Kevin Mayer
BA, Communication, 1991
Kevin Mayer is a senior growth and marketing executive with more than 30 years of experience transforming some of the world’s most recognized consumer brands. He currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer of VCA Animal Hospitals, part of Mars Veterinary Health, where he leads the development of an integrated commercial growth strategy across a network of more than 900 hospitals.
Throughout his career, Mayer has held senior leadership roles spanning the automotive, restaurant, retail, and healthcare industries. His work has helped shape the growth and transformation of brands including Hyundai, Subaru, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, BJ’s Restaurants, Red Robin, and VCA. He is known for combining customer insight, brand strategy, digital innovation, analytics, and commercial capabilities to create differentiated customer experiences and sustainable enterprise growth. Mayer has been behind several widely recognized brand and marketing transformations, including Hyundai’s America’s Best Warranty positioning, Subaru’s enduring Love platform, Chevrolet’s post-bankruptcy brand revitalization, and Volkswagen’s audience-first marketing strategy. Later in his career, he expanded his leadership beyond traditional marketing to build integrated growth capabilities encompassing customer acquisition and retention, loyalty, CRM, digital commerce, pricing, customer experience, and operations. His work has been recognized with Cannes Lions, Effie Awards, Adweek’s Brand Genius honor, and other industry distinctions. He was also named to Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2024 Power List and has served in industry leadership roles, including as co-president of ThinkLA.
Mayer earned his Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He previously served on the Purdue University College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Council and was selected as a Purdue Old Master in 2014.
Mayer resides in Los Angeles, California, and has two children. His daughter, Calissa, is a senior at Purdue University pursuing a double major in Law and Society and Psychology. She is involved with Purdue’s Old Masters program and serves as a Brand Ambassador for the College of Liberal Arts. His son, Nathan, is a high school senior and captain of his school’s water polo team.