Marisa Thalberg
Chief Brand and Marketing Officer (Consulting)
Marisa Thalberg joined JCPenney in October 2024 as consulting chief brand and marketing officer, reporting to Marc Rosen, chief executive officer. Thalberg is responsible for leading the reinvigoration of the JCPenney brand, and how it connects with current and prospective customers, across marketing strategy, creative, visual merchandising, customer engagement (all paid, owned and earned media), insights and analytics, CRM and loyalty, partnerships, external communications, as well as shared responsibility for pricing and credit strategy.
Thalberg brings over three decades of experience leading groundbreaking marketing initiatives for brands across a range of industries. Most recently, Thalberg served as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for United Parks & Resorts. Prior to this, Thalberg was the first EVP, Chief Brand and Marketing Officer of Lowe’s Home Improvement. Her leadership helped drive record sales for the company, propelling Lowe’s to #31 on the Fortune 500 list while also lifting the brand to #22 on the Harris Poll of top 100 companies for corporate reputation. Before Lowe’s, as Global Chief Brand Officer of Taco Bell, she was instrumental to generating category-beating same store sales growth while propelling Taco Bell to become a true lifestyle brand through unexpected initiatives like Taco Bell x Forever 21, Taco Bell Weddings, and The Taco Bell Hotel, where reservations sold out in two minutes. Her experience also includes almost a decade at The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) where she brought their global portfolio of prestige brands into the digital and social era of marketing, as well as Unilever Cosmetics International and Revlon.
Thalberg has been recognized as one of the most innovative CMOs in the world by Business Insider, a Power Player by the National Retail Federation, and the She Runs It 2017 Woman of the Year. She is a five-time honoree on Forbes’ “World’s Most Influential CMOs” list, which led her to be one of only 18 inducted into their inaugural CMO Hall of Fame. In 2002, Thalberg founded the organization Executive Moms, and has continued to be an advocate for women and moms in the workplace. Thalberg is also passionate about teaching and inspiring those rising in the industry; she regularly guest lectures at multiple universities and co-hosts the podcast “Brand New,” produced with iHeart Media.
Thalberg holds a bachelor’s degree in American civilization from Brown University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.