SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc hired Gary Briggs, a veteran of Google Inc and EBay Inc, to be its first chief marketing officer (CMO) as the world’s largest social network seeks to expand its global brand.

Briggs, who most recently served as an adviser to the head of Google’s Motorola Mobility division, started on August 6, Facebook said. While he’s the first CMO, Briggs is taking on duties formerly handled by Eric Antonow, who is leaving product marketing to pursue a project in education.

As the first CMO, Briggs will be responsible for building Facebook’s appeal among its 1.15 billion members and promoting new products. Since holding its initial public offering in May 2012, the company has invested in high-production advertisements, including a promotional video shot by Academy Award-nominated director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and a series of clips showing off its Home application for Android phones.

“Telling the story of such an important and still very young brand is an incredible opportunity, and I cannot wait to get started,” Briggs said.

He began at Google in 2010, and served as a vice-president of consumer marketing at the search giant before shifting to Motorola last year when it was acquired by Google. Previously, he held vice-president roles at EBay and its payments unit, PayPal, as well as running the gift-card startup Plastic Jungle. The new CMO will report to Chris Cox, the Facebook’s vice-president of product.

On August 2, Facebook’s shares closed above US$38, a price not seen since its IPO in May 2012. The company has a market capitalisation of US$95.4 billion, compared with US$301.6 billion for Google and Intel Corp’s US$114.2 billion.

(BLOOMBERG)