Aarav Shokeen’s Post

Outside of the CPG companies in which I've worked, I've never seen a CMO rise to the ranks of CEO. Honestly, at times, it's seemed hard for senior marketers to even be viewed as "real" leaders within the company. Which is crazy to me if anyone really understands what marketing does for the organization and how the individual overseeing the function is a natural fit to lead the company. Just a few reasons why organizations should look at their CMOs when considering a new CEO: - Marketers live and breathe the customer journey. We understand what makes customers tick, and we know how to create experiences that resonate. This customer-first mindset is essential for driving sustainable growth and innovation at the highest level. - Your senior level marketers aren't just creatives, they are as adept at data analysis as your finance and operations team members. We leverage data to inform every strategy, from campaign planning to product development. - Marketers often manage brands across diverse markets and cultures, gaining a global perspective that’s invaluable in today’s interconnected world. This experience equips us to navigate the complexities of leading a global organization. - As CMOs, we collaborate with every department—product, sales, finance, and more. We’re skilled at aligning teams around a shared vision, synthesizing objectives and creating actionable plans of attack. When laid out like that, it almost makes me wonder...is it that boards are simply overlooking CMOs or is it that they truly have no idea all that the CMO is (should be) bringing to the table? 🤔

With Starbucks appointing Brian Niccol as their new CEO, they aren’t just making a leadership change—they’re recognizing the importance of customer-centricity at the top. In today’s world, successful leaders are those who deeply understand their customers, and former CMOs are uniquely equipped to bring that insight to executive leadership. This decision reminds me of key moments in my own career, where customer understanding drove everything from strategy to innovation. Early in my marketing journey, I sat in meetings where we discussed operational strategy, product development, and growth plans. Everyone—finance, sales, product—had their say. But the common thread was always the customer. The better we understood their needs, the stronger our solutions, and the more innovative our business became. This focus on the customer is why Starbucks’ decision makes so much sense. Here’s why CMOs are particularly well-prepared to drive leadership success in today’s business world: We Have a Customer-Centric Mindset: Across every industry I’ve worked in—tech, media, financial services, retail—there’s a constant: the customer or end user drives everything. Today’s CMOs naturally prioritize the buyer’s needs, translating insights into business strategies that evolve with the market. It’s not just about marketing; it’s about building a business around its audience. We’re Data-Driven, Yet Creative: One of the most significant transformations I led was the integration of a proprietary MTA platform to optimize campaigns with real-time data. This wasn’t just about better targeting—it reshaped how we made decisions. CMOs today are deeply analytical but also creatively driven, using data to fuel innovation. This balance is crucial for driving smarter, faster decisions that lead to growth. We Love a Good Collab: Throughout my career, I’ve collaborated with sales, tech, and finance, aligning diverse teams to work toward shared goals. CMOs thrive on this cross-functional collaboration, a skill critical to aligning the whole organization behind a vision and executing on it. We Stay Ready: Markets shift, technology evolves, and customer preferences change fast. In my experience—whether introducing AI to improve operations or scaling e-commerce solutions in retail—adaptability has been key to success. CMOs excel in fast-paced environments, pivoting quickly to meet new challenges, a skillset that has become increasingly valuable for executives navigating uncertainty. For Starbucks, promoting a customer-focused leader isn’t just a strategic move—it’s a reflection of how central customer insight and agility are to long-term success. As businesses continue to evolve, we’re likely to see more companies recognizing that CMOs bring the perfect blend of creativity, data-driven decision-making, and customer obsession that modern leadership demands. #Leadership #CMOtoCEO #CustomerFirst #BusinessGrowth #MarketingInnovation #DataDriven #AgilityInLeadership

➡️ Where’s your business headed? This is the first crucial question in developing your EVP. For example, when we worked with Jerónimo Martins, they were focused on becoming customer-first. 🍅 Their EVP had to reflect their commitment to community, service, and healthy products. An EVP aligned with business direction attracts ambassadors, not just employees. 🎯 👉 In our next post, we will dive deeper into what customers expect from your people. In the meantime, you can read Cliff's full blog herehttps://lnkd.in/eb_RM4Xp #EVPDevelopment #CommunityFocus #BusinessStrategy

