Ralph Lauren Hires First Chief Marketer

Ralph Lauren Corporation has hired its first chief marketing officer to further solidify the leadership team in support of the brand’s Way Forward Plan. Jonathan Bottomley has been appointed to the newly created role, and will be responsible for evolving the brand’s voice, leading the global marketing team and building marketing strategies across brands.

Bottomley comes from Vice Media, where he served as chief strategy officer of Virtue. Prior to that, he was chief strategy officer and managing partner in the London headquarters of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, where he led strategic brand-building efforts for clients across the luxury and consumer lifestyle sectors.

Ralph Lauren also announced that Tom Mendenhall has been named brand president, Men’s Polo, Purple Label and Double RL. In this newly created role, all men’s brand functions will report into Mendenhall, including design and merchandising, and he will be charged with maximizing brand strength to improve sales growth.

“As we write our next chapter, we continue to add exceptionally strong leaders with the passion, energy and talent to lead our company into the future," said Ralph Lauren. "Both Jonathan and Tom bring a fresh perspective and incredible depth of brand experience to Ralph Lauren. They each have impressive track records, and we're looking forward to welcoming them into our leadership as our evolution continues.”