Zepeda named CMO at Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai Motor America has named Angela Zepeda, the senior vice president and managing director at its agency of record INNOCEAN USA, as its new chief marketing officer. Angela will be responsible for all of Hyundai’s marketing and advertising activities in the U.S., including the strategic direction, brand development, national and regional advertising, experiential marketing, digital and social media, brand partnerships, and lead generation, among other responsibilities.

“Angela is a dynamic and accomplished marketer with an impressive depth of experience across the entire marketing spectrum and will be an outstanding addition to our leadership team,” said Brian Smith, COO, Hyundai Motor America. “Angela was already a member of our extended family and we’ve seen firsthand her creativity, business acumen and talent in building our brand and leading teams. She is well-respected by the entire organization and our dealers, and will be able to seamlessly transition to leading the marketing function here at Hyundai.”

Angela comes to Hyundai as a seasoned marketing executive with more than 25 years of experience. She has built a career on consumer-centric campaigns that build brands and drive business results, and is an expert in online and digital marketing. Angela was most recently at Hyundai’s agency of record INNOCEAN USA, where she spent three years and was the senior vice president and managing director, handling all operations for the Hyundai business including creative, planning and media operations. She was initially hired by the agency to head up business development.

“It’s a great honor to be going in-house at Hyundai and I’m excited by the challenge of leading the marketing team during this transitional time for the automotive industry,” said Zepeda. “Hyundai is a brand on an upward trajectory with sales growth that outpaces the industry, a revamped product lineup, and a laser focus on the customer experience. I’m looking forward to getting started and building upon the marketing department’s recent successes and accomplishments.”

Previous to Innocean, Angela was CEO of Quigley-Simpson in Los Angeles, where she oversaw all aspects of the agency—from brand leadership to new business development to operational efficiencies. Before that, Zepeda was CMO of Campbell Ewald-Los Angeles, where she played a key role in growing the agency’s business. Angela has also worked at some of Los Angeles’ best-known agencies, including TBWA\Chiat\Day, Team One, Rapp, Doner, and FCB, providing counsel to clients in the automotive, healthcare, financial services and packaged goods industries.