Wellness-Focused Petco Promotes Katie Nauman to CMO

As it looks to continue the transition from a traditional retailer into a health and wellness brand, Petco announced that Katie Nauman has been promoted to chief marketing officer. Nauman has been with Petco since March 2020, most recently as vice president of integrated marketing. Nauman steps in for Tariq Hassan, who recently took on the position of CMO and digital customer experience officer at McDonald’s after three years with Petco. In the same announcement, Petco promoted David Hallisey to the new role of chief communications officer. Hallisey was previously vp of corporate communications. "We are very pleased to appoint two deeply experienced, proven Petco executives to lead our marketing and communications efforts as we deepen our relationship with pets, pet parents and our Petco partners (employees)," Petco said in a statement. McDonald’s Names Tariq Hassan CMO in Quest to Improve Customer Experience In the same statement, Petco said, "Katie and David have been integral to our company’s transformation and played a critical role in our evolution from a traditional retailer to a leading health and wellness ecosystem." Nauman will oversee Petco’s integrated marketing strategy, including customer marketing, membership and relationship management, media transformation, analytics, and brand and creative services. “It's a wonderful congratulations to Katie,” Hassan told Adweek’s Lisa Lacy. “It's an affirmation of us as a company to develop talent from within that with my decision to move to my next opportunity, we had a leader that was part of a roadmap already planned, who could step into this role, and I couldn't be more excited for her. “I have tremendous confidence, because she's such a major architect of what we've done to get to this point. I think the team’s in a spectacular place and the organization’s in a fantastic place with her coming on, but I would urge you guys to get to know her because she's pretty special.” Petco also thanked Hassan for his time with the brand in its statement. “All of us at Petco are grateful to Tariq Hassan for his work in transforming our brand to a health and wellness company and positioning Petco for success in the future.” The first year of the rebrand Petco's transition has been a move long in the making. After the rebrand, the retailer stopped the sale of human- and bark-activated shock collars while simultaneously creating online training classes led by more than 1,200 Petco-certified dog trainers. It's first foray into a marketing campaign post-rebrand was the campaign titled “It’s What We’d Want If We Were Pets.” With ad spots that focused more on the physical, social and mental health of animals, Petco had established its new-look brand identity. There has been a rise in interest for high-quality food products. Last year, U.S. shoppers spent a total of $58.1 billion on pet food and products, a 9% increase from 2019, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.

C-Suite

Petco Promotes Katie Nauman to CMO as It Continues Foray Into Health and Wellness

She steps in after Tariq Hassan moves to McDonald's

Rafael Canton

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Rafael Canton