Note from the MD: Sep 2016

For those of you who’ve heard the news – it’s true. For those of you who don’t know yet, I’m honoured to become CEO of The Marketing Society in January as Hugh steps down. His are big shoes to fill but I’m so excited about taking on this new role.

First thing to say is that Hugh’s wisdom, depth of knowledge and sharp wit have constantly inspired me over the last 10 years and I’m delighted that he’ll continue to work for the society as global ambassador. In fact, he’s just flown back from India, so watch this space. We’re hoping our New Delhi hub will launch in January.

We’re spreading the word, taking our message of the importance of bold marketing leadership global. Meanwhile, I’m in New York this week with Sarah and Alasdair. I’ll be chairing a panel at Advertising Week New York on a topic very close to my heart – being brave and winning. If you’re there too, come and say hello.
 
Our first International Marketing Leaders Programme in New York in partnership with Brand Learning took place this month with brands including Samsung, Shell, Colgate Palmolive and IBM. The delegates are being coached on a whole host of relevant topics including leading and marketing with purpose. Although this concept of bold marketing is simple, I’m confident it’s going to resonate with our fellow marketers across the Atlantic. As fifteenth century Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

The more I travel around our hubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Scotland, London and Dubai, the more I realise that this idea of ours of being brave marketers is simple and consistent. We see it in the winning papers of our Marketing Society Excellence Awards (which reminds me to remind you that our call for entries is now open). We see it in the bold marketing leadership of our members at the top of their game. We’ll see it in the inspiring stories and advice from our speakers at the Global Conference in Hong Kong, Dubai and London on Thursday 17 November.
 
So one of my mantras as CEO will be building on the importance of being brave.

Let it live and breathe in everything we do.