Gannett announces executive promotions

Gannett Co., Inc. has announced that Kevin Gentzel, formerly chief revenue officer, has been named president, USA TODAY NETWORK Marketing Solutions, effective Jan. 26. Gentzel succeeds Sharon Rowlands, who is leaving the company to pursue another opportunity.

Gentzel joined Gannett as its first chief revenue officer in 2015, bringing 20 years of experience driving revenue for publishers, including Yahoo!, The Washington Post and Forbes Media. In his role as chief revenue officer, he has overseen all advertising and marketing solutions revenue in North America, including national sales, GET Creative and revenue operations, as well as local sales and sales support teams.

Gannett also announced that Kris Barton, chief product officer, will now report to Robert J. Dickey, president and chief executive officer, with expanded duties. Barton will continue to oversee the strategic direction and innovation of product and technologies for the company's consumer content and its business-to-business advertising and marketing solutions, including managing both SweetIQ and WordStream.

Dickey said, "Kevin and Kris are proven leaders who have been instrumental in advancing our digital transformation and positioning Gannett as a leader in advertising and marketing services solutions. Under Kevin's leadership, our digital marketing services business has thrived, consistently delivering strong revenue growth. As chief product officer, Kris has demonstrated a dedication to delivering excellence every day for our readers, business partners and other stakeholders. I am confident they will continue to drive the company's future success."

Gentzel said, "I am excited to take on this new role overseeing the company's marketing solutions organization. Following a year of rapid transformation, 2019 is a very important year for us as we seek to continue the growth of our national business, build on the launch of LOCALiQ, our solutions brand for local businesses, capitalize on our acquisitions of ReachLocal, SweetIQ and WordStream, and execute on our mission of being absolutely essential to all of our partner clients."

Barton said, "As part of our commitment to create compelling content and value for Gannett customers, I look forward to continuing to advance the innovative products and services that are driving the digital transformation of our media properties across the USA TODAY NETWORK as well as our advertising and marketing solutions for businesses."

Dickey added, "We also thank Sharon for her dedication and contributions. Her leadership on the integration of ReachLocal post-acquisition and the recent realignment of our sales organization have been important pieces of Gannett's digital transformation. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors."