Marketing Society Speakers 2010
Back to the Events Calendar. Click on the speaker to view their biography.
Patrick Allen
executive director of marketing, Co-operative Group
Patrick is Executive Director of Marketing for the Co-operative Group, with responsibility for brand, membership, CSR, customer strategy and commercial marketing. In 2004 Patrick joined United Co-operatives, as Head of Marketing. The two societies amalgamated in 2007.
With a no-nonsense approach to marketing Patrick’s style is characterised by his constant assessment of return on marketing investment.
During his time as the Group’s Marketing Director the Co-operative Group has seen a 400% increase in its leadership perception, significant rises in the Group’s profitability and an overall reduction in the marketing cost base of around £6m. Under his stewardship The Co-operative brand has moved from outside the top 100 brands to number 24 – just 2 places behind Marks and Spencer, and over the past two years has seen it’s brand value move from £147 million to £2.2 Billion as recently published in Marketing Week.
Over the next two years, he will aim to establish the Co-operative Group as the voice of authority in each of the pillars of the Group’s Social Goals agenda. Those being, the positive impact young people have on society, international development and climate change.
Patrick is also an honorary visiting fellow at the University of Bradford Management Centre, a faculty member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (IoD), a Board member of the British Retail Consortium and a Fellow of the Marketing Society.
Paul Alexander
chief executive, Beyond Analysis
Paul Alexander is Chief Executive of Beyond Analysis, the customer insight specialists. He is an industry expert whose opinion is sought by business decision makers across the world. He has extensive experience in media and advertising, and is a passionate exponent of the power of data to transform a business. He takes a holistic view of business to provide Executive Teams with the tools they need to deliver the strategic goals of a company.
Paul has a deep knowledge of the commercial applications for customer data in retail and consumer market environments; and he knows how Customer Insight coupled with through the line marketing can be used to drive business success.
He believes that successful companies today will be those who can harness the significant amounts of data they have at their fingertips, and make sense of it.
Beyond Analysis works with clients across a broad range of sectors including retail, to unlock understanding of their customers through transaction data and then apply this insight to drive commercial success.
Alex Batchelor
chief operating Officer, BrainJuicer
Alex Batchelor has held brand and marketing leadership roles at Interbrand, Orange and Royal Mail and is the current Chairman of the Marketing Society.
Alex Batchelor began his career at Unilever, working in the UK and Austria, before joining Saatchi & Saatchi as a Planning Director. He ran Interbrand’s Brand Valuation team and then became its MD, presiding over rapid expansion. He was Vice President Global Brand at Orange as it became part of France Telecom and launched the brand in 10 countries, before becoming Marketing Director of the Royal Mail and most recently CMO at TomTom.
Lord Bell
Leading public relations strategist
Born 1941 married with two children, educated at a state grammar school. Made a knight by Margaret Thatcher in 1990 and appointed as a member of the House of Lords in 1998 by the Conservative Party. A founder of Saatchi & Saatchi in 1970 as Chief Executive took the agency to number one in the world. Created Bell-Pottinger in 1987, which is now the number one public relations company in the UK.
He has advised Mrs Thatcher as Prime Minister of the UK from 1978 until 1990, also President Reagan in the USA, Boris Yeltsin in Russia and FW de Klerk in South Africa on the abolition of apartheid. He has advised many presidents, prime ministers and governments over the past twenty years including Bahrain, Belarus, Qatar, Malaysia, Malta, India, Zambia and Argentina.
He has advised the heads of many international corporations including BP, GEC, P&O, Proctor and Gamble, BA, Emirates Airlines, Daimler-Chrysler, VBS and CSFB.
He is frequently described as the most effective public relations strategist of the modern times.
James Bidwell
managing director, Anthropologie Europe
James Bidwell is the managing director for Anthropologie Europe. In January 2009 he joined the company to lead Anthropologie’s European expansion. Previously James served as chief executive of Visit London where he was responsible for the global promotion of London’s £15 billion tourism industry - in particular developing the strategy for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. He also led London’s business development programme in Asia and India.
Prior to Visit London, James held the position of marketing director at Selfridges & Co where he led the renaissance of the Selfridges brand, launched several stores and developed highly successful mega promotions such as Bollywood and Brazil 40°. James has also held senior positions at the Walt Disney Company, eToys inc., and advertising agency Lowe Howard-Spink. James graduated with honours from the University of Bristol with a BA in French and German. He is a Fellow of the Marketing Society, a Member of the Marketing Group of Great Britain, Chair of the Natural Mat Company and a Trustee of the Cass Foundation for Sculpture at Goodwood.
