What does the CMO role look like in a B2B organisation in 2014? That’s one of the most pressing questions that we’ll be looking to answer in our third annual B2B Leaders Forum, the exclusive event for senior B2B marketers. ‘CMO 2.0’ is the title of a presentation by Amanda Jobbins, Group CMO of Sage, and one of the best known and most experienced marketing decision makers in the UK, having held leadership roles at organisations such as Cisco, Symantec and McAfee.
Amanda will examine the environment in which B2B leaders are currently required to operate, and more importantly present her view of the characteristics that will drive success and create more clout and credibility for marketing at board level. It’s a presentation that will set the scene for the content to follow and is sure to stimulate some compelling questions and discussion points for the marketers in attendance to address.
This is the first keynote of the B2B Leaders Forum, but as important as keynote sessions are, they are not the main feature or focus of the event – this is on sharing ideas, exchanging perspectives and networking with senior colleagues and contemporaries from across the B2B marketing industry. Throughout the agenda there are slots for roundtables, allowing attendees to learn from one another’s experiences, picking up on the standout themes and discussion points from the keynotes and panel discussions.
And it’s important to note that there are strict qualification criteria around attendance – it’s an elite event in every sense of the word. Only genuine B2B Leaders, with budget holding and decision making responsibilities are permitted to attend – marketing execs, agencies, consultants and vendors are strictly barred (with the exception of two, carefully selected sponsors).
Also on the agenda for the day:
• Andrew Buckley, group head and senior vice president for Core Products at Mastercard, will be speaking about the important dynamic between marketing and IT. As an early adopter of Eloqua in the UK in his former role as VP of Global Corporate Marketing at Amex, Andrew is well placed to offer a compelling perspective on an issue that looks set to become a key battleground for marketers. He’ll aim to cut through the vendor-driven hype around the growing IT role for marketers, and focus on the reality and what marketing leaders need to do to leverage the opportunity.
• There will be an expert panel of non-marketing C-suite execs for a discussion on the perception of marketing and marketers at board level – with a focus on how to drive more harmonious relationships and engender more respect.
• Nick Udall, chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership, and author of Riding the Creative Rollercoaster, will focus on the role of creativity in leadership, and how senior marketers must encourage and inspire this amongst their teams.
• Finally, a panel discussion of senior B2B marketers from prominent brands will highlight the key learnings from the day and how to drive success from this.
It promises to be a fantastic day, and an unrivalled opportunity to glean genuine insights to help plan the future of your marketing. Attendance is strictly for qualified B2B Leaders only, but is free to members of the B2B Leaders programme.
The B2B Leaders Forum takes place at Skylounge in the Millbank Tower in London on September 24th. For more information on the B2B Leaders programme, or on attending the Forum, contact Amie Bakker on 0207 014 4937 or email [email protected].
