Benner joins The Planet after serving as senior vice president for Reliant Energy's retail marketing and operations.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web host The Planet (www.theplanet.com) has appointed Matthew R. Benner as vice president of marketing and product management, where he will be responsible for The Planet’s entire span of marketing and product management functions, including advertising, the company’s web presence and development, product management, public relations, social media and corporate communications.
According to its Tuesday announcement, Benner will report to chairman and chief executive officer Douglas J. Erwin. Most recently, Benner was senior vice president for Reliant Energy’s retail marketing and operations, where he directed the business strategy and customer-facing functions for its retail electric business. In this role, he managed key functions spanning marketing, sales, operations, customer care, new product development, and the company’s community affairs and public relations departments.
“Matthew Benner’s background and management experience in online marketing, new product development and business strategy is a trifecta for The Planet,” Erwin said in a statement. “His track record with four of the worldwide leaders in marketing, and driving growth with small and mid-sized businesses, provides our company with a skill set unique to the hosting industry. Matthew also brings a reputation for creating a strong strategic vision, and building and motivating great teams, which is important to our corporate culture. In addition, his understanding of international business provides The Planet with the expertise we sought as we continue to expand our business beyond North America.”
Prior to his work with Reliant, Benner lived in London for two years, where he was the Barclays Bank director of marketing for its international retail and commercial banking sector, and wealth management businesses. Before working for Barclays, Benner served in a number of increasingly responsible marketing and general management roles for Fidelity including senior vice president for the company’s online and indirect/reseller businesses, and senior vice president of marketing for the emerging corporate and middle markets. While at Fidelity, he launched the industry’s first fully automated, bundled, multi-practice online offerings to the small and medium-sized business segments.
Benner holds a B.S.E. in Chemical and Nuclear Engineering from Princeton University, and has classical training in marketing, strategy and sales. He started his career in brand management and sales roles with Procter & Gamble’s packaged soap and detergent division, before taking a five-year role in the telecom industry with AT&T for as a marketing vice president for the company’s consumer and small business division. He also spent seven years with Kraft in both brand management and corporate strategy, and was a category manager in the company’s core cheese business.
Last week, cloud-based IT compliance and security solutions provider Alert Logic (www.alertlogic.com) announced changes to its marketing division when it appointed 15-year industry veteran Urvish Vashi vice president of marketing, responsible for marketing strategy and execution along with product management.
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