Virginia Bottomley
Leading head hunter
Virginia Bottomley chairs the Odgers Berndtson Board Practice. The Board Practice conducts searches for Chairmen, Chief Executives and Non-Executive Directors for plcs and private companies.
Virginia is a member of the Supervisory Board of AkzoNobel NV, an NED on BUPA and a Trustee of The Economist Newspaper.
As part of her pro-bono activities, Virginia is Chancellor of the University of Hull and Governor of the London School of Economics. She is a member of the UK Advisory Council of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Virginia was a member of the House of Commons from 1984 to 2005 serving successively as Secretary of State for Health and National Heritage (now Culture, Media and Sport). Virginia was appointed a Life Peer in 2005.
Following her first degree, Virginia gained an MSc in Social Administration from the London School of Economics.
Neil Charles
global consumer roll-out manager, EMI
Neil joined the EMI Music Key team in 2009 as Global Consumer Roll-Out Manager, with a responsibility for embedding research data into EMI’s business and bringing insights to the way that new products are developed and marketing plans designed. Previously, Neil worked as an econometrician at Mindshare, modelling the return on investment to advertising spend for businesses such as HSBC and Volvo.
Mike Clasper
chairman, HMRC
Mike joined HMRC on 1 August 2008 from Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd where he was operational managing director. He was formally chief executive at the airport operator BAA plc.
Born in Sunderland, Mike began his working life as a British Rail signalling engineer before joining Procter & Gamble in 1978. He progressed quickly to a series of senior management positions and when he left in 2001 he was president, global home care and new business development. From Procter & Gamble he moved to the airport operator BAA.
Mike is a non-executive director at ITV plc and chairman of the West London Working Consortium. He has also recently been appointed chairman of Which, a non-executive part-time post of two days a month. He was a founder member of the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change and was also chairman of the Business in the Community taskforce on marketplace responsibility.
Lindsey Clay
marketing director, Thinkbox
Following a degree in English at Jesus College Cambridge, Lindsey joined the communications industry in 1988. In her early career she worked at various creative agencies across a variety of disciplines including 2 years working for Clarke Hooper in Hong Kong in the early nineties and a stint at McCann Erickson.
Lindsey was at JWT for 10 years from 1997. During her time there she made her name working on some of the agency’s biggest clients and most prestigious TV advertised brands; from Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, to Kit Kat; from the world’s local bank to the mint with the hole; She has used TV to recruit women to the Royal Air Force and TV to tell them that Yorkie is not for girls.
She became Head of Client Service in 2002, Deputy Managing Director 3 years later and in 2006 was promoted to Chief Talent Officer. She was finally lured away from JWT in 2007 in order to join Tess Alps’ TV mission in the newly created role of Marketing Director of Thinkbox. She has been there very happily ever since.
She is a member of the Executive committee of WACL where she takes special responsibility for training and development of young women in the communications industry, she is also on the board of the British Arrows (formerly the British Television Advertising Awards).
Lindsey loves TV of all types. She is married to an actor so she appreciates the role commercial TV plays in subsidising the theatre and has 2 young daughters who think that, because she has a telly in her office, she clearly has the most fun job in the world.
Aside from telly, her interests include netball, running, cheesy pop and hanging washing out.
Michael Cross
An experienced professional journalist specialising in public policy, particularly where it concerns technology, healthcare and the law. His work appears in The Guardian newspaper and in numerous specialist publications, including the British Medical Journal and the Law Society Gazette.
He began his career reporting for a local daily newspaper in England and went on to spend five years covering the Middle East on English language newspapers and trade magazines, before specialising in science, technology and international development as a foreign correspondent and editor at New Scientist magazine. In that role, he was the first British journalist to visit and report on the famine in northern Ethiopia.
Michael’s next job was on the launch team at the Independent newspaper, where he spent two years as technology correspondent and general business, news and feature writer.
After three years as a correspondent in Japan, Michael returned to the UK and specialised in government IT, writing and broadcasting on such topics as e-government and the computerisation of the NHS. Nowadays Michael is particularly interested in public policy, law, energy (especially nuclear) and maritime issues.
Ewa Czapracka
brand marketing manager, DestinationSkin
Winner of this year’s Young Marketer Award, Ewa Czapracka is the Brand Marketing Manager of a chain of aesthetic beauty clinics DestinationSkin.
