B2B Marketing set out to highlight leading marketers making their mark on the industry and proving why they’re names to watch out for. Victoria Clarke reveals who’s tipped for the top
Earlier this year, B2B Marketing asked the industry to nominate an outstanding B2B marketer in their organisation, who is not only a fantastic all-rounder, but is clearly demonstrating something extraordinary that sets them apart from the rest of their peers. After some stiff competition, the following 20 B2B marketers were selected as being destined for greatness.
Name: Paul Stevenson
Job title: Head of enterprise marketing programmes
Organisation: Telefónica O2 UK
Why he’s a name to watch: Paul created key elements of O2’s new enterprise proposition – no easy task in a highly competitive marketplace. In particular, his campaigns achieved the notoriously difficult objectives of sales alignment and revenue accountability, and have proved a model for the future of B2B marketing, as well as over-achieving a target of 167 sales qualified leads.
What the boss says: “Not only is Paul a great marketer who can drive campaigns forward, he’s also a intuitive business-thinker who has been indispensible in crystallising our new propositions. That’s what makes Paul the kind of person who is going to have an undeniable impact on where our business goes.” Oliver Potter, enterpise marketing director
Name: Daniel Aziz
Job title: Head of marketing
Organisation: Cisco UK & Ireland
Why he’s a name to watch: Daniel is another rare and young breed of marketing leaders. Although he comes from a B2C background, he now heads up one of the highest profile B2B campaigns this year – Cisco’s sponsorship and activation around London 2012. His innovation and creative flair, in particular, have helped him convey and capitalise on the role Cisco is playing to support the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and its associated partners.
What the boss says: “Daniel leverages his knowledge of consumer marketing in a B2B environment and is continually pushing the envelope for the way Cisco engages with its partners and customers. He is ‘new world’ in every sense of marketing and that’s why he’s going to be one of the ‘stars of tomorrow’.” Ian Symes, marketing director
Name: Anna Patterson
Job title: European marketing & PR manager
Organisation: Hay Group
Why she’s a name to watch: Anna has enjoyed exponential career progression, rising to hold a critical pan-European managerial role at a major global management consultancy in just three years. She manages a complex global network of stakeholders and has been described as both “scarily organised and a real creative force.” Anna’s career highlights include delivering an infographic-led multi-channel campaign that garnered a staggering 29 pieces of national media coverage. The campaign was so successful across Europe it will now be rolled out globally. This has proved a real coup for the European marketing team and is further testament to Anna’s rising star status.
What the boss says: “Anna is consistently diligent and conscientious and growing in her capabilities all the time. I expect great things from her and only hope she remembers me when she gets there!” Hayley Brooksbank, former European marketing director
Name: Lauren Gibson
Job title: Marketing manager
Organisation: Oracle Primavera
Why she’s a name to watch: In the last year, Lauren has moved from targeting the entire addressable market with broad-brush messages to focusing on highly targeted campaigns. In a recent utilities campaign, Lauren helped generate an impressive 66:1 ROI and a pipeline of $1 million. She also initiated and continues to be responsible for managing the entire global social media activity.
What the boss says: “Lauren has grown to become one of the cornerstones of my team – taking responsibility and control over all of the areas for which she is responsible at a level beyond expectations. She takes ownership of targets and builds strong relationships that span the sales and marketing divide. She’s a real asset to Oracle Primavera and specifically to my team.” Emily Westgate, marketing director
Name: Steven Moss
Job title: Senior business development manager
Organisation: Pinsent Masons LLP
Why he’s a name to watch: Steven heads up his organisation’s marketing activity within the property/real estate team. He has significantly improved integrated planning and the marketing strategy across the team, while bringing real flair to its social media activities. In particular, Steven has delivered internal social media training that has contributed to a huge uplift in internal engagement and a smooth integration with Pinsent Masons’ Outlaw news service. His efforts have helped elevate his brand across the UK real estate market.
What the boss says: “Steven joined us last summer and has already made a real difference in a number of areas to help take our organisation forward. We look forward to great things ahead for him.” Adrian Barlow, partner and group head of property
Name: Stephanie Henwood
Job title: Marketing manager, digital media
Organisation: Morgan Ceramics
Why she’s a name to watch: Stephanie created a successful social media strategy from scratch that led to her organisation being the first major global advanced ceramics company having an active social media presence. Her efforts have resulted in a growing Twitter following (she looks set to smash the brand’s 2012 target of 1000 Twitter followers), as well as 653 LinkedIn members, which while not huge numbers are entirely significant to the organisation’s target market.
What the boss says: “Stephanie loves what she does and it shows in her work rate and quality. She is always looking for ways to improve and take us into new areas. She has taken us into the world of social media and mobile platforms, keeping us well ahead of our competitors.” Keith Parker, marketing director
Name: Natalie Crane
Job title: Marketing & communications manager
Organisation: Hamilton Fraser Insurance
Why she’s a name to watch: Natalie introduced a successful multi-brand strategy following customer insight that identified a need for more clarity across the organisation’s product portfolio. This resulted in more effective segmentation and targeting of Hamilton Fraser’s key audience. If that wasn’t enough, she also introduced the organisation’s first ecommerce platform, as well as a holistic digital marketing strategy including PPC, SEO, email and social media marketing.
