Marian Lee has been promoted to chief marketing officer of Netflix. She replaces Bozoma St. John, who joined the streaming giant in 2020 after serving senior executives at Uber and Apple.
Lee joined the company in July 2021 as vice president of marketing for the United States and Canada (UCAN in Netflix), overseeing all campaigns for the company’s movies and series. Before entering the world of streaming, Lee worked with major fashion and music brands, including an eight-year stay at Spotify. She has also had various roles in Condé Nast, working for Vogue among other publications and working in marketing at J.Crew.
“Marian is a strategic retailer with extensive experience not only in entertainment but also more broadly, working in fashion and media brands,” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and CEO of content. “When she joined Netflix last year, she had an immediate impact on the marketing team and demonstrated that she is an outstanding leader who understands how to talk about brands and popular culture.”
Lee joins Netflix as the company faces stiff competition in the streaming space. Walt Disney, Paramount Global, Comcast and WarnerMedia have launched their own streaming services in recent years, and Apple and Amazon are spending more freely on their entertainment offerings. This means that the struggle to attract audiences for Netflix shows and movies is becoming fiercer. But Netflix has the advantage of being a pioneer in the digital video business.
“Netflix is an amazing brand with the best content and creative teams in the world,” Lee said. “I am confident that our most exciting work lies ahead and I am honored to lead this best-in-class global marketing team in the future and continue to connect our amazing series and films with audiences around the world.”
St. John is one of the most famous figures in the world of marketing enviable presence on social networks. Prior to joining Netflix, she worked as Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor and Chief Marketing Officer at Uber. St. John also worked at Apple as head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes. She joined Beats by Dre in 2014, which Apple acquired shortly after her arrival. St. John works at PepsiCo, rising to head of music and entertainment marketing. Earlier in his career, St. John was vice president of marketing for women’s fashion brand Ashley Stewart and managed accounts at Spike Lee’s Arnold Worldwide and SpikeDDB advertising agencies. Her departure from Netflix is described as mutual and friendly, and the company and the former marketing chief have good things to say about each other.
“I loved working with Boz and was inspired by her creativity and energy,” Sarandos said. “She has attracted world-class marketers to the company and encouraged them to be innovative leaders. We are grateful for her contribution and wish her all the best. ”
“I came to Netflix with an excess of enthusiasm and creativity, and I’m extremely proud of the campaigns we’ve inspired that have sparked global conversations,” added St. John. “It was a transformative two-year experience that I will always be grateful for.”