WFA launches Global Marketer of the Year 2022

WFA has launched the 2022 WFA Global Marketer of the Year award, celebrating the work that regional and global marketers have played in driving their businesses and the industry forward.

To mark the five previous editions of Global Marketer of the Year, the WFA is also launching a Hall of Fame, featuring all 22 marketers who have been shortlisted for this prestigious award since it was first launched in 2017. Marketers who are shortlisted for this year’s and future awards will also join the list, which can be seen here.

Once again, this year’s award will put a spotlight on the executives who are making a difference by inspiring their teams, both internal and external, to deliver outstanding creativity, while also creating brand strategies that have a positive impact on 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 promoting the award across its three regional online editions, print magazine and social platforms.

Those nominated should demonstrate outstanding leadership in two or more of the following four areas:

1. Driving initiatives which contribute towards sustainable business growth/practices;
2. Optimising their global marketing organisation, including working more effectively with partners;
3. Delivering stand-out innovation and creative effectiveness.
4. Playing an industry leadership role, for example around furthering the Diversity & Inclusion agenda.

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 16 October 2022.

Nominations will be considered by the expert jury in October, 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 2023.

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 by Lubomira Rochet, then Chief Digital Officer at L’Oréal in 2019. In 2020, the award was won by Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer at Procter & Gamble, while last year’s winner was Conny Braams, Chief Digital and Commercial Officer at Unilever.

The list of jurors for 2022 includes:

• Raja Rajamannar (Chair), WFA President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Mastercard;
• Eloísa Moscardó, Head of Corporate Marketing, Santander;
• Miki Hamamatsu, General Manager, Global Brand Engagement & Global Brand Experience, Nissan;
• Stephan Loerke, CEO, WFA;
• Riikka-Maria Lemminki, Managing Director, Marketing Finland;
• Ron Lund, President & CEO, Association of Canadian Advertisers;
• Gillian Rusike, Founder and Executive Secretary, Marketing Association of Zimbabwe;
• Robert Simborio, Executive Director, Philippine Association of National Advertisers;
• Lucinda Peniston-Baines, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, The Observatory;
• Robin Seasock, CEO, Decideware;
• Lord Matt Scheckner, Global CEO, Advertising Week;
• Ian Malcolm, President and CEO, Lumency;
• Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor, The Drum.

“Covid restrictions may be easing but marketers are facing new challenges around inflation, escalating political tensions and the cost of living crisis. They need to be agile, creative as well as mindful of their responsibility to the wider society to be truly successful. Those that can achieve all of those things deserve to be celebrated for their ability to use marketing to drive their businesses forward for the benefit of shareholders, partners and people,” said Stephan Loerke, CEO of WFA.

“It’s always a pleasure to see the nominations for WFA Global Marketer of the Year, and I have no doubt that this year’s nominees will once again demonstrate how marketers can react with agility, create new business models and adapt to rapidly changing conditions around the world. Marketing success is a real test of ingenuity, ambition and capacity and we need to celebrate those that have truly made a difference to their business,” said Raja Rajamannar, WFA President and Chair of the expert jury.