ATLANTA — After a thorough search, Jo Ann Herold, former chief marketing officer for The Honey Baked Ham Company, global chief marketing officer for Interface Inc. and vice president of Brand and Communications at Arby’s Restaurant Group, will serve as vice president for Public Relations and Marketing Communications starting Jan. 2. She has been serving as interim vice president since May 15.
Herold, an expert-in-residence and faculty member in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, brings deep expertise in leading organizations, brands and teams to innovate, modernize and grow.
Herold has served on the GSU Marketing Roundtable for 20 years and, alongside Dr. Denish Shah, has helped increase its membership by more than 30 percent. She has also served as co-chair for Georgia State’s Future of Marketing Conference and the Max Awards. She teaches global strategic marketing in Robinson’s Executive MBA program.
"Jo Ann is a master in brand storytelling and communications," Georgia State President M. Brian Blake said. "She has been instrumental in helping me to share my vision for GSU over the last several months. You will see more from Jo Ann as she leads the communication strategy for the strategic plan and helps to lead GSU’s branding platform. I am excited to work with Jo Ann and draw on her experience as we continue to advance the growth of our university."
As the global chief marketing officer for Interface Inc., she created the company’s first truly global brand team, delivering product and brand strategies resulting in five consecutive quarters of growth. A team and culture catalyst, she also played a significant role in Interface’s bold global sustainability movement, Climate Take Back.
She twice served as chief marketing officer for The Honey Baked Ham Company and was recruited to serve on the brand turnaround team at Arby’s Restaurant Group.
Herold has been named one of the National Diversity Council’s Most Powerful and Influential Women, she is an American Marketing Association (AMA) Lifetime Achievement Award winner and was named the 2023 AMA Marketer for Good.
She is past president of the CMO Club and AMA Atlanta and previous board chair of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she was also on the nominating committee. She’s also a published best-selling author, a sought-after speaker and is on the executive board of Fast Company.
Herold has an MBA in International Business from Mercer University, an Advanced Executive Coaching Diploma from Emory University and a B.A. in Communication from Mississippi State University.