On the heels of +27 percent organic net revenue growth YTD Q3 2020, You & Mr Jones, the global BrandtechTM category pioneer, has completed its $260MM Series B which valued the company at $1.36 billion. The round was completed by Merian Chrysalis, which invested $60MM and saw its share price gain 5% on the announcement of the investment.
Despite the economic climate and Covid-19 impact, You & Mr Jones has experienced exponential growth in 2020 and currently has more than 300 open positions. Technology and talent are at the core of the model. To ensure that the focus on talent is as important as the focus on technology, Paulette Forte has been tapped as Associate Partner to serve as the Brandtech group’s first Chief People Officer. In this role she will lead the talent management function, providing strategic oversight of all people processes within the company, including talent acquisition, leadership development, employee relations, professional education, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. Forte will work hand-in-hand with key HR executives within the group’s various portfolio companies.
Forte joins You & Mr Jones from the National Basketball Association (NBA), where she was Senior Director of Human Services, supporting employees in global content and media distribution, global partnerships and corporate services. While there, she led talent recruitment, change and performance management, and employee engagement projects, as well as diversity and inclusion programs. Previous to the NBA, she garnered extensive experience in senior-level HR positions at branding, advertising and media companies such as Scholastic, Jack Morton Worldwide, AKQA Group (formerly Grey), FutureBrand, Turner Broadcasting and Havas.