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Marketing veteran Ukonwa Ojo has been named CMO of Amazon’s Prime Video and Amazon Studios, joining the ecommerce giant’s entertainment division from the chief marketing post at MAC Cosmetics.
Ojo is responsible for leading global brand and originals marketing, reporting directly to Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, who joined the company in February. She takes over the CMO role from Andy Donkin, who will be moving into a new, unspecified position at Amazon, according to a staff memo Hopkins sent announcing Ojo’s hire.
“As an award-winning marketer, Ukonwa has a fantastic two-decade track record as a builder of top global brands,” Hopkins wrote in the memo. “Her wide-ranging experience will give us a broader perspective on how to connect customers to the Prime Video brand and grow our business by marketing our content in innovative ways to develop an even stronger emotional connection with our audiences.”
Ojo most recently was CMO for MAC Cosmetics, where she oversaw brand positioning in markets around the world. Prior to that, she was CMO of consumer beauty at Coty, where she led P&L, brand development strategy, advertising, innovation, social/digital, design, and media planning/buying. She also was SVP at Coty’s CoverGirl, where she was North America general manager of the makeup brand, and earlier in her career held brand and general management roles at Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, General Mills and Meadwestvaco.
In his memo, Hopkins linked to a YouTube video of Ojo speaking about empathy in marketing as a WFA Global Marketer of the Year 2018 nominee.
Ojo is the first significant hire by Hopkins since he joined Amazon nearly seven months from Sony Pictures Television. Amazon Studios continues to be led by Jennifer Salke, reporting to Hopkins. Shortly after Hopkins’ appointment, Amazon VP of worldwide video Greg Hart exited the company to become chief product officer at real-estate software company Compass.
Ojo holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Read Hopkins’ memo announcing Ojo’s hire:
Hello Team –
I’m writing today to share some news. One of the world’s leading marketing executives, Ukonwa Ojo, is joining the Amazon team as Chief Marketing Officer, Prime Video and Amazon Studios. Ukonwa begins her new role leading our global brand and originals marketing on September 21st, reporting directly to me.
Andy Donkin will be moving into a new position at Amazon, which will be announced soon; in the interim, he will continue to report to me. Andy will help Ukonwa transition into her new role and get to know the marketing team. His direct reports will now report to Ukonwa. I want to thank Andy for his significant contributions in helping to grow the Prime Video business over the last 2½ years and for his leadership of the marketing team.
As an award-winning marketer, Ukonwa has a fantastic two-decade track record as a builder of top global brands. Her wide-ranging experience will give us a broader perspective on how to connect customers to the Prime Video brand and grow our business by marketing our content in innovative ways to develop an even stronger emotional connection with our audiences.
Ukonwa comes to us from M∙A∙C Cosmetics, where she served as Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for championing M∙A∙C’s brand positioning and increasing its presence and appeal to a global consumer in growing markets around the world. She helped drive customer engagement strategies and delivered breakthrough product innovation in order to maximize consumer connection to the iconic brand.
Before joining M∙A∙C, Ukonwa was Chief Marketing Officer, Consumer Beauty at Coty, where she oversaw brand development strategy, advertising, innovation, social/digital and other areas including collaboration with some of the biggest names in the entertainment business. She also held brand and general management roles at Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser PLC and General Mills Corporation.
Over the course of her career, Ukonwa has been recognized with over 50 awards and honors for driving outstanding market-leading results and delivering creative campaigns and innovations that motivate people to act. Her recognition includes Business Insider’s Most Innovative CMOs, AdAge 50 and A List, Adweek 50, WWD Brand Builder of the Year, WFA Global Marketer of the Year List, Financial Times Upstanding 100 and Black Enterprise’s 25 Women Changing the World. She is also a member of the 2020 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.
I’m proud of our incredible marketing team and I’m looking forward to the exciting possibilities under Ukonwa’s leadership.
For a virtual introduction to Ukonwa and a preview of her marketing philosophy, click here. Please join me in welcoming her to the team.
Mike
