Head of Brand & Experience

Backed byFord Motor Company Michigan Central is a 30-acre innovation district in Detroit where people come together to build ideas that move the world forward. Now entering its next phase of growth Michigan Central is seeking aChief Brand Officer to build and scale a globally recognized brand and shape how Michigan Central shows up in the world.

The Chief Brand Officer has the opportunity to drive something new and unique at a place defining an entirely new model for innovation and at the same time leave a lasting mark on Detroit a city increasingly taking the national spotlight at a pivotal moment in its evolution.

Youll be a key member of the executive team reporting to the CEO leading the strategy creative and execution of communications content marketing and brand experience.

Leadership Strategy

• Lead/oversee the full Brand Team and four key functions:

  • Comms: narrative storytelling PR

  • Content: how our comms and marketing come to life creatively and visually

  • Marketing: social CRM web and other efficient channels and tactics

  • Brand experience: public programming innovation events onsite activation retail

• Translate enterprise priorities into an actionable brand strategy driven by core objectives/KPIs

• Build a performance-driven system with clear KPIs tied togrowth engagement and revenue impact and drive data-driven optimization

• Ensure integration and alignment between the Brand team and business lines (innovation network district/redevelopment nonprofit events)

• Lead Brand Team annual planning and quarterly reviews; play an integral role in senior leadership decisions and forums; provide board-level materials to key internal stakeholders

• Oversee Brand team resourcing budget planning and prioritization (full-time team members and efficient use of external resources)

Brand

• Scale a fundamentally differentiated Michigan Central brand to key audiences. This includes internal and external launch and consistency of positioning brand architecture and design

• Embed growth into every aspect of the brand

• Ensure brand alignment across decisions and tactics

• Help shape the 2026 narrative into a compelling unified story and ensure the Comms team dimensionalizes the narrative to multiple audiences formats lengths and settings

• Ensure creative robust communications and content plans tactics and delivery

Marketing

• Develop and oversee a marketing strategy that drives growth with target audiences:

  • High-growth startups

  • Global corporates and industry leaders

  • Investors and venture capital

  • Talent and next-generation workforce

• Drive launch of the new Nomad at Michigan Central hotel. Define the role of the hotel as a signature expression of Michigan Centrals brand and innovation platform; ensure brand programming and guest experience are fully integrated; play a key partnership and integration role with the Nomad team

Brand Experience Programming & Retail

• Integrate public programming innovation events onsite activation and retail into a high-impact visitor experience and key value and marketing driver

• Shape and launchsignature moments that drive global attention (e.g. signature flagship annual thought leadership event e.g. Live from Michigan Central series that utilizes Roosevelt Park as the destination the Station as the backdrop and the hotel and indoor events spaces as attractive VIP experiences)

• Play a leadership role in theStation ground floor activation plan

Management

• Build a high-performing collaborative and accountable team culture; ensure high-impact strategy creative and execution

• Lead OKR development alignment and performance management across the Brand team with direct management of direct reports and oversight of skip level reports

• Manage ongoing prioritization for the team and guidance review and approval of the teams work output and tactics

• Establish clear operating and communication rhythms meetings and project management systems including team business reviews and cross-functional forums

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree

• 15 years of brand communications marketing and events experience

Preferred Qualifications

• A proven CBO or senior leader who has builtglobally recognized brands or destinations

• Abuilder not a maintainer. An action-oriented problem solver.

• Equally strong instrategy and execution. You can define the vision and ensure it gets delivered

• Strong executive presence and ability to influence at the highest levels: executives partners investors and public stakeholders and your own team creating and maintaining the high-performance culture Michigan Central requires

• Have experience at mixed-use developments or multi-faceted location-based institutions and existing knowledge of and connection to Detroit

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