Benchmark, a human connection company and leading provider of senior living services in the Northeast, today announced that Heather Frahm has joined the company’s senior leadership team in the newly created role of chief marketing officer (CMO). Frahm has earned national acclaim as a digital marketing thought leader and pioneer and has addressed audiences nationwide, including at conferences for CBI, Digital Summit and Search Engine Strategies.
In 1998, she co-founded Boston-based Catalyst, a search engine marketing firm specializing in serving Fortune 500 companies. In 2006, Frahm and her co-founder sold the company to a subsidiary of global ad conglomerate WPP, and she continued serving as the company’s president until 2013.
As CMO, Frahm will be responsible for Benchmark’s brand strategy, advertising, market research, marketing communications, customer experience and marketing automation and will be a key contributor to the company’s growing innovation strategy.
“Heather brings a fresh perspective to our industry and the ability to leverage data and content to create meaningful online experiences to engage people with our mission to elevate human connection,” says Tom Grape, Benchmark’s founder, chairman and CEO. “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know her over the years on both a personal and professional level. She shares our commitment to putting people first, and her unique approach to business, problem-solving and innovation will be an invaluable asset as we embark upon expanding Benchmark into new areas.”
An accomplished business leader and entrepreneur, Frahm began her career in financial services. Before co-founding Catalyst in 1998, she served as an assistant vice president for BankBoston’s commercial lending financial institutions group and was a member of its internet marketing team. She also held positions at State Street Bank and Trust, Donaldson Lufkin, & Jenrette, and Goldman Financial Group.
In her free time, she advises organizations, such as MrYScribe Pty Ltd, Shocase, and Black River Innovation Campus in Springfield, Vt. She has also served as a board member for the Young Presidents Organization New England Chapter, WebTribes Inc. and BioDigital Systems. Frahm currently is on the board of Westminster School.
Frahm graduated from Hartwick College with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and from Boston College with an MBA in finance. She and her family live in Boston, where she will run the Boston Marathon on April 15 in memory of her late mother.
“After helping care for my own mother, I have a deep appreciation for the work that Benchmark does and for Tom as a fellow entrepreneur,” says Frahm. “Benchmark’s mission, to keep its residents, families and associates connected to what’s meaningful and possible at every stage of life, is one that changes lives, and I look forward to helping fulfill that mission by touching even more people in the months and years to come.”
About Benchmark
Based in Waltham, Mass., Benchmark is a leading provider of senior housing in the Northeast with 6,400 associates and 58 communities. Founded in 1997 by Tom Grape, Benchmark offers independent living, assisted living, Alzheimer’s care and skilled nursing in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. The organization was selected by FORTUNE magazine for its inaugural 2018 Best Workplaces for Aging Services list, taking the number 16 spot on the list of top 40 aging services companies and ranking number three among companies with more than 40 communities. Benchmark is one of only six companies named to The Boston Globe Top Places to Work list every year of the 11 years it has been published. And it has been consistently recognized by Boston Business Journal, Hartford Courant and Hartford Business Journal as a top workplace, and by the Boston Business Journal, Providence Business News and Hartford Business Journal as one of the healthiest employers.
