CMO FORUM: 2015 Year in Review

In 2015 the group met in Cannes and at the Spikes Festival of Creativity in Singapore. Organisers of The Cannes Lions described the network as an “amazingly high calibre group to have together in one room”.Topics covered included the evolution of the global marketing organisation, internal and external capabilities and, last but not least, people: existing and potential customers.

All the talk is of digital transformation. 60% of WFA members cited it as their top priority in 2015. CMOs very often find themselves at the vanguard of this process.

Transformation is also underway amongst agency partners. Welcomed by many, it has also led to issues of transparency and trust. CMOFORUM members recognise that integration and effective agency management come from client leadership and this is only possible when clients have the knowledge they need to stay close to and oversee all areas of investment.

Developing in-house marketing capabilities is nothing new but increasing focus on content marketing, programmatic media management and data driven marketing means this remains a priority. A changing landscape requires new approaches and skill sets and often looking beyond the industry for the required talent.

For all the talk of consumer-centric transformation, most members admit that they have some way to go to realise this vision. That is why so many CMOFORUM members are involved in WFA’s Project Reconnect.

Project Reconnect aims to help marketers ensure brand behaviours are in tune with what people want and expect. To influence behaviour change, it is critical marketing also undergoes genuine behaviour change based on real insight and human understanding.

In 2016, the CMOFORUM will return to Cannes, Singapore and will meet in Hong Kong for the first time.

CMOFORUM in numbers:

• CMOFORUM created in 2007. Launched in APAC in 2015.


• Meets in Cannes during the Cannes Lions Festival since 2014.


• Connects 204 CMOs/ Marketing VPs with global or regional responsibilities.


• Met 2 times in 2015: in Cannes and Singapore.


• 33 members attended meetings representing 26 companies

2015 attendees:

• Elaine Leavenworth, Abbott


• Chris Miller, Abbott


• Spencer Lee, AirAsia


• Yin Li Yen, AirAsia


• Martina Gripp, Boehringer Ingelheim


• Shyam Balasubramanian, BP


• Natanael Sijanta, Daimler


• Michael Aidan, Danone


• Roger Scarlett-Smith, GlaxoSmitKline


• Sylvie Borias, Groupe Bel


• Cyril Charzat, Heineken


• Soren Hagh, Heineken


• Mike Wege, The Hershey Company


• Vincenzo Brugaletta, LUXOTTICA


• Silvia Davila, Mars


• Andrew Knott, McDonald's


• Pierre Woreczek, McDonald's


• Angeli Beltran, Mead Johnson Nutrition


• Sameer Desai, Mundipharma


• Roel De Vries, Nissan


• Marc Schroeder, PepsiCo


• Derek Jones, SABMiller


• Marc Mathieu, Samsung


• Dean Aragon, Shell


• David Bunch, Shell


• Damien Cummings, Standard Chartered


• Smita Gupta, TATA


• Amit Sinha Roy, TATA


• Barış Gokpınar , Turkcell


• Tunç Berkman, Vestel


• Andrew Lambert, VISA


• Basak Kluznick, Yildiz Holding


• Lale Saral Develioglu, Yildiz Holding

What's next?

Capabilities, taking tasks in-house: Marketing leaders will look to their own teams and those of their agency partners to ensure they have the ability to operate in today’s data-led environment. CMOs will make building a world-class team a priority in 2016 as they seek to develop their internal marketing resource, particularly in areas including programmatic, e-commerce and CRM. This drive to raise the bar will also extend to their agency partners, particularly in high growth markets where approaches can be less sophisticated.

For more information, contact Rob.