• by Emily Burg , April 19, 2007

Dell Inc. this week named Mark Jarvis its first Chief Marketing Officer, though the landmark appointment for the computer company was made with little fanfare, not even a press release.

Company spokesman Dwayne Cox confirmed Jarvis' appointment, saying Jarvis, who began work on Monday, will be responsible for all Dell marketing activity globally.

"Michael [Dell, the company's founder and CEO] specifically wants him to focus on developing and implementing a marketing strategy that fully leverages the value and the international awareness of the Dell brand," Cox told Media Post. Cox declined comment as to which advertising and marketing agencies Jarvis would work with in his endeavors.

Jarvis performed a similar role at Oracle, where he was CMO and worked for 14 years, Cox said. Most recently, Jarvis founded technology marketing consultant Think Simple. Jarvis also will be "developing and implementing a global marketing organization for Dell, which is all new for the company," Cox said, explaining that the creation of the CMO post is part of Michael Dell's publicly discussed evaluation of how the company was reaching the customers.

"The direct model is how we operate, but [Michael Dell] indicated that he was evaluating all alternatives from distribution and manufacturing to best reach our customers," Cox said. Reconnecting with and redefining the relationship with consumers has been a priority of Michael Dell's since his return to office.

He created a suggestion forum called IdeaStorm, an online community for customers to post their ideas about products. Upon announcing its launch, Michael Dell said, "We are at our best when we are hearing directly from our customers. We listen, learn and then improve and innovate based on what our customers want. It's one of the real advantages of being a direct company."