Visa Marketing Chief Antonio Lucio Departs for Hewlett-Packard

Visa Inc.'s Antonio Lucio, who oversees marketing, advertising and communications as chief brand officer, is leaving the company to join Hewlett-Packard Co.'s printer business. Mr. Lucio, 55, has been with Visa since 2007, the Foster City, Calif.-based payments network said Tuesday in a filing. He notified the firm he would be leaving earlier this month and his resignation is effective April 24. His departure follows soon after the exit of Visa's CMO of core products, Kevin Burke, who was hired by rising payments system Square in December. A Visa spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who will head up marketing in Mr. Lucio's absence. Mr. Lucio will become CMO for HP Inc., the personal-computer and printer company that is set to split off from the technology giant later this year, Hewlett-Packard said in a statement. Visa spent $900 million on marketing in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, according to its quarterly report. The marketing and ad budget, which Mr. Lucio has overseen, is among the largest in the financial-services industry, according to Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. "A big part of what Visa sells is its brand," Mr. Luria said. "Being in charge of Visa's brand is one of the most important roles at the company." Mr. Lucio, who previously served as Visa's first global CMO, has overseen the brand's "Everywhere you want to be" campaign, and a partnership including sponsorships of the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and NFL. He also helped transition the business from a financial firm to a technology company, culminating most recently in an effort to hire 500 engineers in Austin this year. In 2012, Mr. Lucio shifted global creative duties back to Omnicom's BBDO from sibling shop TBWA. Omnicom's FleishmanHillard handles the company's public relations. Prior to joining Visa, Mr. Lucio spent 12 years at PepsiCo, where he most recently served as chief innovation and health and wellness officer. ~ Bloomberg News with Ad Age staff ~

Visa Marketing Chief Antonio Lucio Departs for Hewlett-Packard

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