Carrasco named CMO and SVP of Global Strategy at National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society announced that Emma Carrasco will take on the newly created position of chief marketing and communications officer and senior vice president of global strategy. Carrasco, who joins National Geographic Society after four years at NPR, will play a crucial role in reaching key constituencies and effectively communicating the Society’s mission and impact on the world. She will serve on the senior leadership team, reporting to President and CEO Gary Knell.

Carrasco brings more than 30 years of experience in marketing, branding and communications to the role, including work guiding the strategy for international brands. Since 2012, Carrasco has been chief marketing officer and senior vice president for audience development at NPR, one of the country’s most iconic news organizations and the producer of highly regarded programs that include Morning Edition and All Things Considered. At NPR, she led the creation of an audience-centric marketing culture and broke new ground in how NPR cultivated and engaged new audiences.

“For more than 128 years, National Geographic Society has been fulfilling its critical mission to explore and protect the planet,” said Knell. “With her vast experience, Emma will be a crucial leader for the Society and our brand as we expand our work supporting science, exploration and education. In her new role, she will grow our ability to share with a global audience how National Geographic’s programs – our explorers, our grant making, and our educational outreach – are demonstrably changing the world.”

Carrasco’s career also includes agency experience: at FleishmanHillard in Los Angeles and New York she created corporate responsibility and media relations campaigns, and as executive vice president at Republica, a strategic and creative agency based in Miami, she worked with an array of major national and international brands to grow their market share and revenue. In addition, she also has served in executive marketing roles for major brands including Univision, McDonald’s Corporation and Nortel Networks.