After spending 3 years at the UK arm of German retail chain Tchibo working on both their food and non food marketing, she was put in charge of brand marketing at DestinationSkin. Since joining DestinationSkin in April 2008, Ewa has led the renaming, rebranding and repositioning of the business and has developed the company’s marketing, product and treatment strategy. Extremely passionate about brand building, Ewa has acute business sense and commercial knowledge which helped the company to double its sales in 2009 to just over £4m, quadruple the size of the customer database and create an award-winning clinic design.
Roisin Donnelly
corporate marketing director, Procter & Gamble UK and Ireland
Roisin Donnelly is Corporate Marketing Director and Head of Marketing for Procter & Gamble UK and Ireland. She is responsible for marketing on all P&G brands, including the Gillette portfolio.
Her previous roles include Marketing Director for Fine Fragrance in North and South America where she launched Hugo Boss, now global market leader. Before this she was Marketing Director for Cosmetics and Fragrances for Western Europe, Eastern Europe , Middle East and Africa.
She has also led the UK and Western European haircare business launching Wash & Go and then Pantene which both achieved market leadership across UK and Europe.
Under Roisin’s leadership P&G UK& Ireland marketing organisation has won a record number of marketing awards including 10 Product of the Year awards in both 2006 and 2007. She was also recognised as FMCG Marketing Employer of the Year and elected Marketer of the Year in 2007. Roisin is passionate about innovation and has led P&G’s increased marketing in new media.
Roisin is on the Board of Cosmetic Executive Women, a fellow of the Marketing Society, a member of the Marketing Group of GB, a member of WACL and a school governor. She is also on the business committee of Glasgow University.
Mark Evans
chief executive, Harlequins
Born in Ashford, Middlesex in 1959, educated in South Wales. Mark graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in History and Economics. Completed a post graduate teaching course at the University of Bristol and spent fifteen years within a variety of state comprehensive schools in and around London finishing as First Deputy Head at Saffron Walden County High School, Essex.
In addition Mark has played over 100 1st XV games for Saracens and became Head Coach 1993. In 1996 he was appointed Director of Rugby at Saracens when game went professional and in 1998 Saracens won the Tetley Bitter Cup and were runners up in the league.
In 2000 he joined Harlequins as CEO and has also, at various times, carried out the head coach and director of rugby roles and in 2008/09, Harlequins were runners up in the Guinness Premiership and over the last decade have tripled both their turnover and their average crowd numbers as well as doubling the capacity of their ground, the Twickenham Stoop.
Mark Earls
Mark is widely recognized as one of the leading planning thinkers about brands, branding and human behaviour in the world.
Mark’s background is in creative agencies but he has long argued for a revolution in how the industry goes about its business (which hasn’t always made him popular).
He is currently working independently out of the UK with a range of clients, trying to put the insights about human behavior and how to shape it from his book, HERD, to work in a new kind of marketing – one based on understanding and harnessing our social or “HERD” nature. HERD also seems to be gaining traction in the political sphere. According to a recent GQ article, HERD has been widely read in senior Labour and Conservative circles.
Mark is a regular on conference platforms around the world. In the last few years he has spoken in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Hamburg, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Prague, Bucharest, Istanbul, Amsterdam, London, Liverpool, Los Angeles, San Francisco, NYC, Chicago, San Diego & Miami. He lives in London but would to be honest rather be fishing.
David Felgate
former tennis coach to Tim Henman
David Felgate retired from professional tennis after 1989 Wimbledon and spent two years coaching in the United States. He worked as coach (and best man) to Tim Henman, ever since the long-time British No. 1 won the under-18 British title in 1992, until April 2001. He had helped Henman to seven ATP titles, the 1998-99 Wimbledon semi-finals and World No. 5. He went on to work with Xavier Malisse (April-December 2001), Naomi Cavaday (2007) and Nicole Vaidisova (2008). He was a European Players’ Representative on the ATP Board from 1998-2001. He was manager of Men’s National Training at the Lawn Tennis Association from 1992-1996. From May 2003 until May 2006 he was Performance Director for the LTA. He has also worked as a BBC radio analyst. He is married to Jan, who works for management company IMG, in London. The couple has two children, Jack and Alice.
Peter Fisk
founder, The Genius Works
Peter is an inspirational author, speaker and business advisor. He brings together the best new ideas about customers, brands and innovation from all around the world, and articulates it based on years of practical experience working with the likes of Coca Cola and Red Bull, Microsoft and M&S, Vodafone and Virgin.
