Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has hired former Coca-Cola North America CMO Javier Benito as its executive VP and CMO.
In his new role, Benito, 42, will be in charge of all aspects of worldwide marketing. He will work with Steven J. Heyer, Starwood’s CEO, to help head new brand initiatives for the Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, St. Regis and W Hotels.
Benito will work out of Starwood’s headquarters in White Plains, N.Y.
“Javier is a passionate executive who thoughtfully breaks old rules and creates new ones, which gels perfectly with our desire to move from functional to emotionally relevant branding that will transform Starwood’s stable of well known trademarks to highly-valued brands,” said Heyer in a statement.
Benito recently worked as the CMO and president of Coca-Cola North America’s U.S. Retail Division where he led a number of product launches, including Diet Coke with Lime and Coca-Cola C2. During his seven years with Procter and Gamble, Benito worked in the United States and Spain managing such brands as Tide, Bold and Mr. Clean.
In addition, Starwood Hotels hired Scott Bedbury, a former Starbucks CMO and Nike marketing executive, to serve as a brand advisor and consultant to the company.
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