Facebook nabs HP's Antonio Lucio for CMO role

Facebook has appointed Antonio Lucio (pictured) as its new chief marketing officer, effective 4 September 2018. Prior to the move, Lucio was chief marketing and communications officer at HP Inc for three years. He takes over from Gary Briggs, who made the decision to retire as Facebook CMO earlier this year.During his time at HP Inc, Lucio was tasked with leading the global marketing organisation, which includes branding, demand generation, strategic events and global communications. In 2016, Lucio made a bold call, issuing a letter to HP’s agencies calling for more diversity in leadership roles. According to the letter shared with Marketing, Lucio wanted formal plans to be created in the next 30 days for an agency to diversify its team. The news made headlines globally.Before HP, he spent eight years at Visa, most recently as global chief marketing and communication officer. With more than two decades of global marketing and brand management experience, Lucio has also worked at brands such as PepsiCo Inc., Kraft General Foods, RJR Foods International, and Procter & Gamble.Confirming Lucio’s appointment in a Facebook post, chief product officer Chris Cox explained that the social media giant’s story is “at an inflection point”.“We have never faced bigger challenges, and we have never had more opportunities to have a positive impact on the world — in our families, our friendships, our communities, and our democracy — by improving our products at their core, and then by telling the story outside that we all know to be true inside,” Cox said.His post also thanked former CMO Gary Briggs for the work he had done in building the brand for the past five years.“[Briggs], you have most importantly brought in an amazing team, and beyond that taken us well into the first several chapters of the journey with gusto, and with an honesty and humility that is uniquely your own. We thank you, and we will miss you,” Cox added.At HP, Lucio will be replaced by Vikrant Batra, who was previously global head of marketing for HP’s imaging and printing group. Meanwhile, HP has also promoted chief communications officer Karen Kahn to its executive leadership team. Both Batra and Kahn will report to chief executive officer Dion Weisler.“We are grateful to Lucio for his service to HP. With a brand that has never been stronger, it’s a testament to his leadership that we are prepared with the right team to continue to reinvent HP and drive shareholder value,” Weisler said.