Tariq Hassan

As Chief Marketing Officer, Tariq is responsible for leading Petco’s marketing efforts dedicated to providing pet parents with a seamless pet care experience, so they can focus on the joy their pets bring to their lives.
With more than 20 years of experience in global brand strategy, communications, innovation and insights across diverse categories, customer segments and markets, his expertise lies in harnessing and leveraging data to build long-lasting relationships with customers.
Prior to joining Petco, Tariq served as head of brand for Bank of
America, led Merrill Lynch’s marketing team and held global leadership roles with Hewlett-Packard and Omnicom. He began his career in advertising, progressing through international assignments with D’Arcy, Leo Burnett and FCB before helping found Element79 Partners, the largest advertising agency start-up in U.S. history.
As a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and firm believer in the power of the arts, Tariq sits on the board of directors for Education for Employment, an organization dedicated to empowering marginalized youth across the Middle East and North Africa through vocational training and job placement; as well as on the board of Noor, a woman-founded and -led community theater. Additionally, he worked with the Obama administration on efforts to counter-message young Americans at risk to religious extremism and systemic discrimination.
Tariq holds an honors bachelor’s degree in international political science and philosophy from the University of Western Ontario, and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University. He is based at Petco’s National Support Center in San Diego.