Microsoft appoints UK CMO
Microsoft has appointed a chief marketing officer for the UK following the combination of its consumer and commercial marketing teams.
Philippa Snare, former sales and marketing director of Microsoft’s “developer and platform evangelist” group, will help Microsoft to bring together the marketing for its entire product portfolio – from business software through to search engine Bing – for the first time.
Microsoft’s evolved marketing strategy moves away from the traditional product marketing approach and is more about listening to customers about the technology experiences they value, Snare says.
Snare has worked in the internet industry for more than 15 years, starting her career at classified ads company Scoot. She joined Microsoft in 2000, working across a variety of roles including being part of the MSN UK leadership team, the online product division and leading the company’s UK PR team.
Scott Dodds, general manager of business strategy and marketing at Microsoft UK, who Snare will report to, says: “The future of our business depends on our ability to deeply understand the challenges of our customers and partners and to show them the real value of our broad product and service portfolio. Philippa’s breadth of experience in both our consumer and commercial business will be vital to the development of our marketing strategy.”
Snare’s role change follows the recent departures of several key senior marketers at Microsoft’s in recent months, including its UK managing director of consumer and online Ashley Highfield, who is joining Johnston Press, and the senior vice president of its central marketing group, Mich Matthews.
