Megan Ruff joins Stan Gellman Graphic Design Inc. as a graphic designer, from St. Louis Sports Magazine. Ruff graduated from Maryville University in St. Louis with a BFA majoring in graphic design. Gellman also hired Katie Rhea as a graphic designer. She just graduated from Auburn University majoring in graphic design with a minor in business administration. In addition, Josh Lawson joins the company as Manager of Interactive Media. Lawson, previously a site developer at QVC, brings with him experience in web technologies, building and maintaining custom websites and constructing e-commerce assignments. He has a degree in digital media from Drexel University.

Siegel + Gale appoints Lee Rafkin as Global Director of Simplification. Rafkin was previously the founder and president of Rafkin & Company, a strategic brand consultancy he founded in 2002 and with clients including AOL, Reuters and Discovery Networks. Prior to that, Rafkin, who began his career as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch, was an executive director at Future-Brand, where he led the Latin America region and was the global client executive for AOL International.

Jill Beraud joins PepsiCo. in the newly created position of worldwide CMO. Beraud, who reports directly to CEO Indra Nooyi, was most recently CMO at Victoria’s Secret and also spent 13 years at the Limited Brands. In the new job, Beraud is responsible for developing marketing strategies for Pepsico’s $39 billion portfolio of Frito-Lay, Pepsi-Cola beverages and Quaker products. Beraud’s appointment came as PepsiCo already began making big changes by completely repackaging Pepsi and naming TWIAChiatDay in California as trademark Pepsi’s new creative agency. The Arnell Group in New York was also brought on board for new brand identity and packaging products.

Paul Waszak returns to Blue Room as an Art Director, after several years spent starting a new animation and design studio Poolside Designs in New York. He had previously worked as a graphic designer, primarily on Blue Room projects, between 2003 and 2006. Blue Room has also hired Grace Kim as Associate Producer, hailing from CNBC where, as the network’s first associate producer for on-air promotions, Kim wore many hats including producing and writing topical promos for The Suze Orman Show and Closing Bell, helping to manage daily production schedules and recording voice-over sessions with talent. Kim has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in film/animation/video.

Jeffrey W. Hayzlett has been named CMO at Eastman Kodak, with responsibility for the firm’s worldwide marketing operations, including design and implementation of all marketing strategies, investments, policies and processes. Hayzlett joined Kodak in 2006 as CMO and VP of the Graphic Communications Group. He became chief business development officer in 2007 and a corporate VP a month later. Previously, he led a private business development and public relations firm. He also has held senior management positions at firms including Cenveo, Webprint and Colorbus Inc. and served in staff positions in the US Senate and House of Representatives.

Renee Rubertucci-Whitworth joins Flood Creative NY as a partner, bringing more than 15 years experience in brand strategy and packaging design. Her current and previous clients include Campbell’s, Colgate-Palmolive, Kraft, Nestle and Johnson & Johnson.

Bally Total Fitness names Patrick Peduto as Executive Creative Director, a newly created position to help lead new branding initiatives at Bally. The healthy and fitness service and products company secured Peduto by tapping the boutique marketing communicatons agency Rocket-Science Creative Ltd. that he founded in Manhattan in 1994. Under the unusual agreement, Peduto and RocketScience will run the inhouse design and advertising department at Bally and collaborate with current Bally agencies including Foot Cone & Belding, Flair Communications and others. Prior to Bally and Rocket-Science, Peduto was senior group creative director with McCann Erickson, Saatchi & Saatchi, J. Walter Thompson, Y&R and DMB&B Advertising. He holds a BFA from The Ringling School of Art & Design and is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor, teaching classes in advertising at Fashion Institute of Technology in NY.

Cincinnati design firm Traction hires University of Cincinnati graduate Erica Nyberg as designer. Nyberg, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from the university’s DAAP program, will be responsible for contributions in brand identity development, package design and print collateral design.

Thomas Gilmore becomes Director of Brand Strategy with RGI Design in Cincinatti, OH. Gilmore spent the past 12 years at Interbrand and has supported clients including Procter and Gamble, Lowe’s and Heinz. He is also a member of the Adjunct Faculty with the School of Fine Arts at Miami University.