ST. PAUL, Minn. - Deluxe Corporation announced today that it has hired Amanda Brinkman to be the company’s Chief Brand and Communications Officer. In her new role, Brinkman will lead brand, public relations, the Deluxe Foundation, and communications for the enterprise. She is set to assume her new position onJanuary 13, 2014.

“Deluxe is undergoing a brand transformation to become an indispensable partner in helping small businesses and financial institutions grow,” said Lee Schram, CEO. “Amanda Brinkman is the right leader to continue to guide our brand evolution, public relations, and communications and bring creative solutions to Deluxe.”

Brinkman joins Deluxe with a wealth of career experience in internal marketing, brand management and interactive development. She also has played key roles in developing marketing services teams for large corporations. Her prior experience includes serving as Vice President, Brand and Creative Services at Allianz, where she was responsible for a large scope of marketing services including advertising, brand, creative, media and interactive in North America. She also developed an internal agency whose success earned “Department of the Year” honors at Allianz in 2010.

Brinkman led the creation of Carrot, the internal marketing services team of 150 that specialized in consumer engagement programs as Vice President, Creative Services at UnitedHealth Group. In this role, she was responsible for P&L management, overall campaign quality and service levels working with the UnitedHealth Group brand.

She began her career working on the agency side with such firms as Cohn & Wolfe London, Campbell Mithun and Fallon. As the Director of Business Development at Fallon, Brinkman spearheaded the agency’s digital group and oversaw the development of award-winning websites for such clients as Georgia Pacific, Brawny Academy and St. Paul Travelers. She also honed her brand and account management skills servicing brands such as BMW, Reebok and Virgin Mobile.

Brinkman has received a series of distinguished Twin Cities business awards including being honored by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as a “Woman To Watch” in 2012 and “Forty Under 40” in 2009. Minnesota Business Magazine also featured her as one of “The Next Generation of Minnesota Business Titans”. The Winona State University graduate is actively involved in the community, serving as the Vice Chair for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund Board of Directors and a member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Board.