The Body Shop’s global communications head Marina Galanti resigned
this week, following an overhaul of the marketing and PR function by the
company’s new chief executive, Patrick Gournay.
Galanti joined the company in April 1997, and oversaw a department of
around 50 people. She was responsible for marketing communications,
including advertising, public affairs, media relations and internal
communications.
Gournay, who joined from dairy company Danone in July, has decided to
recruit a marketing director. The director will oversee Galanti’s
responsibilities and in addition will be responsible for leveraging the
brand, through joint promotions, for example, and for the look of the
shops.
Marketing communications manager Justin Francis will take responsibility
for market liaison and will report to the new director, as will public
affairs head Gavin Grant, who will also take responsibility for internal
and media relations.
The restructure means that instead of a PR professional overseeing
marketing, a marketing professional will oversee PR.
Grant said: ’We’re not saying PR isn’t important to The Body Shop, we’re
saying we need to get a lot of other areas right. There’s more potential
in the company than we’ve delivered so far, and we know we’ve got to
change.’
Gournay joined The Body Shop with a brief to boost performance after a
run of disappointing financial results. The company has an annual
turnover of pounds 270 million and 1,600 shops in 47 countries.
Galanti said: ’I’ve been here for a year-and-a-half, I’ve restructured
the department, brought in an international element, and developed a
corporate marketing communications strategy, and I feel I’ve come to the
end of a phase and it’s time to move on.’
