CMO Forum: 2016 Year in Review

2016 proved to be the most dynamic year yet for the CMOFORUM, an exclusive, invitation only peer network that offers some of the most experienced marketing leaders with the opportunity to exchange experiences with a view to offering actionable insight into how to address common priorities.

The group’s meeting at Cannes Lions brought together 25 CMO-level marketers with sessions led by Unilever’s Keith Weed, Mastercard’s Raja Rajamannar and WFA President and RBS CMO, David Wheldon.

The spotlight also turned to Asia-Pacific as we expanded with the first meeting in Hong Kong, anchored by newly-appointed CMOFORUM Chair for APAC and APAC CMO at Mastercard, Sam Ahmed. The group’s focus inevitably mirrored WFA’s core priorities. Transformation topped the agenda, reflected through sessions around evolving capabilities. CMOs were, of course, central to much of this change, with many finding themselves with expanded roles often incorporating corporate communications.

The digital marketing ecosystem was also top of mind, with the focus especially centred on brand owners the victim of ad fraud and  onsumers rejecting marketing communications through increased usage of adblocking.

Linked to this was a heavy focus on customercentricity, as reflected in WfA’s Project reconnect (project-reconnect.com) on which many of our CMO members sit on the Advisory Board. Whilst many acknowledge our industry is still far from being truly ‘customer-centric’, others felt they had made real progress with one CMO describing his role as “Chief of Customer Obsession”.

The year ahead will see the CMOFORUM build on the successes of 2016 with more for CMOs to look forward to:

• An additional meeting at Cannes to offer Global CMOs 2 sessions to connect with their peers;


• A total of 4 sessions in Hong Kong and Singapore –one per quarter- making Asia-Pacific the region with the most senior meetings;


• The continuation of innovative new formats and initiatives to shine the spotlight on our CMOs and their work, such as the WFA Leadership Interviews in collaboration with Campaign Asia and Marketing Week, and the MarketingMatters and CMO Luncheon that will return to Singapore in September.

CMOFORUM 2016 in numbers:

• 40 attendees


• 10 CMO interviews published in partnership with Campaign Asia and Marketing Week


• 3 meetings in 3 different locations: Singapore, Cannes & Hong Kong


• 3 new initiatives:
  
  
  
  • MarketingMatters
  
  
  • CMOLuncheon
  
  
  • WFA-EDB Industry Sessions
  
  
  
  


• 1 new Chair : Sam Ahmed, MasterCard

CMOFORUM 2016 attendees:

1. Elaine Leavenworth Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing and External Affairs Officer, Abbott


2. Chris Miller, DVP Global Brand Strategy and Innovation, Abbott


3. Eloisa Moscardó, Corporate Advertising Director, Banco Santander


4. Isabel García Sánchez-Valiente, Corporate Branding, Culture and Research Director, Banco Santander


5. Michael Aidan, Global Head of Digital & VP Digital Platforms, Danone


6. Alejandro Pinillos, Chief Growth Officer, Dairy Division, Danone


7. Daniel Ordonez, Chrief Growth Officer, Waters, Danone


8. Sylvie Borias, Internal Brand Director, Groupe Bel


9. Silvia Davila, VP and Global Food CMO, Mars


10. Dan Burdett, Global VP Brand Snickers, Mars


11. Raja Rajamannar, Global CMO, MasterCard


12. Jill Baskin, VP Global Brand Strategy and Communications, Mondelēz


13. Michael Inpong, Global CMO, Mueller Group


14. Thulani Sibeko, CMO, Nedbank


15. David Wheldon, Global CMO, RBS


16. Charlie Hiscocks, Global Director Brand Communications, SABMiller


17. Ann Mukherjee, Global CMO, SC Johnson


18. David Bunch, VP Global Retail Marketing, Shell


19. Malena Cutuli, Global Head of Brand Integrated Communications & Capability, Shell


20. Ivan Pollard, SVP, Strategic Marketing North America, The Coca-Cola Company


21. Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Unilever


22. Tunç Berkman, CMO, Vestel


23. Charles Frump, Marketing Communications Director, Volvo


24. Basak Kluznick, VP Marketing Food Ülker, Yildiz Holding


25. Julian Lyden, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited


26. Tanja Roth, Daimler AG


27. Anna Gosh, Emirates Group


28. Melissa Bell, INFINITI Motor Company


29. Sharon Lam, Mundipharma


30. Glen Brasington, Pernod Ricard


31. Michele Lum, Petronas


32. Sinmei Lau, Pfizer


33. Adrian Toy, Puma


34. Charles Frump, Volvo


35. Sam Ahmed, Mastercard


36. Martina Gripp, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH


37. Rahul Asthana, Kimberly-Clark


38. Yasemin Okur, Mundipharma


39. David Okeme, Unilever


40. Chan MayLing, Digi/Telenor

For more information, visit the WFA website or contact Rob.