Nestle digital chief Pete Blackshaw departs to lead startup Cintrifuse
Cintrifuse, a Cincinnati, Ohio based startup and entrepreneur community, has named former Nestle head Pete Blackshaw its chief executive officer.
Nestle's digital and social head, Pete Blackshaw, has left to become the CEO of Cincinnati-based startup hub Cintrifuge / Cintrifuge
Blackshaw has left his most recent post as Nestle’s global head of digital and social, where he led the brand’s digital transformation. Among his key accomplishments at Nestle, the launch of its Silicon Valley Innovation Outpost and its Henri@Nestle Open Innovation platform.
In his new role, Blackshaw is tasked with making the company the top startup and entrepreneurial hub in the US Midwest.
P&G and supermarket chain Kroeger have been among the top backers of the community, as well as regional brand Western & Southern and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. The company is further bolstered by assets totaling $91m.
This marks a return to a city where Blackshaw started his career, as he helped to build the digital presence of P&G’s Bounty brand. Eventually, the company had him help found its first digital marketing team. Blackshaw later opened a startup in the early 2000s that was eventually absorbed into the Nielsen family.
According to a blog post from Blackshaw’s new home, Blackshaw had helped to lay the foundation for the southern Ohio city’s startup community to a formidable level in the past two decades.
David Taylor, P&G’s chairman, president and chief executive said: “Pete was among the very early pioneers who created new marketing and advertising models while he was at P&G, allowing our brands to engage consumers and set new industry standards. He is the perfect choice to come back to Cincinnati and provide the same kind of leadership for our region that he’s provided for the consumer products industry.”
Blackshaw added: “Greater Cincinnati has everything it takes to be the number one startup hub in the Midwest - a vibrant and historic tech district, big companies eager to partner with small ones, great universities and a cost structure that keeps burn-rates crazy low. I believed this when I launched my first startup here and am more convinced than ever today.”