Jolly Pets Parent Company Names New Chief Marketing Officer

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Press release: Tenth Avenue Holdings

Tenth Avenue Holdings has announced the hiring of Kimberly Francis to the newly created position of chief marketing officer. In this role, Francis will bring strategic brand-building expertise to support TAH and its subsidiary businesses. She has also been named to the board of directors of PackIt. She joins TAH from Edelman. TAH is a privately held, diversified holding company that operates and invests in privately and publicly held businesses.

“As we continue to grow our collaborative business relationships to impact the world positively, our leadership team recognized it was time to bring on board a like-minded passionate marketer to build our brands strategically,” said Joel Citron, co-CEO, Tenth Avenue Holdings.

“Kimberly has nearly two decades of marketing experience working with emerging and legacy brands. Her experience sits at the intersection of driving business growth, consumer value  and resonance in culture,” he added.

While at Edelman, Francis was executive vice president, client lead and operations director overseeing Unilever Foods and its refreshments portfolio, including the spin-off of the tea business. During her four-year tenure, she led large integrated teams in disciplines that included creative, planning, analytics, digital and earned media. The teams she led at Edelman garnered many awards, including a Gold Effie, a Cannes Lions, a Clio Award and a D&AD Gold Pencil: Cultural Driver for Good Humor’s “A New Jingle for a New Era.”

“I believe in TAH’s mission to create long-term value while maintaining a friendly and inclusive culture that fosters caring, curiosity, intellectual integrity and fun,” said Francis. “I’m thrilled to bring my marketing and business leadership experience to the team, and partner with the exceptional talent at our subsidiary companies.”

Before Edelman, Francis held positions at VaynerMedia, General Mills, Target, Omnicom and Right Management. Her volunteer work includes Tech for Campaigns, Art Connects New York, Taproot Foundation, Good Works and the New York City Wine & Food Festival. Francis holds an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Human & Organization Development from Vanderbilt University.

Tenth Avenue Holdings, LLC, is a privately held, diversified holding company that operates and invests in privately and publicly held businesses. It was founded in 2008 with the intent to combine the founders’ close friendships with a shared desire to build an entity with enduring value. The company’s passion is for long-term value creation that is rooted in relationships with founders and operators. TAH’s current portfolio of private holdings includes Big Barker, Bronx Brewery, Brook & York, Caulipower, E-Garderobe, EQL by Kerrits, Eve’s Addiction, FaceVase, From You Flowers, H.Bloom, Horsemen’s Pride, Jolly Pets, Kerrits, Kitty Kasas, Lula’s Garden, Oughton, PackIt, sendflowers.com, The Gift Basket Store.