Erwin Penland Appoints Jessica Navas as Chief Planning Officer

Full-service marketing communications agency Erwin Penland announced today that Jessica Navas will join the agency in the newly created role of Chief Planning Officer, effective December 1. An award-winning planner, Navas will lead strategic planning and work to enhance brand stories across all clients, including Denny’s Diner, Verizon and L.L. Bean, among others. Navas will report to President Joe Erwin and will sit in the agency’s New York City office.

“We can’t wait to have Jessica join the team – she is an incredibly talented and strategic, yet down-to-earth planner that knows how to build the best work unique to each of her clients,” said Joe Erwin, President and Founder of Erwin Penland. “With Jessica heading planning and Con Williamson leading creative, we have a dynamic leadership team in place that is dedicated to creating unique and innovative solutions for our clients.”

Navas joins Erwin Penland from JWT where she was Group Planning Director and worked with clients including PUMA and Lean Cuisine, as well as handling both internal and external communications. Most notably during her tenure at JWT, Navas helped bring JetBlue’s mission to life with core brand and product strategy work. Navas began her career at Merkley Newman Harty and continued on at Cliff Freeman and Partners before joining JWT in 2007. She has worked with many other leading brands during her career, including Rolex, Snapple, DSW, T. Rowe Price and Champion.

“I love Erwin Penland's emotionally-rich yet efficient approach to client work,” said Navas. “They develop a deep understanding of the brand from the inside out and ask ‘what is the world we want to build around it?’ Then they make it happen. EP has such fantastic clients and I can't wait to jump in, helping connect their brands to not just consumers but also culture at large.”