement of Steve Kalmanson, group president of the company’s North Atlantic Consumer Products business, who is leaving after a 30-year career at K-C. He will be replaced by Robert Abernathy, currently head of K-C’s developing and emerging markets business

Bob Black, who as chief strategy officer oversaw innovation, will replace Abernathy and hand responsibility for innovation over to Palmer.