• by Wayne Friedman , December 2, 2015

NBCUniversal has named Verizon marketing executive John Harrobin to the post of chief marketing officer of its advertising sales unit, the Content Innovation Agency.

He will oversee the strategy, development and implementation of all marketing and creative content activities at the company’s advertising sales division, reporting to Linda Yaccarino, chairman, advertising sales and client partnerships at NBCUniversal.

Yaccarino notes that Harrobin's experience across all media channels and expertise in digital innovation was key to his hire. She said in a statement: “[He] will help us amplify the marketing power of our brands and scale opportunities for our advertisers so they can connect even more deeply to the audiences.”

At Verizon since 2003, Harrobin most recently was chief marketing officer of Verizon's Consumer and Mass Business division, which included FiOS video and internet businesses. He was responsible for creative, media, channel development, e-commerce, and marketing operations.  Before this, he was chief marketing officer of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, tasked with streamlining and simplifying Verizon's global product portfolio as well as expanding distribution.

Harrobin was also interim chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless; senior vp of marketing and digital media, and vp of marketing communications and CRM.