Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has named Brian Povinelli to be global brand leader for Westin Hotels & Resorts. Povinelli has spent the last five years at Starwood in senior marketing roles, most recently as VP, brand management for the company's North America division, where he oversaw marketing, advertising, brand management and strategic positioning for Starwood's two largest and most global brands, Westin and Sheraton, per the company. Povinelli, who will report to Phil McAveety, Starwood's chief brand officer, replaces Nancy London, who is leaving the company after ten years to  join fashion venture, "Style for Hire," which her …

The Home Depot is getting ready for its own version of Black Friday. For the second year in a row, the DIY heavyweight will roll out regional promotions that include door busters, as well as special pricing on lawn and garden, patio furniture, and grills. The company launched the idea last Spring, and this year is expanding it to include 60,000 seasonal associates trained for four different weekend events, beginning this weekend. Participation varies by market and climate. "Spring is our Christmas," Craig Menear, EVP/merchandising, says in the company's release. "We want to give consumers the best value …

It's finally happened. You gotta pay to play now at the New York Times online. The company is introducing digital subscriptions. "It's an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in The Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform," said the publisher in a release. "The change will primarily affect those who are heavy consumers of the content on our Web site and on mobile applications." 

Starting today the Times will launch digital subscriptions to readers in Canada as a beta prior to …

More than a third (35%) of Americans ages 13-54 say they watch streaming video programming from a TV network, up from 29% in 2006, according to findings of an ongoing tracking study from Knowledge Networks. The study, "TV's Web Connections," also found that 5% of the population (or 17% of those who watched network programming online) said they have "reduced or eliminated regular TV service in the past year because of their Internet enabled viewing.

Andrew Altersohn has been named president of Havas Digital North America. Altersohn, who reports to both Anthony Rhind, co-Global CEO, Havas Digital, and Maria Francoli, CEO of Havas Media North America and MPG Global, will be responsible for all the North American operations of Havas’ digital units, including agencies such as Media Contacts and Mobext. Altersohn joins Havas Digital from Publicis Modem USA, where he most recently was Executive Vice President, Marketing and Strategy. Altersohn fills a position that has been vacant since Ed Montes left to run Havas Digital spin-off Adnetik.

Yahoo next Monday will debut its second original show on Yahoo Finance called "Breakout" and hosted by Jeff Macke and Matt Nesto, both formerly of CNBC. Sponsored by Merrill Edge, the new program will focus on covering global trading and markets and promises interviews with "big-name investors and traders" and new installments posted several times a day. "Breakout" will accompany "Tech Ticker" on Yahoo Finance, which co-host Henry Blodget said in a blog post will be renamed "Daily Ticker," and continue to focus on the economy, markets, and politics broadly. Yahoo said "Tech Ticker" attracts 2 million viewers on "peak …

Michael Smith has been named Chief Digital Officer at Forbes Media, a new post. He retains his operating responsibilities as President of Forbes.com, reporting to Scott Masterson, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Forbes Media.

Long-time Nielsen spokesman Gary Holmes is leaving the research giant to become a freelance public relations consultant.

Mobile ad network InMobi is the lastest company to become a global premium member of the Mobile Marketing Association. The group's top-tier membership level entails a six-figure commitment to by participating companies to help promote the mobile marketing industry. In connection with its new role, InMobi will be the founding sponsor of the MMA's first Mobile CEO Summit, to be held July 24-26 in the Dominican Republic. InMobi's founder and CEO, Naveen Tewari, will also be appointed as an honorary member to the MMA global board. Other premium members since the program was started in 2009 include Alcatel-Lucent, Microsoft Advertising, The …

PepsiCo has unveiled a new bottle that is 100% plant-based and 100% recyclable.  The company will pilot production of the new bottle in 2012, and hopes to roll it out for full commercial use after that pilot. PepsiCo chairman/CEO Indra Nooyi called the bottle, which looks and functions identically with existing PET-based bottles, a "transformational development" for the company resulting from its commitment to R&D, and a direct reflection of its "Performance with a Purpose" corporate mission. PepsiCo believes it will ultimately be able to use agricultural byproducts from its foods business to manufacture the eco-friendly bottles. "