Link Logistics, the logistics real estate company backed by Blackstone, has appointed Melissa Sachs as chief communications officer, the company first told Axios.

Why it matters: In this newly created position, Sachs will bring together the communication and marketing functions.

Context: Sachs will report to Link Logistics chief executive officer Luke J. Petherbridge and will oversee a team of 50 responsible for internal and external communications, digital strategy, marketing, events, creative and production.

• Before joining Link, Sachs held in-house comms roles at International Flavors & Fragrances, Western Union, DCT Industrial Trust Inc. and Prologis.
• In 2021, she joined Link and has since built the comms function from the ground up.

What she's saying: Bringing together communications and marketing will allow the team to move faster, she told Axios.

• "This opportunity now, for Link to have a truly integrated team, allows us to make a significant contribution to the success of the firm. We are a strategic, focused and integral part of the organization and a team that understands the business deeply and helps to drive tangible value for the business," Sachs says.

What she's watching: The rapidly changing demands that are being placed on the communications function.

• "We're operating on a very quick and ever-changing news cycle, and my main focus is on making sure I understand the news of the day, how it affects the business, how it affects our people, and that we're ready to respond — whether that's a change in actual action, or at least being able to explain and articulate [the issue] to our audiences. We can't tell the future, but we need to be 72 steps ahead to make sure we have a sense of like, where things are headed," Sachs added.
• Because of this, comms and marketing cannot work in silos, she adds.

What's next: Her focus will be on modernizing the combined marcomms function and to ensure that everything they do maps back to Link's business objectives.

• "We've done a really good job marketing the brand, and now it's time for us to shift our focus a little bit in doing more marketing and communication specifically for the business — specifically on a property level — and helping market the real estate," Sachs says.

Share this story

• Shake Shack appointed Luke DeRouen as chief communications officer
• Chevron named UPS alum Laura Lane as new chief corporate affairs officer.
• Johanna Herrmann has been promoted to senior vice president, global communications at Merck.
• UnitedHealth Group named Brian Walsh as senior vice president, public affairs.
• Palantir alum Morgan Gress joins Andreessen Horowitz as communications partner.
• LinkedIn appointed Jessica Jensen as chief marketing officer; New York Times alum Melissa Torres joins as consumer communications manager.
• Alice Palmer joins InvoiceCloud as chief marketing officer.
• Stephany Verstraete joined Xometry chief marketing officer.
• BetterUp alum Cindy Goodrich joins Empathy as chief marketing officer.
• U.S. Soccer Federation has promoted Neil Buethe from chief communications officer to advisor to CEO.
• Raymond Ahn joins HarbourVest Partners as chief marketing officer
• Target alum Jessica Stram joins Essity as head of U.S. public affairs.
• Blackstone promoted David Vitek to vice president, global affairs.
• Amazon alum Rob Banning joins Simbe as senior director, strategic communications.
• Edelman Smithfield alum Lauren Davis joins Solventum as senior director, external communications.
• Alexia Marchetti joins Speak as head of global communications & social.
• Day One Agency alum Christina Lombardi-Limoli joins Foxwoods Resort Casino as head of integrated communications.
• Shana Keith is now assistant vice president, corporate communications at Cox Communications.
• Dell alum Jim Hahn joins Smartsheet as vice president, corporate communications.
• Melanie Gaboriault joined Lululemon as global executive communications director.
• Method Communications alum Beth Haiken joins Klaros Group as head of communications and marketing.
• Elliot Busby is vice president, head of media & communications at Rystad Energy.
• Blackpoint Cyber named Aimee Leabon as vice president, communications.
• American Express promoted Curt Villarosa to director, brand & reputation communications.
• Brooke Niemeyer joins BHG Financial as director of communications.
• Kelley Hodge joins Vista Equity Partners as director of marketing communications.
• Adam Weissmann is CEO communications manager at Ford Motor Company.
• Harman promoted Carole Campbell to executive director of global communications, lifestyle.
• Susan Helvenston joins the executive communications team at Patreon.
• Epic Games named Erika Tuzkov as communication director.
• Red Cell Partners named Ryan Whittle as director of communications & media strategy.
• GameStop named Nicolle Robles as director, communications.
• Lyft alum Bri Reynolds joined Yahoo as senior manager, consumer communications.
• Electra hired Georgina Beven as a media relations manager.
• Laura Schooler joins IBM to support external communications.

