2023 MARKETING LEADERSHIP AWARD
Congratulations to the Top 10 Marketing Leaders Shaping the Future of Leadership
N2Growth is thrilled to announce the leaders named to the 2023 Marketing Leadership Award. Despite the continuous obstacles given by the pandemic and economic uncertainty, we salute the top marketing executives who have stood up and proved their leadership talents as professional marketers and c-suite leaders, and the role they have played in continuing to shape the future of leadership.
In the past couple of years, the marketing landscape has undergone significant changes due to the tidal wave sized shifts in economic, social, political, and technological domains. These changes have had a significant impact on all industries, underscoring the critical role of effective leadership in marketing and how they define brand perception and effectively communicating the value of their brand in these unusual times.
The top marketing leaders have demonstrated agility and strategic thinking despite frequently shifting objectives and duties. They have remained agile, and effectively managed post-pandemic uncertainty and obstacles, such as inflation and a fast-changing market. This has necessitated proactive adaptation and shifts in how marketing leaders approach new developments such as digital transformation, hyper-personalization, and OpenAI.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are, and should be, an integral part of every leader’s strategy, and for a good reason. Customers get a sense of belonging and inclusion when advertisements authentically reflect their particular interests, style, and way of life. Including people from diverse backgrounds in surroundings that viewers can relate to in brand advertisements can help develop genuine connections with people.
Today’s Chief Marketing Officers are playing a vital role in shaping the future of leadership and setting the organizational tone through periods of disruption and transformation. They are experts in collaborating with stakeholders across their organizations to build and amplify brands in ways that affect these views and values. The next generation of CMOs is watching this group closely.
Related: Read N2Growth’s Top CHRO List
Rank | Name | Title | Company | Industry | ||
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1 | Najoh Tita-Reid | Global Chief Marketing Officer | Logitech | Computers and Electronics Manufacturing | Najoh Tita-ReidGlobal Chief Marketing Officer Role Tenure: 2 Years Ranking: #1 of 10Najoh Tita-Reid is a highly accomplished global marketer with expertise in diverse consumer product companies. She is known for her creative and charismatic leadership and has a proven record of driving innovation across products, processes, and people in complex organizations. Currently, she holds the position of Global Chief Marketing Officer for Logitech, where she is responsible for worldwide marketing, brand equity, e-commerce sites, and marketing transformation. Before joining Logitech, Najoh held senior leadership positions at Hero AG and Bayer PLC, where she led significant growth across key markets and was named GM of the year in 2017. Najoh started her career at Procter & Gamble and held various leadership positions, including leading multicultural-scale marketing, where she created award-winning campaigns. Najoh earned an MBA from Duke University and completed executive leadership programs at IMD, Simmons University, and Stanford School of Design. She is a member of The Executive Leadership Council and serves on the board of AdThrive. | |
2 | Christine Cefalo | Chief Marketing Officer | Workday | Software Development | Christine CefaloChief Marketing Officer Role Tenure: 4 Months | |
3 | Ciara Anfield | Senior Vice President, Chief Member & Marketing Officer | Sam’s Club | Retail | Ciara AnfieldSenior Vice President, Chief Member & Marketing Officer Role Tenure: 1 Year, 5 Months Ranking: #3 of 10Ciara Anfield serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Member & Marketing Officer for Sam’s Club. In this role, Ciara oversees a broad portfolio of responsibilities that collectively make up Sam’s Club’s end-to-end member strategy, including Membership, Marketing and Member Experience. Ciara joined Walmart in 2008 has built a broad-ranging career with experiences in Marketing, Strategy and Field Operations. In 2013, she transitioned from Marketing to Walmart’s Leverage Strategy team where she completed a two-year rotational program focused on expanding her view of the Walmart enterprise. Following the program, Ciara transitioned to market manager, Walmart Neighborhood Markets, in North Alabama, Murfreesboro, Tennessee., and the Chattanooga, Tennessee, metro-area, where she successfully opened eight new stores, including one new to company omni-channel format, Pickup with Fuel. Ciara returned to Marketing in 2018 as senior director, Retail Experience, with a transformed view of the company. This enabled her to effectively implement Marketing strategies that immersed the customer in our products and brands, including Walmart’s first Black Friday Retailtainment event and various Visual Merchandising, Demo, Associate Engagement and In-Store Media programs. Following that role, she served as vice president, Retail Marketing, Walmart U.S., where she led cross-category and seasonal strategic marketing. Ciara joined Sam’s Club in 2020 as vice president, Marketing, where her team developed and executed cross-channel strategies designed to build passion for Sam’s Club. She helped elevate the Sam’s Club brand through a variety of innovative programs and events, including Sam’s Club’s first-ever Big Game spot. Earlier in her career, Ciara worked at JPMorgan Chase & Company. Ciara holds a bachelor’s degree from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. | |
