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Akron '68

John Costello

Former Senior Executive - Dunkin Brands, The Home Depot

John Costello has over thirty years of experience in consumer products and services, retail, and technology. The first half of his career was spent in classic management jobs, with the second half helping companies drive innovation and navigate high change environments, from start-ups to $70 billion companies.

He was one of the early leaders of omni-channel marketing and retail to leverage the synergies between DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) eCommerce, retail stores, catalogs, DR TV and the internet to drive total sales and profit and is considered a leader in the digital transformation of marketing and retail.

John currently serves as CEO of Costello Ventures since retiring as president – global marketing and innovation of Dunkin’ Brands (the parent company of Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins). He previously served as executive vice president of The Home Depot, chief global marketing officer of Yahoo, senior vp of Pepsi-Cola USA, CEO of MVP.com and president of Nielsen Marketing Research US. He began his career at Procter & Gamble and rose to lead all advertising and marketing for P&G’s Beauty Care Division.

Costello been recognized as one of most influential and innovative executives by numerous organizations, one of the Top 10 Merchants by DSN Retailing Today and was elected to both the Chief Marketing Officer Hall of Fame and Retail Advertising Hall of Fame.

He has significant governance experience, serving as a current or past director of Ace Hardware, Quaker Oats, The Bombay Company, Ring, Inc. (which was acquired by Amazon), GroundTruth, Inc., and as a current board advisor to Untuckit, WinView Games and Linkwell Health.

Costello also has significant leadership experience in industry and nonprofit organizations. He is past chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association, the Association of National Advertisers and the Advertising Council.

He currently serves on the board and executive committee and chairs the Governance Committee of Yellowstone Forever, and is co-chair, executive committee member and Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival. He is a past director/trustee of The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Film Institute, and Georgia Aquarium.

John received his BSIM from the University of Akron in 1968 and his MBA from Michigan State University in 1970.