• Brunswick Group has named Kate Bedingfield and Jim Bognet as partner. CNBC alum Marc Gilbert joins as a director.
• Burson named Simon Redfern as U.K. CEO.
• Boeing alum Brian Besanceney joins CommsCollectiv as partner.
• Blackstone alum Stephen Lewis joins Prosek Partners as a partner based in London.
• Clyde has named Matt House and Michael O'Mara as managing partners.
• Longacre Square named Amy Freedman as partner, head of Canada.
• Sarah Moloney joins MikeWorldWide as managing director based in London.
• CNBC alum Patrick Manning joins Collected Strategies as vice president.
• ROKK Solutions hired Senate alum Annie Clark as a senior vice president.
• The Levinson Group added Ashley Schapitl as managing director.
• Method Communications hired Fast Company alum Lydia Dishman as vice president, content strategy.
• Allison Worldwide named Ellen Barry as managing director, corporate affairs; Kiersten Fries as chief strategy officer; Aaron Kokoruz as senior vice president, earned media relations; Rebecca Lindland as managing director, automotive; Robyn Patterson as senior vice president, public affairs; and Tony Sardella as managing director, data and predictive analytics.
• C Street Advisory Group named Michael J. Frishberg as president, and Richard Allen joined as vice president, business development.
• JPMorgan Chase alum Alice Luu joins Manhattan Strategies as associate director, strategic communications.
• White House alum Daniel Gurevitch has joined Velocity Partners as an associate.
• Geoff Holtzman joined Narrative Strategies as senior director.
• Bullpen Strategy Group hired Sam Tanenblatt as technical project manager; Caitlyn Harris as a designer.
• Kristianna Sanders joins The Colab as PR director.
• McNeely Brockman Public Relations named Rachel Wood as creative director and Amanda Reinbold as senior advisor.
• Teneo named Robert Familiar as vice president and Alexander Miehls as managing director.
• 160over90 named Jessica Sinn, Justin Zambuto and Ryan Brown as agency co-leads.
• Scott Deveau joins August as managing director and head of financial transactions and shareholder activism.
• Senate alum Wes Kungel joins Acorn Consulting as vice president.
• Anna Stallmann Communications promoted Mae Young and Kristen Crutchley to vice president.
• 120/80 Group named Paula DeGangi as executive vice president; Sarah O'Connell as senior vice president; and Kenneth Meyer as senior vice president.
• Alexandra Ladas Ciesielski is vice president, global AI integration at Golin.
• Megan Murray joined JSA+Partners as senior director, public relations.
• Reservoir Communications Group promoted Jenn Sherman to senior vice president; John Cerulli and Ruby Markham to senior manager; Liz Irons to manager; and Jack Holdsworth, Ankitha Gangarapu and Madelyn Sykes to senior associate.
• Global Strategy Group promoted Tanya Meck to president, communications and public affairs and Nick Gourevitch to president of research & insights.
• Josh Robinson joins Pinkston as president and chief brand officer.
• Sarah McCabe joins JPA Health as senior vice president, investor relations.
• Jaime Figueras joins Forward Global as principal.
• Adfero named Jonathan Grella and Jeff Surrell as senior counselors.
• Emily Poe is a director at Crosscut Strategies.
• Forbes Tate Partners hired Senate alum Tori Smith to its government relations team.
• Rachel Alexander joins FGS Global as managing director, government affairs.
• APCO named William Clark as senior director, public affairs.
• Trident hired Emily Kingsland as executive vice president.
• McCabe Message Partners promoted Jameson Roth to director.

• Abby Barić has been promoted to chief communications officer at IES Abroad.
• Grayscale alum Jenn Rosenthal joined DeFi Education Fund as chief communications officer.
• Carnegie Mellon University named Emily Price as chief marketing & communications officer, School of Computer Science
• Ryan Koslen joins Coastal Carolina University Athletics as chief communications officer.
• The American Cleaning Institute appointed Jessica Ek to associate vice president, strategic communications; Brennan Georgianni to associate vice president, government affairs and strategy; and Ana Luiza Fraisse to director, sustainability.
• Purple Strategies alum Jordan Davis joins Congressional Management Foundation as vice president of communications and programming.
• Alyssa Pettus joins U.S. House Select Committee on China as communications director
• Olivia Walton joins ProPublica as communications manager.

• The Atlantic: Caity Weaver is a staff writer, and Jonathan Lemire and Alex Reisner are contributing writers.
• AdWeek: Kendra Barnett is a senior tech reporter.
• Axios: Alex Isenstadt is a senior politics reporter.
• Bloomberg: Kate Sullivan is a White House correspondent.
• Business Insider: Julia Hornstein covers VC and startups.
• CBS News: Jake Rosen is a Department of Justice reporter; Olivia Rinaldi is a White House reporter
• CNN: Betsy Klein and Alayna Treene are White House reporters
• The Hill: Chris Stirewalt is a political editor.
• NBC News: Craig Melvin is "Today" co-anchor; Garrett Haake is senior White House correspondent; Yamiche Alcindor and Vaughn Hillyard are White House correspondents; Ryan Nobles is chief Capitol Hill correspondent; Stacey Klein is senior director of Washington newsgathering; Colleen Long is a senior editor for NBC News Digital; Maya Eaglin is a correspondent; Nnamdi Egwuonwu is breaking news reporter; Melanie Zanona is a Capitol Hill correspondent.
• The New York Times: Rosalind Helderman is a Supreme Court editor; Greg Jaffe will cover the Department of Defense;
• Politico: Ben Jacobs is a reporter; Jake Traylor is a White House reporter.
• Parade: Matthew Huff is a senior editor, media and entertainment.
• Semafor: Eleanor Mueller is an economic policy reporter.
• USA Today: David Oliver is a wellness editor.
• The Washington Post: Natalie Allison is a White House reporter.
• Yahoo News: Rosa Heyman is editor in chief.