His new book "Creative Genius" explores innovation from the future back. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, it fuses the creative potential of artists and musicians, designers and business leaders in a practical and inspiring approach to creativity and innovation. His previous bestselling books include "Marketing Genius", on the left and right-brain of business success, and "People Planet Profit" on the potential of sustainable innovation.
He is founder of the GeniusWorks, the accelerated innovation business. He also leads The Marketing Fast Track, the Marketing Society’s professional development programme, the best new ideas in marketing fast, relevant and practical. Business Strategy Review describes him as "one of the best new business thinkers".
Sarah Fuller
head of marketing communications, Waitrose
Sarah joined Waitrose in January 2009 and is responsible for marketing and brand strategy, through-the-line communications, publications, customer events and our Cookery School, which launches in October 2010.
Since joining, Sarah has focused her team on driving profitable customer behaviour based on sound customer insight, resulting in the successful essential Waitrose and Delia & Heston campaigns.
Sarah joined Waitrose from a 3 ½ year post at British Airways where she was director of marketing & insight for AIRMILES. Prior to that, Sarah spent five years at Telewest in various marketing and product management roles. Sarah started her working life at Procter & Gamble in Health & Beauty marketing and brand management. Sarah’s first ever job during student days was at Waitrose where she worked as a Weekend Partner on the Patisserie counter - she was delighted to find that her branch manager and two department managers from those days are still in the business.
Charles Garland
chief executive, Crystal Entertainment
Charles’ career spans both brand marketing and the entertainment industry. He spent ten years with one of the UK’s leading advertising agencies, Bartle Bogle Hegarty. As Group Development Director, he was responsible for building the agency’s international business to reflect the needs of clients with global brands, launching offices in Asia and the US. He left in1998 to work with Simon Fuller, building 19 Entertainment into a globally respected entertainment company. Charles presided over the development and global expansion of the ‘Pop Idol’ franchise and the US hit show ‘So You Think You can Dance?’ He worked with talent such as David and Victoria Beckham to build “Brand Beckham” and following the sale in 2005 to CKX Entertainment for £100m, Charles worked on the acquisition and expansion of the Elvis Presley Estate.
Charles left two years later to found Crystal Entertainment.
Combining his experience from the worlds of talent, content and brand marketing, Crystal focuses on helping brands build valuable talent and content partnerships as well as helping talent build valuable branded businesses.
Today, Crystal is working with brands such as Vodafone, MSN, LA Fitness, SKYPE as well as advising the estates of world class talent including The Beatles, Pavarotti and Bob Marley.
Gillian Govan
chief marketing officer, SGSM
Following her extended degree at Glasgow University (due to much fun and a sabbatical as President of the Union), Gillian started work as a trainee at Benton and Bowles, London and swiftly moved on to account director on Fisons and Thomas Cook. Gillian then joined Saatchi and Saatchi/Dorland drawn by the prospect of launching the British Airways Shuttle and ready access back home to Glasgow. After a stint at Geers Gross as account director on L'Oreal, Gillian returned to Scotland moving over to the planning side. Gillian worked at a senior level at Agencies such as Leith, The Bridge, The Glasgow Agency and Union. In 2007 Gillian was seconded to Health Improvement at SG to write the Health Improvement Social Marketing Strategy, and in 2009 succeeded, in her own words, in 'returning to the mother ship' as chief marketing officer of Scottish Government Strategic Marketing.
Christopher Graham
Information Commissioner
Christopher Graham became UK Information Commissioner in June 2009, with responsibility for overseeing the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act regimes – promoting access to official information and protecting personal information.
Christopher was Director General of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) from April 2000 to June 2009. From 2003-5, he was Chairman of the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA), the federation of advertising self-regulatory bodies across the EU Single Market.
Prior to joining the ASA, Christopher was for three years Secretary of the BBC. Christopher first joined the broadcaster as a News Trainee in 1973. He was Deputy Editor of The Money Programme and became Managing Editor of News Programmes for TV and Radio.
Ken Grier
director of malts, The Edrington Group
Ken heads up the global marketing team responsible for The Macallan and Highland Park and is a director of The Macallan Distillers, Highland Distillers and the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre.
Under Ken’s stewardship The Macallan has become a global luxury icon, through initiatives such as: The Fine & Rare collection, The Macallan in Lalique and the Fine Oak range, for which Ken was awarded the Diageo Outstanding Achievement in the Scotch Whisky Industry trophy in 2007.
