LIVONIA, Mich., Jan. 30 -- Valassis, the leading company in marketing services and Connective Media, announced today the naming of Michael Kowalczyk to the newly created position of Senior Vice President and General Manager of Valassis In-Store Marketing. Kowalczyk will lead a team of dedicated, focused resources for the company's new In- Store division, one of Valassis' key initiatives. "A strategic and creative thinker, Mike is the ideal person to lead this key company initiative as we focus on delivering value to consumers how, when and where they want," said Alan F. Schultz, Valassis Chairman, President and CEO. "He brings a strong sales and marketing background to this new role as we further diversify our product portfolio and customer base. His vast knowledge of Valassis products, rapport with customers and insight into the industry will help accelerate this initiative." In his new role, Kowalczyk will be responsible for developing strategic in-store partners, looking at future in-store strategic selling partnerships and new in-store product development. Now able to touch retail in a whole new way, Valassis' in-store strategy will leverage the company's sales strengths and relationships by partnering with leading companies whose innovative in- store offerings create a best-of-breed portfolio of complementary solutions. "Our commitment to providing customers with intelligent marketing solutions does not end in the home," Kowalczyk said. "This is a logical step to bring clear value, measured return on investment and new thinking to this critical arena in the marketing landscape. Valassis has innovative plans to help change the face of in-store offerings, just like we have with in-home marketing for the past 30 years." Prior to joining Valassis, Kowalczyk was with the BCB Group, a marketing think tank for new product introductions, and American Greetings where he was responsible for trade and brand marketing. While at American Greetings, he designed the largest specialty retail, corporate-run frequent shopper program of its kind. He brought that experience to his role with Valassis Relationship Marketing Systems, LLC, which offers CRM solutions for grocery retailers and consumer packaged goods manufacturers. Having stints in marketing and sales, Kowalczyk was recently the Vice President of Marketing where he led Valassis in capturing competitive advertising dollars.