What the boss says: “Using a combination of traditional and online media strategies, Natalie has helped the business substantially grow and dramatically increase its awareness in the competitive insurance market. Her visionary and passionate approach to marketing has transformed the business from a traditional brokerage to an innovative and proactive business.” Eddie Hooker, chief executive officer
Name: David Nelson
Job title: Marketing manager
Organisation: Clark Howes Group
Why he’s a name to watch: One of David’s biggest successes has been the re-development of the organisation’s website, which impressively increased the gross recurring revenue generated by 20 times that of the previous year’s average. Prior to this activity, the organisation did not have a marketing focus and David’s efforts directly contributed to helping it build a wider marketing strategy. David also introduced online advertising and SEO initiatives that have significantly helped increase ROI.
What the boss says: “David had a rapid initiation into the culture that had never had a marketing resource. He soon found his feet and has turned around a reactive marketing scenario to one that now leads through marketing strategy and delivers results across the firm.” Rodger French, managing director
Name: Amy Vale
Job title: Vice president for global marketing
Organisation: Mojiva
Why she’s a name to watch: Amy is probably one of the youngest VPs of marketing we’ve come across, but that hasn’t stopped her making her mark. She set up a unique platform that allows advertisers and agencies to explore the opportunities of mobile, which has grown rapidly since inception and now forms an integral part of her organisation’s business and marketing strategies. She also leveraged internal analytics to produce monthly intelligence reports, which have been downloaded over 200 times and garnered significant media coverage.
What the boss says: “Amy has impacted and contributed to Mojiva’s growth and developed industry partnerships to drive the brand forward. Her tireless work with setting up our Creative Alliance has enabled the project to grow at an incredible rate.” David Gwozdz, chief executive officer
Name: Ashleigh Casner
Job title: Head of customer acquisition
Organisation: Huddle
Why she’s a name to watch: In just six months, Ashleigh launched a sophisticated lead scoring and automation system, which has played a key role in tripling Huddle’s sales over the past year. She also implemented a marketing stunt against Microsoft SharePoint last October, where she single-handily organised a 130-piece marching band (as part of an integrated campaign) to take over its 10th anniversary conference and raise awareness for the Huddle brand. During the campaign, Huddle’s overall web traffic increased by 33 per cent.
What the boss says: “Ashleigh is one of a kind. She has no fear! She has single handily built our entire process for lead generation and nurturing, and brought marketing and sales together. She is one of the most valuable assets that Huddle has got.” Zuzanna Pasierbinska-Wilson, VP of marketing
Name: Debansu Das
Job title: Head of marketing
Organisation: SitexOrbis
Why he’s a name to watch: Debansu particularly stands out among his peers because of the shoe-string budget he has to work with and the fact he only has one part-time colleague to support him. Despite this, however, he has helped his organisation successfully launch some highly technological products into some of the most technophobic sectors imaginable, recently achieving a 14:1 net ROI and a 16:1 net ROI.
What the boss says: “Debansu has protected many peoples’ jobs through marketing with return – return that is real and measurable not the ‘splash and hope’ approach often seen in the marketplace. Marketing needs something more than skill and education alone, it needs passion, drive, tenacity and commitment – all of which he holds in abundance. Debansu is a leader to watch and follow.” Mark Cosh, European director
Name: Dionne Fenech-Soler
Job title: Marketing manager
Organisation: Secom
Why she’s a name to watch: When Dionne joined Secom, there was no clear brand strategy. She very quickly rationalised and implemented a brand review and strategy, which encompassed a completely new professional image. She also relaunched the organisation’s website following a complete overhaul, which saw year-on-year unique visitor numbers increase by 12 per cent, and an increase in leads of 257 per cent. This also resulted in an increase in the number of website-generated quotes of 210 per cent.
What the boss says: “Dionne has made a valuable contribution to the Secom brand and our communication with external and internal stakeholders. This has helped Secom become a major player in the UK market, and has significantly contributed to our sales success.” Alan Blake, sales and marketing director
Name: Jonathan Beaton
Job title: Marketing director
Organisation: iDatix
Why he’s a name to watch: Jonathan is only 25 years old but has led his organisation’s most successful campaigns targeting both industry and vertical specific markets. He introduced marketing automation to create the most unified sales and marketing division iDatix has ever seen, and dramatically affected its organic search so the brand now appears at the top page of search engines – a feat never before met at the organisation.
What the boss says: “Jonathan has been an excellent addition and the perfect complement to our existing business. Having hired him less than a year ago, I look back now and wonder how we ever did without him.” Chris Lewis, VP of operations
Name: Gemma Firth
Job title: Marketing and business development manager
Organisation: Matthews the Printers
Why she’s a name to watch: Gemma works for a small family business, but despite this is championing a unique approach to marketing in the print industry as a whole, which has traditionally always relied on the hard-sell approach. Since she was appointed four years ago, she has rebranded the organisation and introduced social media and email marketing, helping to transform the mindset of the business owners who previously favoured more traditional channels. Her efforts have gone on to secure 22 new business opportunities, equating to a value of £1.5 million pounds in 2011.
