MrBeast has found his first CMO, Business Insider exclusively learned.
The top YouTuber’s company promoted Michelle St. Jacques to the role. St. Jacques has led consumer goods, including Feastables, MrBeast’s snack and candy company, since February.
In her new role, she’ll add marketing duties for Beast Industries, the star’s holding company, while continuing to oversee consumer goods. She’s based in Chicago.
Beast Industries started the search earlier this year, a move that reflected the company’s growing ambitions. It’s been expanding far beyond its core YouTube channel and seeks to become a Disney-style entertainment giant.
Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold said in a memo to staff, viewed by Business Insider, that he considered external candidates for the CMO role but decided St. Jacques was the best person for the job.
“In her time at Beast, MSJ has shown she can set clear strategy and deliver strong execution for our products and partners,” he wrote. “She has served as both CMO and Chief Commercial Officer and built iconic consumer brands like Dove, Heinz, Miller Lite, and Coors Light. She’s also a world-class people leader who knows how to build high-performing teams.”
St. Jacques joined the company following a slowdown in Feastables’ growth.
Housenbold wrote that St. Jacques’ remit would involve defining the MrBeast brand and making sure everything the company does ladders up to the same positioning; leading marketing for MrBeast and partner brands; and overseeing the viral marketing team. He said that he saw an opportunity to lean into e-commerce and performance marketing to drive customer acquisition and retention.
St. Jacques steps into a role overseeing a brand that’s looking to lessen its reliance on its famous founder. Her job requires someone who can do everything from getting people to theatrical releases — Donaldson lent his voice to “Angry Birds Movie 3,” which is scheduled for a December release — to selling snacks and toys in stores, or pitching fans on phone plans and financial products.
Beast Industries has made a string of big hires to bulk up its executive suite. Along with Feastables, the company has begun to move into financial services with the acquisition of the Step app and has planned a mobile phone service.
The company is also laying the groundwork to expand into ad and marketing services for brands and additional services for other independent content creators like MrBeast, and has teased a membership program.
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