Bumble has appointed Slack alum Gabrielle Ferree as vice president, global communications.

Why it matters: Ferree is part of a broader leadership change taking place at Bumble, which recently appointed Lidiane Jones as CEO in place of founder Whitney Wolfe Herd.

Zoom in: Ferree will report directly to Jones and will oversee all of the dating app's efforts across corporate, product, consumer, international and employee communications.

What she's saying: "Bumble is going through a transformation as it enters its second decade. ... Comms is uniquely positioned to be at the center of any transformation story — especially one like Bumble's where people feel deeply connected to the mission," Ferree told Axios.

• "We need to bring our customers, members, investors, and the general public along for the journey so they can understand why we're making changes and rally with the brand's evolution."

What she's watching: How AI can support communications.

• "I'm impressed — not abashed — if my teams or agency partners are using generative AI to help with a 'bad first draft' or, even better, share the prompts that helped them get a 'pretty good first draft,'" says Ferree.
• "I'm not afraid AI will take over our jobs, but I am concerned my teams are spending too much time doing tasks that could be improved with AI in our workflows."

Share this story

Outcast, the public relations agency known for its deep roots in tech, has appointed Julie Inouye as president.

Why it matters: Inouye is the first to hold the president title at Outcast and will mold how the agency partners with clients like Amazon, OpenAI and TikTok.

Zoom in: Inouye created a reputation for guiding companies through periods of rapid growth, having held leadership roles at LinkedIn, Playstation and VSCO.

• In this new role, she will report directly to Outcast CEO Becky Porter and oversee the agency's new business and client experience.

What they're saying: Inouye acknowledged that it's not typical for in-house communicators to jump back into the agency world, but she says this role gives her a unique opportunity to shape how communications evolves.

• "There's a lot of innovation happening that is redefining how value is created through communications — and who better than an agency like Outcast to really lead that charge?" she says.

What's next: Outcast has expanded beyond just earned media and is continuing to grow its AI, corporate reputation and data and insights offerings, says Porter.

• "We are focused on helping companies assess vulnerabilities and prepare for the things that might not be front and center but are potential risks ... that extends into internal communications, policy communications and litigation communications, among other things. Those are some of the areas where we see more and more potential for strategic guidance and growth," she added.

• CashApp alum Geoff Seeley has joined PayPal as chief marketing officer.
• Raymond James named Samantha Ouimet as senior vice president, communications and marketing.
• Honeywell alum Bevin Maguire joins Applied Materials as chief communications officer.
• Mattress Firm alum Katie Clark joined Hormel Foods as chief communications officer.
• PowerSchool alum Melissa Gardner is chief marketing officer for Panorama Education.
• Murali Nemani joins Dataminr as chief marketing officer.
• AT&T alum Jeannie Weaver joins Boldyn Networks as chief marketing officer, U.S.
• Haun Ventures and Twitter alum Nicholas Pacilio is head of communications for Axel Springer, U.S., and Amelia Binder is vice president of government affairs.
• Handshake and Meta alum Erin Miller joins YahooNews as vice president, corporate communications.
• AT&T alum Sarah Donohue joins PepsiCo as vice president, communications.
• Current promoted Erin Bruehl to vice president, communications.
• Tristyn Hassani has been promoted to head of internal communications at Axios HQ.
• Pinterest alum Malorie Lucich joins General Motors as executive director, tech and innovation communications.
• Molly Gannon joins NLX as vice president, communications and marketing.
• Hyzon Motors named Stephanie Mudgett as head of global communications and branding.
• LegalZoom hired Amazon alum Ashley Robinson as head of communications and public relations.
• Nestle alum Kate Shaw joins Perdue Farms as senior director, corporate communications.
• Gretchen Sloan is senior director, communications for Aurora.
• Allie Mack is senior director, global corporate communications at Deel.
• Molly O'Connor joins wellness robotics company Aescape as director of communications.
• Grove Collaborative named Edelman alum Ryan Zimmerman as director, communications and partnerships.
• Walmart and Google alum Ravi Jariwala joins Coupang to lead U.S. media relations.
• Mona Lisa Faz joins TE Connectivity as senior manager, communications.
• Michelle Rivard joins XPO as manager, internal communications.
• ESPN named Garrett Cowan as communications manager.
• Shaokyi Amdo joins Match Group as communications manager.
• Fetch promoted Allison Geyer to senior director, corporate communications, and Karlie Fitzgerald to director, public relations.