What the boss says: “Gemma has worked tirelessly to help reposition the brand in an ever-changing and demanding market. Her vision and ideas have helped shape the way Matthews currently works and will continue to work in the future.” Chris Riddell, managing director
Name: Charmaine Petty
Job title: Marketing manager
Organisation: Catnic (Tata Steel UK)
Why she’s a name to watch: In the last 12 months, Charmaine has developed, overseen and taken to market a complete repositioning campaign (‘Make it happen’) for Catnic and its product portfolio. She’s introduced a social media programme and redefined the way Catnic’s marketing department engages with external agencies. As a result, Catnic’s agency partners’ response is now much more succinct and aligned to the organisation’s own way of thinking.
What the boss says: “Charmaine’s technical execution in delivering multi-agency campaigns is second to none in our field and the results speak for themselves. Her innovative work on the ‘Make it happen’ campaign delivered over 220 new stockists and brought an additional £1.5 million revenue in 2011.” Mike Murphy, sales and marketing director
Name: Birthe Emmerich
Job title: Enterprise & SMB marketing manager
Organisation: PayPal
Why she’s a name to watch: Birthe stands out from the marketing crowd for her exceptional creativity and vigour. She successfully led PayPal’s presence at Ecommerce Expo in 2011 – from stand theme, creative and messaging, to sales collateral and animated demo development. In particular, she championed a popcorn stand with tiny boxes of popcorn that worked brilliantly with the stand theme of five-second films to promote PayPal Express.
What the boss says: “Birthe is fantastic! Not only does she just make things happen, she makes things happen that people didn’t even think were possible. Some of our most successful events have been borne out of Birthe’s determination to push the boundaries and showcase innovative technology in a fun and engaging way.” Rebecca Curtin, head of business marketing
Name: Nick Welsh
Job title: Advertising manager – Competitive & IT Layer
Organisation: IBM UK and Ireland
Why he’s a name to watch: Nick is everything you want in a young marketer – enthusiastic, mature-thinking, creative, proactive and eager to learn. One example of his innovation is how he successfully led a partnership with Sky News Mobile to deliver a mobile site takeover in 2011. He has also been instrumental in integrating social media activity into advertising and won a recent IBM award for leading an integrated social media experience as part of a major IBM Summit.
What the boss says: “Nick is enormously talented and has the clear potential to be a very successful marketing leader. In just four years, he has made a significant contribution to the success of IBM’s marketing function, not only with professional impact and innovation, but in his outstanding team work.” Caroline Taylor, VP of marketing, communications & citizenship
Name: Abi Clowes
Job title: Head of marketing
Organisation: Pure360
Why she’s a name to watch: Since joining Pure360, Abi’s not only increased inbound leads by 500 per cent, she launched the Brighton Digital Marketing Festival. This impressive, multi-venue event consisted of cutting-edge workshops and culminated with a beachfront party to round things off. The event sold out in three hours and aligned Pure360 with heavyweight brands such as the BBC and iCrossing. Abi is on track to double the event size next year.
What the boss says: “Abi does a great job of combining a passion for marketing with an ability to get stuff done. Too often marekers have no grasp of ROI or are so focused on ROI they don’t innovate. Abi manages this balance incredibly well making her a leader to watch in the future.” Marc Munier, commercial director
Name: Karen Heywood
Job title: EMEA Campaign Manager
Organisation: Motorola Solutions
Why she’s a name to watch: Karen has been instrumental in adopting a data-centric approach, driving automated marketing across Motorola Solutions’ EMEA operation and increasing the quality and quantity of its intelligent data. She also created a much richer vein of engagement activity that is now at the core of Motorola Solutions’ B2B lead nurturing programme across EMEA. Karen’s outstanding work has contributed to the doubling of sales-ready leads generated year-on-year.
What the boss says: “Watching Karen navigate through multiple nationalities and personalities, gaining support from a sceptical sales lead and then delivering on-time, shows a stand-out talent who will help lead not just marketing where she works, but both sales and marketing, which is so refreshing to see.” David Arrowsmith, global interactive team lead
Name: Gemma Ruggiero
Job title: Marketing lead
Organisation: Qedis
Why she’s a name to watch: Gemma literally brought marketing to life at Qedis. She helped take her organisation from a company without a marketing department to the creation of the brand and its ‘nextgen’ differentiating message (which was shortlisted for a professional service marketing award) – all in the space of four years. She’s delivered a number of highly successful and creative campaigns, and vitally, helped align the sales and marketing departments.
What the boss says: “The ‘nextgen’ messaging and strategy led by Gemma is something our sales team have been a little uncomfortable with at times. It’s taken them outside their comfort zone, challenging the conventional style of marketing they’d been used to. But it’s something that has been fantastically well received by clients and continues to help us stand out from the crowd.” Ben Grinnell, director of sales
