Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: dc comics, indicia, joen choe

Whoa, DC Comics Hired Cannabis Exec Joen Choe As New Vice President

Sometimes you only realise that someone has joined a publisher when they make it onto the masthead. And so it is with Joen Choe, appointed by DC Comics as Vice President – Global Brand & Creative Services, and who joined DC in December last year. Choe has quite a resume with lots of big names and big brands in his past. He also has a major track record working for companies that are then bought out by bigger companies, and seems to have a part in preparing them for acquisition. And one does stick out rather.

Educated at the Université Paul Valéry for Administration Economique et Sociale, Joen Chen studied at Durham University (famed as the place you go to if you don't get into Oxbridge) for a BA in Politics and then at Columbia Business School. Joen Chen became a management consultant at PwC in 2000, then a strategic planner at Diesel Kora in 2002, then a Brand Planner kicking off Nike Sportswear lifestyle category in 2004. He became an Associate Brand Manager at vitaminwater in 2006 before and after its acquisition by Coca-Cola. Then Brand Manager at Luxottica for the spectacle side of Ralph Lauren, Prada, and Dolce & Gabban in 2008. Senior brand manager at Absolut in 2010, director of Cooper Spirits Co. in 2009 and named Ecco Domani's Menswear Designer of the Year. He was then made VP Marketing when Cooper Spirits was acquired by Bacardi in 2012, before becoming President and General Manager of the  health and fitness startup Tangram Factory in 2015, which was acquired by Kakao Ventures Group. He was then VP Marketing of Davos in 2017 before it was acquired by Diego. And he was VP Marketing of Acreage Holdings in 2018, a leading vertically integrated cannabis operator, before it was acquired by Canopy Growth. And in 2020 he was VP Marketing of Oxigen Beverages as Stephen Curry and LPGA champion golfer Michelle Wie became the new owners of the brand.

So Joen Chen does have a history of working for companies that are then bought by other companies. Might his expertise in that field be valued by Warner Bros, working for DC Comics, as VP Global Brand & Creative Services?

Or because this is Bleeding Cool, might we suggest that he could suggest publishing comic books out of roll-up papers? I do recall one employee at DC Comics who was very much valued at comic book conventions by creators as they brought along a large enough stash for everyone, especially those who had to travel through customs. "Creative Services" of a very different kind, I guess.

And of course, DC Comics has been here before…

Here's the current DC masthead with Joen Chen's name high up on it.

• Pam Lifford President, Global Brands, Franchises, and Experiences
• Daniel Cherry III Senior VP – General Manager
• Jim Lee Publisher & Chief Creative Officer
• Sam Ades Senior VP & General Manager — Digital Services
• Joen Choe VP – Global Brand & Creative Services Briar Darden VP — Business Affairs
• Anne DePies Senior VP — Business Strategy, Finance & Administration
• Don Falletti VP — Manufacturing Operations & Workflow Management
• Lawrence Ganem VP — Talent Services
• Alison Gill Senior VP — Manufacturing & Operations
• Marie Javins Editor-in-Chief, DC Comics
• Jay Kogan Senior VP — Legal Affairs
• Nick J. Napolitano VP — Manufacturing Administration & Design
• Adam Schlagman VP — Film
• Nancy Spears VP — Revenue

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