WFA launches Global Marketer of the Year 2020

WFA has launched the 2020 WFA Global Marketer of the Year award to highlight the role that regional and global marketers have played in a hugely challenging year for people and businesses.

The award will provide a spotlight for those executives who are transforming the industry by inspiring their teams, both internal and external, adapting effectively to new ways of working and living while also creating brand strategies that make a difference to both society and their companies.

Nominations will be sought from the wider marketing industry as well as via an expert jury of global marketers and industry experts chaired by WFA President and Mastercard Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Raja Rajamannar, with media partner The Drum publicising the award across its three regional online editions, print magazine and social platforms.

Those nominated should demonstrate outstanding leadership in three key areas:

1. Evolving their organisation to be more people-centric, better able to respond to consumer needs and building happier, more engaged teams internally;
2. Working smarter with partners, be they agencies or vendors, and ensuring that the whole team is aligned to the same goals;
3. Delivering inspiring work that genuinely makes a difference, be that culturally, for the business or for society as a whole.

They should also have been working for their current employer for two years or more.

Nominations can be made through the website globalmarketeroftheyear.com or sent to awards@wfanet.org. The deadline for nominations is 25 October 2020.

Nominations will be considered by the expert jury in November, with those shortlisted being profiled in The Drum and on the WFA’s website later in the year.

The winner will be decided by a combination of public voting by the industry and the expert jury verdict, with each counting for half of the final score. The winner will be announced in January 2021.

The inaugural Global Marketer of the Year was won in 2017 by Keith Weed, Unilever’s then Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, he was followed by Raja Rajamannar in 2018 and last year’s winner was Lubomira Rochet, Chief Digital Officer at L’Oréal.

The list of jurors for 2020 includes:

• Raja Rajamannar (Chair), WFA President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Mastercard
• Eloísa Moscardó, Corporate Advertising Director, Santander
• Atul Agrawal, Senior Vice President, Corporate Brand and Marketing, Tata Services
• Rupen Desai, Global CMO, Dole
• Stephan Loerke, CEO, WFA
• May Zhang, Deputy Secretary General, China Association of National Advertisers
• Sandra Martinelli, Executive President, Association of Brazilian Advertisers
• Bobby Simborio, Executive Director, Philippine Association of National Advertisers
• Brian Yuyi, CEO, Marketing Association of South Africa
• Lucinda Peniston-Baines, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, The Observatory
• Debbie Morrison, Managing Director, Global Partnerships and Events, Ebiquity
• Charlotte McEleny, APAC Publisher, The Drum
• Nick Broomfield, Director & Global Client Lead, Dentsu SCHEMA

“This has been a hugely challenging year for marketers but also one where the very best have demonstrated the difference that great leadership can make. With the fourth Global Marketer of the Year award now open we can celebrate the ability of marketing and marketers to drive their businesses forward for the benefit of shareholders, partners and people,” said Stephan Loerke, CEO of WFA.

“Marketers have been challenged as never before during the Covid-19 pandemic. They’ve had to manage radical changes to ways of working, media behaviour and consumer lifestyles. There have been step changes in the adoption of digital platforms and eCommerce that have tested business models as never before. Those that have thrived in this climate have truly made a difference to their business,” said Raja Rajamannar, WFA President and Chair of the expert jury.

“In 2019, The Drum’s readers helped name L’Oréal’s chief digital officer Lubomira Rochet as WFA Global Marketer of the Year, in recognition of her work in leading the company's digital transformation. 2020 has been a year in which marketers have had to respond at speed to the impact of Covid-19; build resilience against the backdrop of an economic recession; and truly live their values in the face of global social unrest. As we occupy this vulnerable moment for the industry our readers will be looking to crown a marketing leader who has foresight on the big hairy issues and can offer up solutions that work, not only for their own business, but the industry at large. We are dedicating all of our editorial resource to helping our readers navigate these challenging times. So, I look forward to the team at The Drum working with the WFA and being key part of the selection process,” said Rebecca Stewart, trends editor, The Drum

For more information about the WFA Global Marketer of the Year Award click here.