• Brunswick Group named Henry Timms as CEO based in New York and appointed new partners including Elizabeth Cholis, Daniel Del Re, Elizabeth Volpe, Jack Emery, Jordan Bickerton, Kate Shouesmith, Oscar Karlsson, Sarah Purbrick, Suntka von Halen and Tom Maginnis.
• Burson has appointed Kristine Boyden as CEO, Americas; Craig Buchholz as CEO, U.S.; Scott Wilson as CEO, EMEA; Simon Whitehead as CEO, U.K. and global chair of energy and industrials; Bashar AlKadhi as CEO, Middle East, Turkey and Africa; HS Chung as CEO, North Asia-Pacific; Matt Stafford as CEO, South Asia-Pacific; and Brian Burlingame as CEO, Latin America.
• Burson has also appointed Jerry Lombardo as global chief financial officer; Azurée Montoute-Lewis as global chief people officer; Brooke Hovey as global chief strategy officer; Simon Shaw as global chief creative officer; Michelle Hutton as global chief client and growth officer; Randa Stephan as global chief brand officer; Brenna Terry as global chair of health care; and Sara Gourlay as global chair of technology.
• Edelman alum Lee Alman joins Burson as executive vice president, corporate affairs practice.
• Penta Group named Stacy Kerr and Jill Craig as senior partners and Scott Elder and Kris Havens as partners.
• Tina Cervera joins Weber Shandwick as chief creative officer.
• We Communications/We Global Health named Arun Divakaruni head of North America scientific engagement.
• Brunswick and Coatue alum Shahed Larson has launched strategic advisory firm UNLMTD Partners.
• Longtime VC communications leader Carol Wentworth has launched Wenty Consulting.
• Narrative Strategies hired RealChemistry alum Lo Isidro as senior director.
• Lori Almeida joins Allison as chief human resources officer.
• Reevemark promoted Nicholas Leasure and Pamela Greene to partners.
• Chemistry Cultura named Lauren Cortiñas as its first-ever chief client officer.
• Beth Tritter joins FGS Global as partner.
• Whitney Fogelberg joins C Street Advisory Group as managing director.
• Edelman Smithfield promoted Ira Gorsky to managing director.
• Joele Frank alum Rose Temple joins FTI Consulting as managing director.
• Morning Consult alum Kara Gelber joins Stagwell as vice president, media.
• Rational 360 named Stephanie Wiswall as senior vice president and Jake Sticka as vice president.
• Highwire PR hired Weber Shandwick alum Margaret Cote as head of insights and analytics.
• Meg Sinclair and Aaron Berger have launched PR firm A/M Partners.
• Jennifer Bett Communications promoted Blair Dawson to vice president, food and beverage.
• Dezenhall Resources hired AARP alum Colby Nelson as vice president.
• Zack Condry and Erik Hotmire have launched corporate affairs consulting firm Watermark Strategies.
• Tess Pawlisch and Margaret Huang have launched communications agency Needle.
• Caliber Corporate Advisers appointed Grace Keith Rodriguez as chief executive officer and Harvey Hudes as chief innovation officer.
• Taylor Koedding joins Collected Strategies as a senior associate, and Rachel Cortina is an account coordinator.
• Emily Porro has been named co-leader of The Bliss Group's impact practice.
• Shallot Communications has added former Obama and DNC spokesperson Hari Sevugan as a senior advisor and Jana Claxton and Corinn Reinhard as senior consultants.
• Joel Moore is vice president, communications at Day One Agency.
• 160/90 alum Elisa Campbell joins Fenton as associate vice president, advertising.
• Andrew Wargofchik joins FleishmanHillard as vice president, corporate reputation.
• Helen McCarthy joins Mission Control Communications as a director.
• Six Eastern brought on Cameron Ruby as a public relations director and Bevel alum Hannah Stern as a public relations manager.
• Bevel has promoted Hannah Rauch to senior associate.
• Glen Echo Group alum Alex Edwards is a senior associate at Invariant.

• NATO appointed Farah Dakhlallah as a spokesperson.
• UN communications veteran David Ohana joined the UN Foundation as chief communications and marketing officer.
• American Red Cross alum Elizabeth Penniman joins Howard Hughes Medical Institute as chief of communications.
• Ian Bailey joins the American Cancer Society as chief communications officer.
• Rowan Emslie is head of communications and public affairs at International Center for Future Generations.
• Jonathan Powell joined Motion Picture Association as senior vice president, strategic communications.
• Jaylen Black is vice president, communications and marketing, at Planned Parenthood, Southeast.

• Axios: Stephen Neukam will cover Congress.
• Barron's: Paul La Monica is a senior writer covering markets.
• Bloomberg: Lauren Tara LaCapra is a markets editor; Shona Ghosh is a senior tech editor; Ailbhe Rea is an associate editor; Christine Buurma is senior editor; and Pamela Barbaglia will cover mergers and acquisitions.
• Business Insider: Meghan Morris is Singapore deputy bureau chief.
• CBS News: Aneeta Mathur-Ashton will cover Congress.
• CNN: Phil Mattingly has been named anchor and chief domestic correspondent; Natasha Bertrand is a Pentagon correspondent; Paul P. Murphy is a reporter; and Mark Esper joins as global affairs analyst and political commentator.
• The Daily Mail: Charlie Spiering is a political reporter.
• The Economist: Emma Hogan is an Asia editor.
• Financial Times: Ahmed Al Omran is a Saudi Arabia correspondent.
• Fox News: Chanley Painter is an overnight anchor; Julia Johnson will cover the senate for Fox News Digital.
• MSNBC: Nikki Egan is executive managing producer and Lisa Rubin is a legal correspondent.
• The New York Times: Vivek Shankar is a regional assigning editor based in Seoul; Michelle Shin is a project manager for visuals; Jeremy Peters will now cover campus culture and politics; Eduardo Medina is a reporter; and Mattathias Schwartz is a legal correspondent.
• NBC News: Catherine Kim is executive vice president of editorial and
  Tyler Essary is associate art director for TODAY.com
• Politico: Jordyn Dahl is a mobility reporter based within its Europe division.
• Reuters: Josh Smith is Korea bureau chief.
• Tech Crunch: Julie Bort is an editor of the Startups and VC desk.
• Variety: Katcy Stephan is a film reporter; Todd Spangler is a business editor.
• The Verge: Lauren Feiner is a senior policy reporter.
• The Washington Post: Phoebe Connelly is senior editor for A.I.; Matt Zapotosky is deputy metro editor; Peter Wallsten is investigations editor; and Faiz Siddiqui joins the business investigations team.