4 | Jill Kramer | Chief Marketing & Communications Officer | Accenture | Professional Services | Jill KramerChief Marketing and Communications Officer Role Tenure: 1 Year, 10 Months | |
5 | Melissa Selcher | SVP, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer | Technology | Melissa SelcherSVP, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Role Tenure: 3 years, 4 months | ||
6 | Melissa Brotz | Chief Marketing & Communications Officer | Abbott | Healthcare | Melissa BrotzChief Marketing and Communications Officer Role Tenure: 4 Years, 8 Months | |
7 | Diane Hund | SVP & Chief Marketing Officer | US Foods | Food and Beverage Services | Diane HundSVP and Chief Marketing Officer Role Tenure: 5 Years, 1 Month | |
8 | Norman De Greve | Chief Marketing Officer | CVS Health | Wellness Services | Norman De GreveChief Marketing Officer Role Tenure: 7 Years, 10 Months | |
9 | Fernando Machado | Chief Marketing Officer | NotCo | Biotechnology | Fernando MachadoChief Marketing Officer Role Tenure: 1 MonthRanking: #9 of 10Fernando has been serving as Chief Marketing Officer at NotCo since April 2023, He is a global marketer with a passion for growing brands and businesses. With more than 200 Lions in Cannes (12 GPs, including 2 Titanium GPs), 16 D&AD Yellow Pencils and 1 Black, and 4 Grand Effies in the US, Fernando is known for pushing the creative boundaries to drive business growth. Fernando joined Activision Blizzard as CMO in April 2021. He is now responsible for the marketing initiatives of some of the most exciting titles in the gaming industry (Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Candy Crush, among others). Fernando spent 7 years at Restaurant Brands International (Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons) prior to Activision. He focused on infusing the brands with purpose, sustainability, and improving product quality, modernizing design, and inspiring the organization around tech, digital, and brand development. Under Fernando’s leadership, Burger King became Client of the Year at the D&AD in 2016 and 2020, Creative Marketer of the Year in Cannes 2017, Client of the Year at the One Show 2018 and 2020, Advertiser of the Year at the Clio Awards 2018, 2019, and 2021, and Creative Brand of the Year in Cannes 2019 and 2021. Fernando led campaigns such as “McWhopper”, “Google Home of the Whopper”, “Whopper Detour”, “Stevenage Challenge”, and “Moldy Whopper”. Before joining Restaurant Brands International, Fernando worked for 18 years at Unilever. Starting as an intern, he moved up the ranks working with different product categories and brands, including Dove, where he led the groundbreaking “Beauty Sketches” (Cannes Titanium GP in 2013). Fernando was recognized by Adweek as Grand Brand Genius (2013 and 2018 – the only person ever to win twice), by Business Insider as top 10 people transforming advertising, by the AD Club of NY as Marketer of the Year (2017), by Business Insider as top 10 most innovative CMOs (2017, 2018 and #1 in 2019), by AdAge as top 50 most creative people in the business (2017), by Forbes as Top 100 Most Creative Minds in Business, by Fast Company as Top 100 Most Creative People in Business (2019), by AdAge as CMO of the Year (2020) and by Forbes as Top 3 Most Influential CMO in the World (2020). | |
10 | Raja Rajamannar | Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President | Mastercard | Financial Services | Raja RajamannarChief Marketing & Communications Officer and President Role Tenure: 10 Years, 3 Months |
The Top 10 CMOs Shaping Leadership Demonstrate the Following Competencies:
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: Champions the value of fostering and embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout their organizations and marketing efforts.
- Empathy: They have the ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, and perspectives of others. They drive improved communications, increased engagement, and greater internal and external collaboration.
- Trust: A trusted advisor, consistent and influential leader throughout the organization, inspiring and empowering their people with the resources needed for successfully creating positive change.
- Sustainability Champion: Proactively assessing their carbon footprint and advocating ESG-informed marketing strategies both internally and externally.
- Self Awareness: They engage and learn from others to gain a deep, real-time understanding of their target consumers’ current and evolving needs and values, which they use to influence brand strategy and messaging.
- Learning Agility: Up to date on the latest technologies and trends in AI, digital marketing, and advertising. They are creative problem solvers, constantly striving to increase their knowledge and skills in this area by remaining curious and resourceful. They are capable of thinking outside the box, and they aren’t afraid to test and learn, leading to novel marketing solutions.
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