Farmers Insurance Names Linton Chief Marketing Officer
Michael A Linton has been named enterprise chief marketing officer for Farmers Insurance.
Linton, who most recently worked as executive vice president of marketing for Silicon Valley start-up, FreeMonee Network, has spent 30 years in marketing and general management for companies including eBay, Best Buy, Progressive Insurance, and Procter & Gamble.
Before joining FreeMonee, Linton consulted for a number of companies and wrote a column for Forbes.com called “CMO Calculus.”
Linton will replace C. Paul Patsis, who is retiring at the end of 2011. Linton will report to Jeff Dailey, who currently is Farmers’ president and chief operating officer and who will become Farmers CEO effective January 1, 2012.
In recent years, Farmers Insurance has been increasing its traditional and social media advertising volume and establishing a stronger national identity and market presence by growing its business in the eastern U.S.. It has also been investing in corporate sponsorships, including professional golf and tennis, NASCAR and the naming rights of a proposed professional football stadium in downtown Los Angeles, Farmers Field.