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Bayer has hired Samantha Avivi as chief marketing officer of consumer health for its North America division. She will replace longtime marketer Jeff Jarrett, who is retiring in May.
Avivi was most recently CMO at Advance Auto Parts, where she spent the past year overseeing the brand’s omnichannel strategy and marketing operations. Before that, she was CMO at manufacturer Tenneco, where she led a portfolio of 31 brands across 42 product lines in 26 countries.
To Bayer, Avivi brings over 25 years of client, retail and agency experience at some of the world’s biggest advertisers including P&G, Kimberly Clark and Walmart.
As well as having a background in consumer product goods marketing, she’s also worked for agencies including BBDO and Y&R.
“I’m excited to leverage my passion for building consumer-led, purpose-driven brands across the Consumer Health portfolio, which includes many brands that I know and love like Claritin, aspirin and Midol,” she said in a statement.
Avivi will report directly to Dave Tomasi, Bayer’s president of consumer health in North America. He said she would help drive Bayer’s wider “Health for All, Hunger for None” corporate mission.
“She has expertise in setting groundbreaking visions, igniting breakthrough growth,[and] accelerating multifunctional teams with a proven track record of growing businesses, brands and, most importantly, people,” he added.
On his retirement, outgoing CMO Jarrett wrote on Linkedin: “After an incredible journey filled with creativity, growth, successes (and lots of fun), I’ve announced that I will be retiring from Bayer at the end of May.”
He added, “This moment is truly bittersweet, as I’ve had such a great experience with so many wonderful Bayer colleagues, agency and media partners along the way. But, after five years at Bayer, and nearly 55 years of life, I’m ready for the next chapter… whatever it may hold.”
Brand purpose and shareholder pressure
In recent years, Bayer has taken a more purposeful approach to marketing its consumer health brands, busting taboos and educating consumers in the process.
Its 2023 campaign for intimate health brand Canesten, “The Truth, Undressed,” featured bold creative work from creative shop AnalogFolk intended to tackle myths about vulval and vaginal health.
Speaking to ADWEEK at the time, Bayer global consumer CMO Patricia Corsi said this strategy was an important one that could be applied across many products.
Avivi arrives at Bayer USA as its German-headquartered parent company Bayer AG—which also trades in pharmaceuticals and crop science brands—is under pressure from investors to spin off its consumer goods business.
Shareholders want a solution to the financial woes that have plagued Bayer AG since its $63 billion 2018 takeover of chemical company Monsanto.
For now, though, CEO Bill Anderson has ruled out a spinoff, instead making changes to the company’s operating model to instigate a turnaround.
