Sam’s Club names new ‘chief member officer’

The newly created position of chief member officer at Sam’s Club has been filled by veteran marketer Tracey Brown who has been given a wide range of member marketing, acquisition, engagement, retention and analytics responsibilities.

Brown joined Sam’s last October as vice president of membership development after spending the prior six years at customer experience agency RAPP as senior vice president and later as managing director. RAPP, part of Omnicom’s Diversified Agency Services division, is focused on, “creating real-time, brand-building, problem-solving, useful customer journeys across all channels that are measurable, trackable and accountable,” according to the company’s Web site.

“At Sam’s Club, we are committed to make the Sam’s Club membership card the most valuable card in our members’ wallets by offering great merchandise our members need and services they expect through ongoing membership enhancements. Today, I’m pleased to announce a leadership move to drive us forward in this commitment,” Sam’s Club President and CEO Rosalind Brewer said in naming Brown to the new chief member role.

In her new role, Brown will focus on Sam’s overall membership strategy, member acquisitions, member engagement, retention, marketing and data strategy and analytics, according to Brewer.

“I am thrilled to continue to carry forward Mr. Sam Walton’s vision for the company he founded 32 years ago, and that is to put the member at the center of everything we do and continually add value and exceed their expectations," said Tracey Brown, chief member officer.

Brown said.

Reporting to Brown will be Ben Dolan, vice president of membership operations, Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, vice president of marketing, Taylor Duersch, vice president of member and data strategy and Kim Niehaus, senior director of membership retention. Mickey Mericle, vice president of member insights, will continue to work closely with the membership organization while Racquel Harris, who previously led marketing and member strategy, moved into Sam’s merchandising organization with responsibility for adult beverages.

Sam’s has always had a focus on various aspects of membership, but Brown’s appointment to the newly created C-level position is a noteworthy development for the organization, especially considering her agency and marketing background. Prior to her experience at RAPP, Brown served as COO for nearly two years at advertising and marketing agency Direct Impact and prior to that spent five year with Advanced Micro Devices as director of worldwide consumer marketing. The Columbia Business School graduate also previously worked for The Pepper & Rogers Group, Dell, American Express, ExxonMobil and Procter & Gamble.