Merkle (www.merkle.com), the nation's largest and fastest growing customer relationship marketing agency, announced the hiring of James (Jim) Foley as senior vice president and chief people officer. In this newly created position, he will oversee Merkle's corporate human resource functions and capabilties, which span from recruiting and on-boarding new staff; employee development and engagement; rewards and recognition programs; performance management; and compensation and benefits. Foley will be based in Merkle's Columbia, Md., headquarters location.

Foley brings to Merkle more than 25 years for leadership experience gained from working with emerging, mid-sized and major Fortune 500 companies. Prior to Merkle, he was senior vice president of human resources at Vertis Communications, Inc., a $1.8 billion advertising and marketing communication company based in Baltimore. Earlier, he served as vice president, human resources, at Corvis Corporation and U.S. Office Products.

Merkle Chairman and CEO David Williams said, "Given Merkle's continued expansion, the timing was right to onboard a senior human resource executive with extensive experience working with companies during periods of growth and transition. Further, to achieve our goal of becoming one fo the most admired and best-run companies in America, we understand that we must provide outstanding opportunities for our employees to learn and thrive. Adding Jim to our executive team will help us advance in that direction, and we are extremely excited to be bringing him onboard in this new function."

Foley said, "In a company like Merkle where talent is a core business asset, hiring and developing great talent is a critical capability that will drive the success of the business as a whole. Merkle continues to expand rapidly, both organically and through acquisitions, and it must align its HR functions to enable effective change as it continues to grow and evolve. My experience in working with companies through periods of transition and expansion will be extremely helpful as Merkle continues its aggressive growth trajectory."

Merkle, which has been named one of the best companies to work for by Baltimore magazine two years in a row, is currently looking to hire qualified individuals for a variety of positions in the areas of program and account management, strategy, analytics, statistics, corporate operations, creative and production. To access a listing of current openings, visit the Merkle Careers page.