CHICAGO, April 15 -- R.R. Donnelley & Sons has elected Michael J. Portland, 37, executive vice president and chief marketing and development officer. Previously, he had been vice president and general manager of Ashland Distribution Company's Service Businesses Division, as well as vice president of planning, development and marketing for the Ashland Chemicals, Inc.'s Ashland Distribution and Specialty Chemical Group. He was responsible for defining and directing the marketing process, establishing a business development process, launching and managing start-up businesses, and managing a service-oriented business unit. "Mike's successful track record in transforming a sales and operations- driven organization to a market-driven company will quickly further R.R. Donnelley's goal of becoming a strategic marketing powerhouse," said William L. Davis, R.R. Donnelley's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "By enhancing the experience and capabilities of our senior leadership team, Mike's expertise in business development and marketing will significantly contribute to our own transformation efforts and make us even more effective in delivering total communications solutions to our customers." Portland said, "By building on the critical strategic, structural and cultural initiatives already under way, marketing will play an important role in accelerating R.R. Donnelley's transformation. I'm excited to be part of a team that is passionate about achieving the company's vision of revolutionizing communications effectiveness by helping our customers build their brands and communicate more effectively with their consumers." Portland brings more than 15 years of strategic planning and marketing experience to R.R. Donnelley. While at Ashland, he conceived, designed and established a strategic marketing function to support the company's expanded marketing efforts and directed the companywide strategic planning process. He advanced knowledge required to support business development and decision- making. As head of Ashland Distribution's newly created Service Businesses Division, he aggregated service operations scattered throughout the company into a knowledge-based business unit focused on providing service solutions, including environmental services and energy services. Before joining Ashland in 1996, Portland worked for McKinsey & Company, Inc., as a strategic advisor to top management of major U.S. and European corporations. His primary focus was on business-to-business marketing and operational process improvement. Portland received a B.A. in engineering sciences from Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., in tandem with a bachelor's of engineering management from Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering. He also holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, Cambridge, Mass. He and his family are moving to the Chicago area from Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. He is a director and president-elect of The Dublin Fund, a charitable foundation, and a past director of the City of Dublin (Ohio) Chamber of Commerce. He also has been a guest lecturer in marketing and strategy at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, The Fisher School of Business at The Ohio State University, the University of Michigan MBA program and the University of Dayton MBA program.