Burger King Corporation Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President John H. Dasburg announced today that Christopher E. (Chris) Clouser will join the company as executive vice president and chief marketing officer, effective immediately.
Clouser, 49, was chief executive and executive board member of the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball Club until Dec. 12, 2000. Prior to joining the Twins, he was president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Preview Travel, Inc., which merged with Fort Worth-based Travelocity.com in March of last year to form the leading internet travel company in the world (through this merger, Travelocity.com emerged as a public company listed on NASDAQ.
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During the 1990s, when Dasburg served as chief executive officer of Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines and led the turnaround of that major airline, Clouser worked closely with him as Northwest’s senior vice president of advertising, communications, administration and human resources. He is credited with playing key roles in the turnaround and developing customer loyalty, advertising, communications and global branding programs that contributed to Northwest Airlines becoming a leader in its industry by the time of his departure in 1999.
“BURGER KING® and the WHOPPER® are exceptional consumer brands,” said Dasburg, “and I know from working closely with Chris for many years that he is the ideal marketing executive, with the necessary experience, creative leadership, energy and commitment, to further strengthen our brand and carry it to new heights around the world, and in each Burger King franchise. I’m absolutely delighted that Chris has agreed to lead Burger King’s global marketing as chief marketing officer.” Dasburg’s appointment as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of the London-based Diageo unit was announced on February 20. He assumed his new duties April 1.
In his executive capacity with Burger King, Clouser will be responsible for creating and implementing global marketing strategies, including research, new products, pricing, promotions, sponsorships, diversity, global corporate communications and advertising, community relations and business analysis. He will also assume a major role in franchisee relations and support, and will be a member of the company’s executive committee.
At Northwest Airlines, Clouser was responsible for worldwide advertising and communications, human resources, frequent flyer and loyalty programs, branding and sponsorships, and community relations. He founded the Northwest AirCares charitable assistance program and was Publisher of the Northwest World Traveler magazine. Under his direction, Northwest’s advertising, communications and marketing events won numerous awards.
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By GlobalDataPrior to joining Northwest Airlines, Clouser held officer positions at Hallmark Cards, Bell Atlantic and Sprint/United Telecom in marketing, communications, advertising and corporate relations. From 1973 to 1981, he served as executive assistant to United States Senator Thomas F. Eagleton of Missouri and managed the senator’s successful re-election campaign in 1980.
Clouser has been a director of numerous corporate and charitable boards, including Piper Jaffray, Inc., PepsiAmericas, Marquette Bancshares, Inc., Preview Travel, Inc., the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club, Theatre Live!, the Memorial Blood Centers of Minnesota, the Minnesota Thunder, Taste of the NFL, the Epilepsy Foundation of America, and the advisory board of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
A native of St. Louis, and a graduate of the University of Missouri, Clouser and his wife, Patsy, have been married for 26 years. They have two sons, Todd, 20, and Brad, 16.
Burger King Corporation
Burger King Corporation created the American icon, the HOME OF THE WHOPPER®, in 1957. The company and its franchisees operate more than 11,340 restaurants in all 50 U.S. states and 58 markets around the world, with more than 92% of BURGER KING® restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees.
Since the company’s founding in Miami in 1954, the BURGER KING® brand has become recognized for great flame-broiled and HAVE IT YOUR WAY® food customization. In fiscal year 2000, the BURGER KING® system had system-wide sales of $11.4 billion.
