Artico Search Places Chief Marketing Officer for CM Group
April 21, 2022 – Mercedes Chatfield-Taylor, co-founder of Artico Search, has placed Wendy Werve as chief marketing officer for Nashville, TN-based CM Group, a family of marketing technology companies.
Ms. Werve was previously CMO with Virgin Pulse for over six years. She brings more than 20 years of experience developing, leading and executing growth-focused marketing strategies for a diverse range of technology, B2B and SaaS software companies, from start-up to IPO, mid-market to $1 billion-plus. Prior to Virgin Pulse, Ms. Werve served as vice president of global marketing at SumTotal Systems, a leading human resources and talent management software provider.
Ms. Werve has a solid track record of building high performing teams and executing marketing strategies focused on accelerating bookings and revenue growth and increasing customer retention. She also has a strong reputation for crafting positioning and messaging, executing integrated GTM plans, and generating demand through coordinated, data-driven and ABX strategies and campaigns. Her other skill-sets revolve around increasing lead volume and velocity, accelerating conversion using modern marketing tools and approaches, and building positive brand affiliation across B2B software companies.
The CM Group, founded in 2017, brings together a diverse group of email marketing platforms under a single umbrella, with a variety of solutions for marketers. The company originally included email marketing platforms Campaign Monitor and Emma. Since then, its family of brands has grown to include Liveclicker, a real-time personalization solution; Selligent Marketing Cloud; Sailthru, a cross-channel platform driven by AI; and Vuture, a leading email solution for brands in professional services. The company has over 70,000 customers and sends 180 billion emails annually. CM Group has U.S. offices in Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York City, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco, along with its Nashville headquarters. It also has global offices in Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Uruguay.
Respected Recruiters
With offices in San Francisco, New York, and Austin, TX, Artico is off to one of the fastest starts among boutique search firms in recent memory. Ms. Chatfield-Taylor co-founded Artico with Matt Comyns, a cybersecurity leadership expert, to lead the firm’s rapidly expanding growth executive search team. Given the billions of dollars flowing into venture capital and private equity investments these days, as well as the ever-present threat of cybersecurity breaches, the founders expect big growth acceleration ahead. Ms. Chatfield-Taylor has completed over 75 CEO searches as well as partner, principal, and other CXO level assignments.
Last month, Ms. Chatfield-Taylor placed Eric Dahmer as chief marketing officer of PetHonesty, a provider of premium pet health products and a portfolio company of Vestar Capital Partners.
Artico Search Launches to Help Companies Build, Scale and Protect
No one could argue that Mercedes Chatfield-Taylor and Matt Comyns, both of whom recently departed from Caldwell to co-found their own executive search firm, Artico Search, are anything less than ground-breaking search leaders. They are both among the very best in their respective specialties, recruiting some of the most sought after, and costliest, hires in the search industry and building successful practices and teams in their areas of specialty. In joining forces, they are looking to create a powerhouse search brand that reflects their experience, passion, and core values focused on delivering the people to drive change and transformation in the tech industry.
Ms. Chatfield-Taylor’s team focuses on executive-level search for scaleup venture capital and private equity-backed technology companies. The team has deep expertise in global enterprise software, data and consumer internet businesses. Ms. Chatfield-Taylor is deeply passionate about the importance of diversifying the industry, with a full 53 percent of her placements tracked since 2019 being underrepresented executives.
Mr. Dahmer has more than 20 years of experience in brand building, general management, and consulting for iconic brands. He most recently served as vice president and head of marketing for Nature’s Way USA, where he oversaw a portfolio of wellness-focused vitamin and supplement brands. Prior to that, Mr. Dahmer spent eight years at the Kraft Heinz Co. leading brands such as Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Ore-Ida potatoes, and Heinz ketchup. Earlier in his career, he managed marketing for several Johnson & Johnson brands after spending five years as a consultant for Accenture.
Promoting Pet Health
“We are making great strides in building out PetHonesty’s executive ranks and we are pleased to welcome Eric to our team,” said Ben Arneberg, founder of PetHonesty. “He brings a unique background in both consumer brands and supplements, as well as a passionate attitude, and we expect to benefit from his expertise as we promote new products and hone our business strategy and marketing plans.”
“PetHonesty is on an inspiring journey to promote pet health and add more joyful years for pet parents to share with their beloved companions,” said Mr. Dahmer. “The company has a clear path to serve as a leader on several fronts in a burgeoning industry, and I am excited to be part of its growth and continuing success.”
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Austin, TX, PetHonesty provides a natural and noticeable boost to pet health through natural, science-backed products that demonstrate effectiveness pet parents can truly see. The company’s products are formulated to help address a plethora of common pet ailments, including immobility, digestive issues, and allergies.
Related: Artico Search Recruits Chief Revenue Officer for Labster
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