Why Boards Need A Fresh Perspective on Consumer Goods In today’s rapidly changing market landscape, the voice of the consumer has become louder and more influential than ever before. But are our boardrooms keeping pace with this shift? The traditional model of board governance often falls short in integrating consumer insights into strategic decision-making. As board directors, it's imperative that we advocate for a closer alignment between our governance models and the evolving expectations of consumers. This goes beyond mere data collection; it's about embedding a consumer-centric mindset into the very fabric of our businesses. From my experience leading transformations in Consumer Product Goods (CPG) companies, I've seen first-hand the power of leveraging direct consumer feedback to drive product management and business strategy. It's not just about responding to trends; it's about anticipating needs and innovating ahead of demand. In conclusion, as leaders in the C-suite and boardroom, we must champion this change. By fostering a culture that prioritizes the Voice of the Consumer, not only do we enhance product relevance and customer loyalty, but we also set our businesses up for sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive landscape. Let's challenge ourselves to rethink governance through the lens of consumer insight – because in understanding our consumers, we unlock the future of our industries. #board #boardgovernance #consumer

☕ Starbucks' New Boss Brian Niccol is the Latest CMO-to-CEO Success Story... 🥤 🤔 But why is this headline more *surprising* than just.... normal? 🤔 ❓ The inability to frequently move up into the #CEO role or #Board level shouldn't be as much of an #outlier as it is, but it is certainly not something we see or read about as regularly as I'm sure a lot of #Marketing Executives might like. Why ❓ Is the CMOs #predicament more indicative of the plight of the CMO in general? What needs to happen for the CMO-to-CEO path to become more well trodden? Some thoughts on how to increase the likelihood of a CMO to make this #transition and organic within more organisations: 💡 - there is a need for Marketing to be more aligned to the specific #corporate #goals set by the CEO or CFO 💡 - Marketing must prove the #value and #ROI of initiatives with more clarity to articulate the impact of marketing - educate stakeholders 💡 - #cross-#collaboration drag is holding back a more distinct handover point with Sales colleagues to join forces in proving how winning the customer is a shared / joint venture Marketers can take control of their own #destiny, but firstly they need to understand what their bosses need to see to make that happen. 👆 What are your thoughts and experiences? 👇

Why do CPG personnel often find it too challenging to successfully transfer to REX partners? As CPG leaders build networks with suppliers and partners it often seems tempting and an obvious move to switch to the other side. Less formality, more creative freedom, personal expression, utilizing your training and experience and a stellar track record of success amongst other reasons. What can possibly go wrong! Speaking with many REX founders and leaders in the past 4 years they often find the greatest challenge and churn when recruiting from the CPG pool. On paper it seemed the perfect match! Working life in early stage start ups and smaller established businesses with spirited founders, often with limited resources (the jungle) is very different to the supported and constrained world of CPG life (the zoo) for many people. The environment change and challenge is just too much for many CPG people who often return to CPG life. Be careful what you wish for! Navigating the change successfully is a skill few seem to master.... #retailexecution #changemangement #fieldmarketing

Here’s the secret to how I closed deals with top executives like Walmart’s CEO and The Coca-Cola Company’s President. The secret? It’s not about selling—it’s about consulting! Here’s the essence of consultative selling: 🔹 Act as a trusted advisor, not just a salesperson. 🔹 Focus on understanding your customer’s challenges. 🔹 Add value at every step of their journey. This approach has been a game-changer for me and for RAINMAKERS’ founders. 👇🏻 We’ve refined it into a simple 3-step process: 👇🏻 1️⃣ Analyze Dive deep to understand and document the customer’s needs. Without this, everything else is guesswork. 2️⃣ Build Develop a clear set of business requirements. Focus on the customer’s goals—not just your product. 3️⃣ Educate Once aligned on needs and timelines, introduce your product as the solution—only if it’s the right fit. 👉🏻 Why does it work? 👈🏻 By positioning yourself as an advisor, you build trust and credibility. Even if your solution isn’t the leading choice, customers feel confident choosing you. #GTM #FounderLedSales #ConsultativeSelling Trendemon Avishai Sharon

