Corporate Governance

ComScore elevated president Serge Matta to the role of CEO as the digital measurement firm reported recorded fourth-quarter and full-year results.

Matta fills the position occupied by Dr. Magid Abraham who along with Gian Fulgoni co-founded the company. Abraham will relinquish the CEO role and serve as executive chairman of the board of directors, assuming a position currently held by Fulgoni who will become chairman emeritus.

With usage of electronic cigarettes on the rise, a new study by e-cig manufacturer Mistic contends the majority of Americans are not opposed to second hand vapor.
 

Domo, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) venture, has named Matt Belkin as chief strategic solutions officer and SVP of consulting.

In this role, Belkin will oversee the development of Domo's consulting organization and be responsible for developing “packaged solutions and best practices.”

Most recently, Belkin was VP of customer strategy at Adobe Systems' digital marketing division, which he joined from Omniture. He was part of the team there that helped grow the company's revenue from $20 million in 2004 to more than $1 billion in 2013.

Kohl’s has teamed up with actress Katie Holmes to confront the “pink elephant in the room” — breast cancer — in a new awareness-raising initiative. Kohl’s will donate up to $1 million to Susan G. Komen to help support the cause.

Eco Depot has signed a letter of intent with Water Technology Development to distribute a new portable water purification device called the WaterGizzi. Eco Depot plans to market the product as part of its eco-friendly product line, which also includes the Click and Pour and the recently acquired WaterGeeks filtration brand.

Virginia Beach, Va. — Lowe’s Home Center has sold a 13.5-acre property to a private developer based in Virginia Beach for $9 million. Divaris Real Estate represented the seller, Lowe’s, in the transaction. Located one mile north of The Town Center of Virginia Beach, was once a neighborhood grocery-anchored shopping center. Lowe’s Home Center purchased the property in 2007, clearing and preparing it for future development. The new buyer plans to build another shopping center or mixed-use development on the site.

New York — Industry veteran Thomas has Kornitzer officially joined Winick Realty Group N.J., where he will serve as senior director in the company’s Cranford, N.J., office. Kornitzer will direct both landlord and tenant accounts, specifically working with such exclusive clients as Safeguard Self Storage, Pep Boys and Wendy’s.

Virginia Beach, Va. — Divaris Real Estate has named Read F. Goode, Jr. to the post of managing broker of its Richmond, Va., office. Goode will focus on commercial sales and leasing services, land and shopping center acquisition and development.

Goode has more than two decades of brokerage and commercial development experience throughout central Virginia. He joins Divaris from S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. where he specialized in commercial land development and sales.

Toward the end of January, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart has given itself two years to match the online service and delivery speed of Amazon.com.

In an interview at the World Economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, Neil Ashe, Wal-Mart’s global e-commerce CEO told Journal reporter Dennis Berman was building new warehouses across the country dedicated to handling online orders.

Chicago -- Retail CFOs are feeling more confident about the state of the consumer, forecast a 5.1% increase in total sales and a 4.8% increase in same-store sales this year, according to a new BDO USA survey. The finding marks a significant increase from the number expressing similar sentiments last year.

In the study,  a majority (63%) of CFOs indicate that they include online sales in their comparable sales projections, suggesting that some of this expected growth and optimism may be linked to the exploding popularity of e-commerce.