In the last year The Macallan brand has out performed the single malt category by 5 percentage points*, winning The Distiller of the Year trophy from Wine Enthusiast Magazine and topping The Ultimate Spirits Challenge rankings. A host of groundbreaking initiatives have been launched, including the award winning Masters of Photography Rankin Edition; The1824 Collection in Duty Free; the world’s first live Twitter tasting and the Masters of Spirit visitors experience.
In the last 12 months the Highland Park brand has become the fastest growing single malt Scotch whisky in the USA*; a new Vintage range has been introduced to the Duty Free sector; 1964 and 1968 uber premium lines have been launched and the Magnus Eunson and Hjarta limited editions sold out within 48 hours of launch.
Kenny Harris
founder, Headsurf
Kenny was originally trained as a lawyer, but escaped. He worked for more than 15 years in leading advertising and marketing agencies in his native Scotland – and also as a renowned stand-up comedian.
Kenny has written and performed at comedy clubs throughout Britain and Ireland (and at ten consecutive Edinburgh Fringe Festivals). He has always been fascinated with ideas and where they come from. So he studied the creative people he worked with – designers, writers, art directors and comedians – and watched how they generated ideas.
Kenny discovered that they shared secret habits and behaviours – which form the basis of the radical approach to creative thinking which Kenny calls ‘Headsurf™’.
Fru Hazlitt
md of Commerical and online, ITV
Fru Hazlitt started out in the advertising sales department of Centaur Communications, the trade magazine publisher.
She became managing director of Yahoo! UK in 2002 and is credited with turning Yahoo! Europe into a “proper media business”.
She became Virgin Radio CEO in 2005 and was then was poached by GCap to run its London stations, including Capital Radio, and was appointed GCap’s chief executive in December 2007.
An ardent Fulham FC fan, Fru is married to Charlie Porter, founder of Thames River Capital.
Most recently Fru has been recruited by Archie Norman and Adam Crozier the new team at ITV as their MD of Commercial and Online in August this year.
Ashley Highfield
managing director & vice president, consumer & online UK, Microsoft
Ashley Highfield is Managing Director & vice president, Consumer & Online UK; part of a newly established global organisation within Microsoft responsible for consumer services across PC, mobile and internet platforms including Windows, MSN, Hotmail, and Internet Explorer. He is also responsible for Microsoft’s online advertising business.
Highfield joined Microsoft in January 2009 from his position as CEO of Kangaroo, the proposed video-on-demand joint venture between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Previously he was Director of New Media & Technology and an executive board member for the BBC for 8 years, and prior to that was MD of Flextech Interactive and a member of the executive of Flextech plc (now Virgin Media).
Highfield is a Governor of the British Film Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Television Society, a member of BAFTA, a Chartered (Information) Engineer, and a non-executive director of William Hill plc.
Andrew Hogan
brand director, Centrica
Andrew started in advertising in 1993, working at BST on Quaker, Oddbins, Michelin and Red Stripe. Following a couple of agency mergers Andrew found himself at TBWA London where he ran accounts such as BBC/Flextech, The Sun, John Smiths, Paramount Comedy Channel, and Habitat. He then worked on Sky at Bates, before moving to Partners BDDH which then merged (spot the theme!) with Euro RSCG. After 2 years spent running the Reckitt Benckiser and Citroen accounts, Andrew decided he needed to get a proper job and joined British Gas as Head of Advertising and Media. Having lead the development of the highly successful ‘Looking after Your World’ campaign, Andrew was promoted to Communications Director before recently being made Brand Director in 2010.
Mark Hunter
chief executive officer, Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Limited
After graduating in 1983 from The University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, Scotland) with an Honours Bachelor degree in Marketing and Business Administration, Mark held a variety of sales positions with Hallmark Cards and Bulmers Drinks.
In 1989 he joined Bass Brewers Ltd and held a number of positions of increasing responsibility within the marketing function.
He led the brand portfolio at the Bass Brewers Scottish operating company, Tennent Caledonian Breweries, turning around the performance of Scotland’s number 1 beer brand - Tennent’s Lager.
In 1996 he moved to Bass Brewers in England to run the Carling brand.
In 1997 he joined the Board of Bass Brewers as Marketing Director responsible for the Bass Brewers brand portfolio. In addition, he joined the Board of Bass Ireland, was a member, and latterly Chairman, of the Grolsch UK Board and was also a member of the Barbox Board.
