Authentic Brands Group Names Lark-Marie Antón Communications Chief

Authentic Brands Group has named Lark-Marie Antón as chief communications officer. The company announced the move on 12 October. She will join its executive committee, the small group of senior leaders who steer the organisation. The appointment was disclosed in a company announcement distributed via PR Newswire.

She will report to Matt Maddox, president and chief executive officer. She will lead global communications and corporate brand strategy. That covers press, public messaging and how the corporate brand itself is defined.

The chief communications officer is the senior executive in charge of reputation. Maddox, who became president in January 2025, brings more than 20 years of experience in global hospitality and gaming. Antón will now sit alongside him on the executive team.

Antón was most recently chief communications and brand officer at USA Today Co., formerly Gannett. There she led enterprise communications and corporate brand strategy for more than 200 local media properties. Enterprise communications here means messaging across the whole business, not just one title. She also implemented the rebrand from Gannett to USA Today Co., according to WWD.

Earlier she held senior communications and marketing roles at Hertz, Verizon, Aura and Loews Hotels. Those posts spanned travel, telecoms, technology and hospitality. She began her career in public service. She served as deputy press secretary in the administration of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

She earned a master of arts in communication studies from West Virginia University. She earned a bachelor of arts from Marist University. She now serves on the board of trustees at Marist, the governing body that oversees the university. The company announcement, carried by PR Newswire, lists that board role alongside her executive post.

What makes this stand out is range. Antón has worked in local news at scale, in consumer companies that live or die on customer trust, and in city hall where every word is checked. That is a broad toolkit for a single corporate job. It pulls together media, marketing and public affairs.

For fans and shoppers, the effect is backstage. You may never see her name on a label or a credit roll. You will hear the company more clearly when deals close, brands change hands or leaders change. That voice starts with this appointment.