To become a modern marketing leader, you must be prepared to ask yourself tough questions, says Pinterest’s CMO Andréa Mallard, not least are you prepared to tell – and listen to – the truth?
From finding the right work/life balance to seeing the positive impact marketing can have beyond driving business growth, there are some questions Raja Rajamannar wishes he had asked earlier in his career.
From getting into the fine details of effectiveness to appreciating the difference between marketing and advertising, there are some key questions Deliveroo CMO Inés Ures wishes she has asked earlier in her career.
GVC group managing director Dominic Grounsell has sought out broad marketing experience in a career that has covered multiple sectors, but he believes getting to know yourself should be an essential workplace KPI.
Accepting the value in being wrong and asking ‘Why?’ at least five times before you reach the answer will help you succeed as a marketing leader, says Conor McKechnie, vice-president at Cytiva (formerly GE Life Sciences).
Michelle Klein may have a seat at Facebook’s top table, but there are still questions she believes she could have asked sooner that would have benefited her marketing career.
Cheryl Calverley feels lucky to have “grown up” in Unilever and Birds Eye, but it wasn’t until she left FMCG that she realised she was talking in Chinese while everyone else was speaking Dutch.
Virgin Atlantic CMO Claire Cronin has enjoyed promotion after promotion, but despite her success she believes focusing less on company goals, and more on her own personal development, would have made a difference.
It was an unorthodox career path that led Meghan Farren to become CMO of KFC UK and Ireland, which is why she believes being bold enough to take calculated risks can pay off in the long run.
Achieving an outward-looking approach to his work has been a big focus for Birds Eye marketing director, Steve Challouma, who having spent more than two decades in the industry has learned how to channel shyness into creative firepower.
As chief growth officer of Mars, Berta de Pablos-Barbier is dedicated to eliminating stereotypes, but as a junior marketer one senior leader’s advice to get rid of her accent and adapt her leadership style nearly changed the course of her career.
Despite being one of the UK’s top marketers, when it comes to risk-taking and identifying trends Britvic CMO Matt Barwell admits there are certain questions he should have asked earlier in his career.
Coca-Cola’s Walter Susini has no regrets about his career, but he does believe there are certain things he could have broached earlier that might have changed his professional trajectory.
Sonia Sudhakar still struggles to speak up, but she wants young marketers to understand that showing vulnerability when asking questions is not a weakness, it’s an intellectual strength.
Maeve McMahon has worked across an array of international marketing roles and isn’t one to shy away from the unknown, but even the most fearless marketers need a little nudge at times.