PokerStars Selects Microsoft Veteran To Head Marketing

After an eight month search, PokerStars has announced that Alex Payne will become the online poker room's new Chief Marketing Officer.

Payne is an eleven year marketing veteran whose resume includes time working for computer software giant Microsoft. As part of his duties, Payne will oversee consumer marketing for the entire company. This includes brand promotion and protection, advertising, overseeing TV productions and media buying. Payne is also responsible for marketing research in the online business realm, which will see him running the company's paid search advertising, organic search optimization and social media operations. Further responsibilities include customer relationship management, customer retention, customer acquisition and retention campaigns for both online and live poker players.

While at Microsoft, Payne had several professional milestones to be proud of. He created a US industry standard for online ads, working with both AOL and Yahoo!. He also launched Windows 7 in Europe and helped Internet Explorer retain its share of the internet browser market, even after the European Commission ruled that every Windows user shall be given a choice of alternative browsers to use.

Commenting on his new job, Payne said: "I am joining an outstanding business, which is the clear leader in its category and has enormous potential ahead of it. Moreover, it's a product in which I have a huge personal passion."