Ethan Chernofsky named Placer.ai's chief marketing officer
Six years ago, Chain Store Age noticed two men at a small booth in the lobby of the Javits Center at ICSC’s New York show.
We asked one of them — Ethan Chernofsky — what they were up to and quickly realized that the concentric two-, five-, and 10-mile circles indicating the key market areas of their centers were soon going to be a thing of the past.
Today, the Placer.ai booth is manned by 15 or so associates attending to scores of retail brands and developers who have come to rely on the foot-traffic analytics provider’s cell phone data maps of key populations, most of them introduced to its detailed customer analyses by Chernofsky.
This week, Chernofsky, who had served as senior VP of marketing at Placer.ai, has been installed as the company’s chief marketing officer.
“I’ve had the joy of being on this journey for over six years now and am so grateful to be part of this incredible team and to play a role in the impact being made,” said Chernofsky.
The new CMO feels that his company can play an essential role for its clients as a changemaker for its clients operating in a retail world in the midst of significant change.
"Placer.ai provides a critical vantage point into the causes, realities, and implications of these shifts," he said. "For us, marketing is about understanding what’s happening and why, which makes the role both interesting and fulfilling."
Under Chernofsky's leadership in the U.S., Placer.ai has become an indispensable tool for retail, food and beverage, and entertainment brands such as Dave & Buster’s, Guess, Planet Fitness, Adidas, and BJ’s.
Its foot traffic analytics also have become vital background for retail real estate developers and brokers that include Macerich, Irvine Company, SRS Real Estate Partners, and NewMark Merrill, whose CEO Sandy Sigal was the first to recognize the company’s value and helped put them on the retail real estate industry’s must-have list.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and am excited about the peaks we’re still going to conquer,” Chernofsky said. “Thrilled that I get to go on this journey with this group.”