Amy Radin hits the nail on the head: marketing is changing. It’s no longer strategy, creativity and execution, highly traceable conversion and linear distribution; we are stepping into a rapidly-changing, technicolor world of reaching audiences. Cost savings efforts are forcing marketers to be a true jack-of-all-trades, including having the technical chops to choose the right tools and technologies. Technologists must adapt, ensuring simplicity and understanding against the business need for those decision-makers. Marketers, are your partners and colleagues rising to the occasion? Simplifying the complexity, hearing the business needs and architecting simple, easy-to-use solutions? Marketing and advertising are fundamentally changing and the landscape will be completely different in a few short years. Are you ready?

The Investor Version of the Oscars: CAGNY for Competitor Intelligence: Just as the film industry celebrated the Oscars in Hollywood last Sunday, 3 weeks ago, the global consumer products investor community convened in Florida for the highly anticipated annual Consumer Advisory Group of New York (CAGNY) event. Unlike traditional financial updates, CAGNY offers a unique peek into companies' future strategies and growth plans. Gain valuable foresight into major consumer products companies' priorities and emerging market trends to elevate your competitive edge. Stay ahead of the curve by integrating CAGNY insights into your strategic playbook! Our top 5 nominations for interesting insights and perspectives from the Cagny conference: 1)       New contenders on the block: Cagny welcomed Molson Coors, Pernod Ricard and e.l.f. to the podium to present their plans to this forum for the first time 2)       Re-bound in innovation focus: Post covid and after the disruption of the inflationary cycle, manufacturers are doubling down on their innovation efforts. L’Oreal, ConAgra, 3)       Core growth and penetration expansion is still important. J.M Smucker, ConAgra and Nomad all called out the important role of building momentum with their core ranges and reaching new consumers. Exiting or de-prioritising non core activity allows a focus on accelerating core. Kraft Heinz, Molson Coors 4)       Digitalization is beyond marketing: Leveraging technology across the organization including the supply chain and shared service opportunities allows greater insight, efficiency and flexibility. Nomad, Mondalez 5)       Acceleration in personalized and targeted consumer communication. Almost all companies brought to life the changes in the marketing environment to better target and leverage AI to optimise delivery and tracking of marketing investment. McCormick, Kellanova, Colgate-Palmolive, ConAgra Cagny illuminates strategic intentions, but it does not address the competitive advantage of execution. By conducting scenario planning workshops focused on specific areas, your business could potentially stay ahead in terms of preparing to defend against or capitalize on opportunities before the competition. At Ignition Strategy, we firmly believe that competitive insight can enhance your strategic approach. Please don't hesitate to contact us to discuss any challenges you may be encountering, and we would be delighted to provide our perspective. #competitoradvantage #cagny #strategicplanning #competitorinsight

With leaders including UPS, Etsy and Walgreens eliminating their CMO roles according to a recent Forbes article, I enjoyed weighing in on a conversation with fellow marketing executives and Exceptional Women Alliance members Jourdan Hathaway at General Assembly, Shari Hofer at Wiley, and Melanie Marcus at Surescripts, facilitated by Larraine Segil. The CMO role has always been a perilous one, with seesawing tenure. I see these recent organizational moves as the latest attempt to solve via re-org a more deeply rooted problem. Overcoming the expectations gap between any CMO’s desired outcomes and what is possible depends upon addressing these dependencies: o Recognizing that for marketing to be a significant driver of new customers, customer relationship expansion, revenue growth, and margin expansion, it has to be empowered and resourced to impact the P&L, not treated as a cost center. o Flattening silos: Marketing can come up with great customer promises, but the entire organization has a role to play, to manifest those promises in its operations, delivery, resource allocations, and daily decisions, for promises to be credible to target customers. o Creating a truly customer-centric culture, informed by customer insights, gathered using contemporary listening methods. o Developing and implementing appropriate metrics and the infrastructure investments to support measurement and experimentation. o Investing in technological capabilities, skill advancement, and data – all baseline requirements for the function. To the CMOs and other marketing leaders in my network, what do you see as the issues and solutions to enable any marketing leader to maximize their contributions to a brand’s success? Find the full article in the link below. #leadership #marketing #technology #innovation