Martin Agency names first chief revenue officer

The Martin Agency has named Tasha Dean its first chief revenue officer, the Richmond-based national advertising agency announced Wednesday.

Dean, who has previously led integrated production at the agency, will be responsible for growing revenue, implementing strategies for organizational design, finding new marketing offerings, identifying the latest tech and products, and reviewing new opportunities.

“I have enormous faith in Tasha, I trust her with things way outside her remit,” Martin CEO Kristen Cavallo said in a statement. “She’s a can-do person, she makes things happen and she’s a truth teller. I like to move with a sense of urgency and there’s no one who moves quicker than Tasha. She was ready for the next chapter. It was always a matter of when and where — not if — so this is a really exciting day for us all.”

In her previous role, Dean was responsible for an annual $100 million budget for client production as well as more than 300 productions a year. She also spearheaded Martin’s initiative to hire a minimum of 50% of  directors and editors for video content production from underrepresented groups.

“Creativity is an intellectual resource that has the ability to drive current and future business growth. A brand’s ability to impact culture by breaking through a cluttered media landscape takes talent and creativity,” Dean said in a statement. “The compensation models of yesterday should be reshaped to reflect different kinds of business results. There are so many opportunities for growth and I am very excited to work with our clients on shaping the future of marketing together.”

In addition, Brett Alexander, who has worked at Martin for 15 years in various roles, most recently as a senior vice president and group executive producer, will become managing director and head of integrated production effective Jan. 1.  In his new role, Alexander will lead Martin’s content, digital, business and financial affairs production groups. He previously led U.S. and global production at Martin for clients including Geico, Royal Caribbean Group, Sling TV, Xfinity and brands such as Axe, Oreo and Ritz.

“We’ve done an amazing job expanding our offerings into exciting places and creating opportunities for us to become more holistically involved from beginning to end,” Alexander said in a statement. “I look forward to growing our voice with clients and in our industry, driving equity in production (including our 50/50 pledge) and embracing innovative ways to execute creatively scalable ideas with emerging technology like AI, virtual/LED and Unreal Engine.”