[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

Gilt Groupe has appointed Elizabeth Francis as chief marketing officer (CMO). Ms. Francis joins the company this week and will report to Kevin Ryan, founder and CEO.

Ms. Francis will be responsible for the company’s new customer generation and retention programs across all channels as well as creative direction, overall brand positioning, and research and analytics.

Ms. Francis succeeds Alexis Maybank, a Founder of Gilt, who stepped in to lead as CMO six months ago. Ms. Maybank has held a number of critical roles at the company and will resume her previous title of Chief Strategy Officer.

Ms. Francis has over 12 years of marketing and advertising experience—building and scaling emerging brands—in fashion, consumer packaged goods, and financial services companies. She joins Gilt from Intelligent Beauty, a e-commerce and brand-building incubator where she was CMO. In addition to her responsibilities as Intelligent Beauty’s CMO, she was also President of JustFabulous, an online fashion and accessories brand and an Intelligent Beauty venture. Prior to Intelligent Beauty, Ms. Francis was a Vice President at Alena, a Fox Interactive Company, and also spent several years at LowerMyBills.com.

Ms. Francis holds Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and is an active member of the Direct Marketing Association and Fashion Group International.