Andy Gibson has been named CMO of Bacardi Limited, the world's largest privately held spirits company. Paul Macaluso has been promoted to CMO of Moe's Southwest Grill, a 400-plus-unit chain of restaurants owned by Focus Brands. Alan Cohen has been appointed CMO of LifeProof, a marketer of protective cases for smartphones and tablets. More about each one at jump.

A dispute between Tesla Motors and the New York Times over a review of the maker's Model S sedan is taking on an increasingly strident and noisy life of its own, raising questions about just what the California-based, battery-car start-up hopes to accomplish. Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk has been angered by what he has dubbed a "fake" story by veteran Times reporter John Broder. But more than a few observers warn that Musk's decision to angrily fight back could backfire and raise even more concerns about battery-car technology. Tesla's stock is taking a sharp drop from its nearly …

Regional player Union Bank, which wants to go national, is touting its honesty and clean hands that never handled subprime loans with its first ever campaign that features poet Maya Angelou, actor Edward James Olmos. Via agency Eleven, the campaign theme is "Doing right, it's just good business."

Target's limited-edition designer partnership with designer Prabal Gurung seems to have the right stuff. The Minneapolis-based discounter's line of floral dresses and women's fashion accessories under the Gurung name that proved to be a hit with shoppers. Two days after the items went for sale at 8 a.m. on Feb. 10, many items in the collection were already sold out. Online availability was also scarce, especially in popular sizes. Not so a recent pairing with high-end retailer Neiman Marcus the results of which stagnated on shelves.

CVS Caremark has announced the appointment of former Staples executive Brian Tilzer as SVP chief digital officer. In his new role, Tilzer will develop and lead teams driving CVS Caremark's company-wide digital innovation efforts and will focus on connecting current and future digital initiatives. Prior to joining CVS Caremark, he was the SVP of global e-commerce with Staples, where he developed and led several multi-channel digital innovation strategies.

Many c-store leaders at the NACS Leadership Forum argued that convenience store chains need to adapt or meet their makers. One example: Igal Zamir, president of Tennessee-based MAPCO Express, whose company operates 372 c-stores in seven states, said industry challenges include channel blurring, the reinvention of drugstores as a convenience destination for women, flat fuel consumption and declining cigarette profits. He said C stores must adapt to consumers shifting from soft drinks to energy and healthy drink solutions. He cited Duane Reade, a division of drugstore giant Walgreen Co., as the c-store industry's biggest competitor.

Burger King has revamped its coffee again, adopting "a new, 100% Latin American arabica bean custom blend" from supplier Seattle's Best, a unit of Starbucks. The new Smooth Roast platform includes brewed coffee, iced coffee and, for the first time, latts (beginning in March), which moves Burger King a bit closer to McDonald's McCaf menu. A Burger King spokesperson told BurgerBusiness.com that its roughly 8,400 U.S. stores will install specialty coffee machines by mid-March in order to execute the espresso-based latts.

To achieve share gains, Chevrolet needs to save Malibu. The company has had to slash prices and do a mid-cycle refresh of the recently redesigned midsize sedan. Chevy will cut $770 of the car's MSRP, hoping to keep the sedan from losing more ground. Introduced in early 2012, the domestic 4-door faces a formidable assortment of competitors in one of the market's toughest segments, including all-new versions of the Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and Honda Accord, as well as the midsize sales leader, the Toyota Camry. Malibu's unanticipated shortfall is one reason why parent General Motors lost 1.5 points of …

The advertising industry took a great leap forward after the Great Recession, but left actors in the dust. Commercial production broke records in LA, last year but middle-class actors in ads are struggling to make ends meet. What else is new? Celebrities are taking spots once occupied by lesser-known actors. Lucrative network television residuals - the fees that actors get when their work is rerun - have eroded as advertisers shift spending to cable television shows like "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" that pay lower rates. And then there's internet exposure, which offers little cash for casts.

Nation's Restaurant News, with WD Partners, put together the list of top chains based on consumer sentiment. The Cheesecake Factory was top in the Varied-Menu subcategory, though at the bottom for Value because it nearly swept the rest of the survey's attribute ratings. After that, in order: P.F. Chang's, Bonefish Grill, Olive Garden, and Carrabba's Italian Grill.