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Batavia native, longtime corporate executive named Uber's first global chief marketing officer

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Uber today announced that Batavia native Rebecca Messina will join the company’s executive leadership team as global Chief Marketing Officer.

As Uber’s first-ever CMO, Messina will bring together Uber’s marketing teams around the world, building a global marketing organization that can support the company’s growth going forward.

“Rebecca brings deep experience in building global brands, and she’ll be a terrific leader for Uber’s marketing teams around the world,” said Barney Harford, Uber’s Chief Operating Officer. “We’re excited to learn from her as we work to make Uber one of the world’s most valuable brands, supported by cutting-edge marketing systems.”

“Joining Uber is a once in a lifetime opportunity and a true privilege. My focus has always been on three things: people, growth and brands,” Messina said. “Uber checks all three boxes: a rapidly growing global business, with the opportunity to build an iconic brand alongside a team that’s committed to transforming the future of mobility. I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead.”

“I’m thrilled to welcome Rebecca to Uber. She’s exactly the right leader to build our marketing efforts globally and to showcase the ways Uber is igniting opportunities for our customers around the world,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO. “Very few brands become verbs; for Uber to have achieved this shows how we’ve captured imaginations and become an important part of our customers’ lives. I’m excited to bring on Rebecca as a steward for our brand moving forward.”

Messina joins Uber from Beam Suntory, the world's third largest premium spirits company, where she has served as global Chief Marketing Officer since 2016. Prior to Beam Suntory, she spent 22 years at The Coca-Cola Company, where she most recently served as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Innovation for Ventures & Emerging Brands. Previously she served in a number of different marketing leadership roles across the company, both in the United States and internationally.

Messina currently serves on the boards of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and the Ad Council, and has also served on the National Board of Directors of the American Marketing Association (AMA), the Georgia State Marketing Roundtable and the Atlanta Executive Board of the AMA.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio). The Batavia High School alumna speaks English, Spanish, Italian and French. She is married, with two children, and currently lives in Chicago.

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