Jess Vanner, Joe Malunda

GCI Health hires Jess Vanner as group senior vice president, paid media and Joe Malunda as group SVP, US digital team and operations lead. Vanner joins GCI Health after more than 11 years at Real Chemistry, where she established the social media team and led paid media. In her new post, she is responsible for expanding the agency’s paid media offering, growing its team, accelerating platform partnerships and increasing integrated media activations. Malunda was most recently at Edelman, where he led its digital health practice in the West and was global digital lead for several Fortune 150 companies. He will will partner with GCI Health’s account teams to lead operations across the digital practice.

Wayne Davis

Hertz Global Holdings names Wayne Davis EVP, CMO, effective January 3. Davis comes to the company from GE Appliances, a Haier company, where he was most recently led its mass premium Café brand. He was previously senior brand director for GE Appliances’ Haier & Hotpoint brands. In his new role, Davis will be responsible for leading the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty brands and shaping the company's marketing strategy to drive effective brand reach and customer engagement. Laura C. Smith, who has led marketing for the last two years, will continue in her role as EVP, global sales and customer experience. "Wayne's brand-building experience and expertise in data-driven marketing analytics is a powerful combination, and I am excited about the vision he will bring to Hertz," said Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr.

Marissa Dunn

Peppercomm brings on Marissa Dunn as a senior media strategist. Dunn was most recently a team leader and senior producer at Bloomberg News, working on its afternoon program, “Bloomberg Markets: The Close.” She was previously a producer at Fox News Channel and has also served as a script/production coordinator at “Good Morning America.” At Peppercomm, Dunn, provides consultative insights, media strategy and storytelling based on best practices gleaned during her time working in broadcast and news production. “Having been in a live control room, Marissa knows exactly how to position a story to best appeal to the media and how to think on her feet in a fast-paced environment,” said Peppercomm EVP and chief innovation officer Jackie Kolek.

Mason Essif

The Duke University School of Medicine appoints Mason Essif as vice dean for communications and advancement and CCO, effective late January. Essif was previously assistant vice provost for communications and public affairs at Weill Cornell Medicine. Before that, he was SVP at Ogilvy Washington Public Relations, and he has served as a reporter and producer at ABC News, CNN, and the Washington Post. As head of the school’s Office of Strategic Communications, Essif will lead an extended team of communicators to raise the school’s profile, deepen engagement with constituents, and highlight its achievements.