Donald Friedman, former chief marketing officer of CA Technologies, has made the jump to the agency side and joined Sequel, a New York-based branding and marketing consultancy, as principal.

Friedman brings his extensive international and domestic experience in business strategy, marketing and sales, change management, and organizational alignment to the Sequel team of experts in strategy, design and communications.

As a CMO, Friedman was instrumental in the turnaround of CA, an IT management leader once dubbed the “most dysfunctional company in America.” Earlier, he held a range of senior management positions at IBM. Best known as a change agent, he fixed troubled businesses and created new ones — including IBM’s fast-growing Small Medium Business (SBM) unit. In between, Friedman orchestrated the buyout of Flex Technology, a leader in advanced circuits, and became president and CEO after a reverse merger with a larger public company, Sheldahl. In joining Sequel, Friedman notes that his background is both “relevant, and eclectic. I bring strategic marketing know-how, pragmatic general management experience and client’s perspective to a firm with top-notch creative capabilities.” Fellow principal Brett Gerstenblatt adds, “We’ve worked closely with Don for a decade. We’ve done great work together and learned from each other. I couldn’t be more pleased that he’s decided to join our team.”

Friedman, who resides in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, where he served on the school’s Advisory Board. He attended the University of Virginia and Northwestern executive programs. He is active in local community programs, including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDRF), and the National Foundation of Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).