Madison's unicorn startup Fetch Rewards Inc. has hired former Facebook executive David Sommer as its first chief customer officer, according to a Wednesday announcement. He started at the consumer loyalty company this month.
Sommer previously spent 11 years as head of industry, consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail partnerships and shopper marketing at Facebook Inc., now Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq: FB).
At Fetch Rewards, Sommer will build out a global marketing solutions team that will develop specialized marketing initiatives for new and existing brand partners like PepsiCo, Unilever and General Mills. He said he believes Fetch Rewards "represents the future of digital marketing" by enabling "personalized marketing at scale."
"I've spent decades partnering with marketers and CEOs to drive their business outcomes and it quickly became clear to me that Fetch has built a product that addresses their collective needs better than any other company," Sommer said in a statement.
With the Fetch Rewards app, consumers earn rewards points redeemable for gift cards when they snap a photo of their receipt from any store or restaurant. On the partnerships side, Fetch leverages purchase data from its 13 million monthly active users to deliver insights and a digital offer platform to brands and retailers.
Sommer will also serve as the chief revenue officer for Fetch Rewards. He'll work with Fetch Rewards founder and CEO Wes Schroll to lead revenue and develop innovative product solutions to drive Fetch's growth in new target markets, according to the announcement.
The current Fetch Rewards chief revenue officer, Patrick Burke, will retain the title and the role, focusing on oversight for Fetch's CPG partners, Fetch Rewards spokeswoman Allison Geyer said.
Fetch Rewards was valued at $1.5 billion following its $210 million Series D round in March 2021, according to data from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. The deal was the largest venture capital round raised by a Wisconsin company in 2021.
Observers say the move to hire Sommer is a strategic step for Fetch Rewards, which has ambitions to scale globally this year and expand into new retail categories.
"I think hiring Dave is a brilliant move to scale the Fetch business," former Facebook advertising chief and former Instacart president Carolyn Everson said in a statement. "Dave will be a magnet for more client partnerships and attract more top talent to the Fetch Partnership team."
