Richelle Parham is an American

marketer Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or manufacturer. Products can ...

, and the former vice president and

chief marketing officer A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a chief brand officer (CBO), is a C-suite corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. The CMO leads brand management, marketing communications (including adver ...

for

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

Early life

Richelle Parham grew up in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Growing up, she planned to become a fashion designer. As part of a

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

placement while attending

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

, Parham worked at Valentino in New York City. She graduated from Drexel University with two bachelor's degrees, one in marketing and the other in design and merchandising.

Career

Parham began her career in

telemarketing Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products, subscriptions or services, either over the phone or throu ...

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

. She then spent thirteen years at

Digitas Publicis Groupe S.A. is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. As of 2024, the company is the largest advertising company in the world by revenue. Based in Paris, it is one of the 'Big Four' advertising commpanies, al ...

, where she held a number of roles including Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Chicago office. Following Digitas, she served as a marketing executive at

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

, overseeing the company’s global marketing services. In 2010, Parham left Visa to become Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for eBay North America. Parham left eBay in 2015 amid organizational restructuring. In 2016, LabCorp named Parham to their Board of Directors. In 2018, she was appointed to the Best Buy Board of Directors. She has also served on the board of directors of the Scripps Network since 2012, and serves as an advisor for

Girls Who Code Girls Who Code (also known as GWC) is an international nonprofit organization that aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science. Among its programs are a summer immersion program, a specialized campus program, after-school ...

. Parham joined the Drexel University Board of Trustees in May 2014.

Awards

Parham was given the 2012 Women of Influence Award by the '' Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal''. In 2013, she was named to the Direct Marketing News Marketing Hall of Femme, and listed by ''

Black Enterprise ''Black Enterprise'' (stylized in all caps) is an American multimedia company. A Black-owned business since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African American businesses with a readership of 3.7 mil ...

'' as a "Top 12 Innovator of Marketing and Advertising". In 2014, Parham was named by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' as one of the "50 Most Influential CMOs in the World", by ''Fast Company'' as one of the "Most Creative People in Business 1000", and by ''Savoy'' as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America". In 2016, Parham was included in ''Savoy's'' "Power 300, Most Influential Black Corporate Directors".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parham, Richelle Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Marketing people American marketing people American women chief executives EBay employees Drexel University alumni 21st-century American women