About ForgedVelvet

---

 ForgedVelvet exists for companies that know marketing should be driving growth but feel the gap between ambition and execution.  I built this practice after more than two decades leading marketing across ecommerce, SaaS, logistics, marketplaces, and consumer brands. I have led marketing that sells to enterprises, to consumers, and to both at the same time. I have built demand engines, repositioned legacy brands, launched new platforms, and helped organizations adapt to major shifts in technology and customer behavior.  AI is the next shift. Most companies know it matters. Few know how to operationalize it inside marketing. Bridging that gap is now a core part of the work.

  I am Jon Kapplow, a senior marketing leader and former CMO who has spent 25+ years helping companies translate complex products into clear market stories and measurable growth.  Most recently, I served as SVP of Marketing and Communications at Pitney Bowes, leading full-stack marketing across a multi-billon dollar ecommerce logistics and technology portfolio. My role spanned go-to-market strategy, product marketing, demand generation, brand, communications, sales enablement, and marketing operations across global teams.  Before Pitney Bowes, I was the CMO of Borderfree, a cross-border ecommerce SaaS platform acquired for $400M. Earlier, I was the founding CMO of ShopRunner, where we built a two-sided commerce network that scaled to 1.3M members and $700M in GMV during my tenure.  Earlier in my career, I led marketing roles at HSN, Hanover Direct, and Home Décor Products during the rise of ecommerce and multi-channel retail that cumulatively represented $3 billion in B2C sales.  Across these roles, the constant has been helping companies translate complex products into clear stories that drive adoption, loyalty, and revenue.

My work sits at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, analytics, and execution across both enterprise and consumer markets. I help companies:

• Clarify positioning and narrative so buyers understand why they matter
• Align marketing, product, and sales around a shared growth strategy
• Build demand engines that drive pipeline, revenue, and customer acquisition
• Strengthen brand and thought leadership across B2B and B2C channels
• Integrate AI into marketing workflows to improve speed and effectiveness

This is operator experience applied directly to real business challenges.

  The name reflects how strong brands are built.

Forging requires heat, pressure, and repetition. Velvet represents a softer touch, emotion and resonance. Great marketing needs both. Discipline and creativity. Analysis and storytelling. Strategy and execution.

Companies usually have one side or the other. The work here is bringing them together.

I partner with CEOs, founders, and executive teams who:

• Need senior marketing leadership without adding full-time headcount
• Are preparing for a major growth phase, repositioning, or product launch
• Want marketing to become a measurable revenue driver
• Need a trusted operator to align teams and accelerate progress