Virgin Media hires Nigel Gilbert as first CMO
Virgin Media has appointed former Lloyds Banking Group marketing boss Nigel Gilbert to the newly created role of chief marketing officer.
Gilbert will have the same oversight of marketing and brand strategy as departing marketing boss Ashley Stockwell when he joins in January but will also work closely with chief operating officer Andrew Barron on growth strategies.
He will be tasked with positioning product and service innovations including the recently unveiled web-enabled TiVo service and 100Mb broadband service as the company looks to outpace rivals such as BSkyB and BT.
Virgin Media is Gilbert’s first role at a media owner. It is also his first job since stepping down from Lloyds Banking Group, where he oversaw the Lloyds TSB, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands, earlier this year.
Prior to Lloyds, he was chairman and CEO of Asia Pacific and global account director for Lowe Worldwide. He has also held senior positions at Young & Rubicam and Collett, Dickenson, Pearce and Partners.
Barron says: “As we look to accelerate Virgin Media’s transformation into the most customer focused organisation in the industry, Nigel will play a pivotal role in our growth agenda.”
The company recently returned to profit, registering net income of £41.8m in the third quarter, up from a net loss of £60.1m in the same period last year.
