Former Johnson & Johnson global president of marketing services Vineet Mehra has joined family history and consumer genomics company Ancestry.com as executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

Mehra, who will be based in the San Francisco office, led J&J’s core consumer marketing functions as president of global marketing services, managing more the $2bn around the world.

As well as working previously with brands like Novartis Consumer Health, General Mills and Procter & Gamble, he has acted as jury chair for M&M Global Awards in 2015.

“There are very, very few brands in the world that can develop such a deep emotional bond with consumers as Ancestry,” said Mehra. “It is through this deep connection and trust that Ancestry has built such powerful competitive advantages in a crowded market and helped make Ancestry a globally recognised name.

“The outstanding Ancestry marketing team has built a strong foundation, and I look forward to leading this world-class team to take our consumer-centricity to the next level with even bolder, data-driven, insight-laden brand stories that highlight how life-changing the discoveries that Ancestry uncovers can be.

“Through this combination of purpose, marketing technology, and human understanding, we have the opportunity to truly take Ancestry’s leadership in both family history and consumer genomics to the next stage,” he added.

Software firm Intuit’s senior vice president Nat Natarajan has also been appointed as Ancestry executive vice president of product and technology, and will be based in San Francisco too.