As Bass Brewers Marketing Director Mark played a key leadership role in the 100% growth in Carling Lager in the UK over the period 1996-2005, including the launch of Carling Extra Cold into the UK market, which has reinforced its 30 years standing as the UK’s number one selling beer. He also led the establishment of Grolsch as a major premium lager in the UK and the launch of Coors Fine Light Beer into the UK in 2003.
In 2002 Bass Brewers (England and Wales) was acquired by the Coors Brewing Company and Mark’s role expanded to include responsibility for export markets and business unit strategy.
In May 2005 Mark transferred to Molson in Canada post the Molson/Coors merger, where he had responsibility for all sales and marketing activities across Canada as Chief Commercial Officer.
In addition to his functional accountabilities Mark chaired the MCBC Marketing Council, responsible for enterprise wide thinking on portfolio management, insight and innovation, emerging consumer communication models and marketing capability.
In December 2007 Mark returned to the UK to take up his current position of Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Limited, based in Burton on Trent, England. In this role Mark reports to Molson Coors Brewing Company President & CEO, Peter Swinburn.
Mark is a passionate believer in championing beer and building respect for the category through responsible drinking and is Vice Chairman and a Board Director of the BBPA (British Beer & Pub Association) and a member of the Portman Group Council.
In January 2009, and in addition to his current responsibilities, Mark was appointed President of ISBA (Incorporated Society of British Advertisers).
Luke Johnson
chairman, Royal Society of Arts
Luke Johnson is chairman of the Royal Society of Arts and runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm.
He studied medicine at Oxford and subsequently joined investment bank Kleinwort Benson as an analyst. In 1992 he organised the acquisition of PizzaExpress and floated the business on the stock market at 40p.
He was chairman of this business until 1999, at which time the share price was over 800p and the business had a market capitalisation of over £500m.
He sits on the board of Interquest, Superbrands, Giraffe, GRA , Seafood Holdings, Patisserie Valerie and APT Controls. Previously he was Chairman of Signature Restaurants and a Director of IDH . He is the former chairman of Channel 4 Television Corporation.
John Kearon
Chief Juicer and Founder of BrainJuicer Group PLC now regarded as one of the leading innovators in the international market research industry.
John’s role in conceiving, inventing and leading BrainJuicer made him Ernst & Young’s ‘Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2005. BrainJuicer has been twice winner of the ESMOAR award for best Methodology in 2005 and 2007, and John was recently awarded the Advertising Research Foundation’s Gold Award for Great Mind/Research Innovator of 2008.
Prior to founding BrainJuicer in 1999, and successfully listing it on the London AIM (Alternative Investment Market) in 2006, John founded innovation agency, Brand Genetics Ltd which invented new products and services for large blue-chip companies. Before starting his first business, John had been Planning Director of one of Publicis’ UK advertising agencies. John started his career over 20 years ago as a graduate of Unilever's management programme rising to be a senior marketer at Elida Gibbs before moving into advertising.
John’s recipe for entrepreneurial success is; creativity, resilience, determination, perseverance, stamina, drive, imagination, resourcefulness, courage, self-belief, commitment, ability to go without sleep and a touch of madness.
Jo Kenrick
brand director, Start
Formerly the brand director for Start, Jo has now been appointed chief executive officer of Start, the Prince of Wales' initiative on sustainability, and is also the chair of The Marketing Society’s sustainability workstream. She is also a Non Exec Director of the Principality Building Society.
From February 2006 to December 2008 she was Marketing and Customer Proposition Director for B&Q, and prior to B&Q, she worked for Camelot and was Marketing Director for the National Lottery.
From March 2001 until joining Camelot in 2002, Jo was Group Sales and Marketing Director at Wilson Connolly, then among the UK's top five house builders.
Prior to joining Wilcon Homes Jo spent two years as Brand Communications Controller at Woolworths. In November 1996 Jo joined Asda Stores Ltd as Head of Regional Marketing. After a year in this role, Jo moved within Asda to become Marketing Director of George Clothing where she reported to George Davies, managing all internal and external brand communication. Before joining Asda Jo held sales and marketing roles within Pepsico and Mars Confectionary.
Jo has a degree in Law from Nottingham University, and whilst at college she was one of the first women ever trained to fly by the RAF. She lives in Buckinghamshire and gardens, when she’s not partying.
Steve Langan
managing director, Hiscox UK
Steve Langan joined Hiscox, the UK’s leading specialist insurer, in October 2005 after a global career in blue chip FMCG companies. Responsible for Hiscox’s retail product lines across the UK, Steve has in a short time transformed a respected business into a powerful consumer franchise.
Prior to joining Hiscox Steve worked at the world’s number one drinks company Diageo, where he held the position of Managing Director of the company’s Italian subsidiary, based in Turin, for three years.
Steve’s experience has been with some of the world’s best-known blue chip companies and brands, including Nestle, Bass Brewers and Coca Cola. He worked at Diageo for a total of eight years.
A marketeer by training and profession, Steve has worked in a variety of senior marketing, commercial and general management positions across the globe, including in the UK, Europe and South America.
Alan Mackenzie
head of marketing and communications, Clydesdale Bank
Alan Mackenzie is Head of Marketing Communications for National Australia Bank's UK portfolio.
This includes Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, where highly successful repositioning work is nearing completion.
After graduating, Alan began his career in publishing, before making the move into Marketing over 20 years ago. He has worked primarily in financial services, with blue chip organisations such as Aegon, Abbey, and Britannic Asset Managers. During this time his work has won several awards and commendations.
Alan is a great advocate of Marketing learning. He has been a member of the Marketing society for several years, and this year agreed to sit on the Scottish council. He has also done some work with the CIM and also Nabs charity. Alan has also served on the judging panel for the Scottish IPA advertising effectiveness awards.
Stephen Maher
CEO, MBA
An Oxford graduate and founder of MBA. Stephen spent formative years at AMV:BBBO in the 80’s before joining the fledgling creative hotshop Simons Palmer in the 90’s rising to Head of Account Management.
Stephen started MBA in the mid 90’s - an independent integrated communications company based in London, applying its unique philosophy of BrandAction to clients such as the AA, the National Trust and Mercedes Benz.
Stephen’s weekends are typically spent failing to balance the demands of his 2 great loves – his 4 children and Chelsea FC.
Pete Markey
marketing director, MORE TH>N
Pete Markey is MORE TH>N Marketing Director, responsible for all above and below the line media as well as brand development, customer and digital marketing. Pete was previously MORE TH>N’s Head of Marketing for 2 years.
Prior to this, he was Onetel Head of Marketing for 3 years, helping effectively develop and re-position the brand in the highly competitive telecoms market.
Pete has also worked at the AA as Marketing Communications Manager, and before that in marketing comms and brand roles at British Gas.
Pete graduated from Southampton Solent University with a BA Hons in Corporate Communication and is a Chartered Marketer. He is currently studying for an MBA at Ashridge Business School.
Andrew Marsden
Andrew is one of the best known and respected marketers in the UK.
After an early career in Unilever, Vileda and Danone he joined Britvic and was part of the team that floated the business in 2005.
A former Chairman of the ISBA Executive and the ISP, from 2002-8 he sat on the government’s Advisory Committee on Advertising, and has also served on the boards of BCAP and the ABC.
From 2007-10 Andrew chaired the ASA Code Review. The updated codes which govern marketing communications in the UK will apply from September. He is currently chairing the same for digital brand communications.
Andrew holds Fellowships from a number of organisations together with an Honorary Doctorate from Anglia Ruskin. He was the Daily Telegraph’s Marketing Director of the year in 2004.
He served as President of the 3000 strong Marketing Society from 2006 to 2010.
Andrew has a non-executive portfolio and advises internationally on business and brand strategy.
Mich Mathews
senior vice president marketing, Microsoft
Mich Mathews is the senior vice president for Microsoft's Central Marketing Group, which oversees the company's global marketing function, spanning a diverse set of businesses and audiences. Mich leads integrated marketing communications to hundreds of millions of customers in more than 70 countries through the company's branding, advertising, public relations, research, events, packaging, relationship marketing and internal communications functions. She has been instrumental in driving growth of the Microsoft business while also building the Microsoft brand, which is consistently placed in the top 10 brand strength and image indicators.
Mich is pioneering new ground to transform Microsoft into a leading interactive marketing organisation through digital means - building deeper connections and relationships with customers, and enabling marketing to become more exciting, more effective and more accountable.
Mich started working with Microsoft in 1989 as a consultant in the UK, joining the company in 1993 to lead Corporate Public Relations, and was named an officer of the corporation in 1999. She has held a succession of marketing positions in Microsoft including vice president of Corporate Communications and vice president of its Central Marketing Organisation. Prior to working with Microsoft, she spent three years at General Motors.
Nick Mercer
commercial director, Eurostar Group Ltd.
Nick is the board director responsible for Eurostar’s commercial activities across all three of its core markets. His remit covers sales, all forms of communication, as well as distribution, product development and pricing/revenue management.
Prior to joining Eurostar Nick has, at various times, held sales and marketing director positions with Air Miles, First Direct and Open, the Sky TV interactive platform and Misys the software company. His early career was in the airline industry.
Stephen Miron
chief executive, Global Radio
Stephen Miron, joined Global Radio in December 2008 as Chief Executive. Stephen runs the day-to-day operations of all Global Radio brands which include 95.8 Capital FM, Classic FM, LBC, XFM and the Heart network. The business employs in excess of 1800 employees across 71 Stations, making Global Radio the largest commercial radio group in Europe.
Prior to Global, Stephen was Managing Director of the Mail on Sunday & Mail Digital. He was famed for masterminding the high-profile giveaway of Prince's latest album in a promotion that rocketed sales of the Sunday newspaper.
Outside of Global Radio, Stephen is a Trustee of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Foundation.
Charles Ping
account director, Communisis and director, ASBOF Ltd.
Following a degree in Metallurgy and Microstructural Engineering he left the engineering industry and worked in sales and marketing management roles within publishing for 20 years, specialising in CRM, data management and digital media. A past chairman of the DMA he is frequent contributor to the trade press on direct marketing issues. He has an enthusiasm for good direct marketing of all types and believes that responsible marketing has an important role to play within society. Outside work he restores vintage cars, plays taxi driver to his children and likes spending time on Scottish islands.
Gary Price
UK director of marketing, Aviva
Gary’s whole career in has been in Financial Services, mainly in customer service, customer experience, IT and marketing with HSBC, Egg and Aviva. Most recently led the rebrand of Norwich Union Life and Pensions to Aviva and the completion of the inherited estate reattribution. Appointed as Aviva’s UK Director of Marketing in January 2010.
Charlie Robertson
founder, Red Spider
Charlie Robertson, founder of the Red Spider Network -an independent brand strategy consultancy, founded in 1994, which operates anywhere in the world for brand owners and their communications agents using its proprietary tools and methods based on global brand best practice. Clients have included LEGO, BBC, Unilever, Diageo, P&G, 3i plc; Scottish & Newcastle, and a variety of international advertising and design agencies in Japan, US, Europe and Australia. It advises on brand positioning, communications and new brand development and trains in its methods and was appointed this year on the Government’s framework for training. It is seen as being more creative with strategy than its competitors.
After 16 years working in London advertising agencies, laterally as Head of Planning at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, working on Audi Cars and Shell International in 1992 he headed home to his native Scotland to raise his family and set up a Planning Department for Leith Agency to compete with the best creative agencies in UK. It drew on a network of planners internationally as an early pioneer of ‘virtual networks’ It became the basis of founding the Red Spider Brand Consultancy network in 1994, with Leith Agency and the BBC as founding clients. He has won advertising effectiveness awards, lectured and tutored in strategy for the IPA in UK and 4A’s in USA and run strategy workshops in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Australia and Japan. He was appointed an honorary member for life of the Account Planning Group in the UK, and was Executive in Residence at University of Oregon School of Advertising and Journalism and is published for work in creative strategy.His key partners are in Hong Kong, London and Sydney.
Ray Snoddy
presenter NewsWatch at BBC and Freelance Media Journalist
Raymond Snoddy is a freelance journalist who presents the BBC Television accountability programme Newswatch and writes regularly for a variety of publications after being media editor of The Times for seven years.
Before moving to The Times he was a reporter on the Financial Times for 19 years writing mainly about media and communication issues. Presented television series on the media, Hard News on Channel 4 and Media Monthly on Sky News and has made documentaries for radio and television. Regular columns include Marketing, Media & Marketing and CityAM Books include The Good, The Bad and the Unacceptable on press standards and Greenfinger on Michael Green and Carlton Communications.
Born in Larne Co Antrim, Educated Queens University Belfast and the Open University. Married with two grown up children, both working in the media. Interests include chess, opera and supporting Queens Park Rangers.
Mark Thomson
marketing director, Royal Mail
Mark Thomson has held a variety of senior positions with Royal Mail Group, covering Sales, Marketing and Customer Services. His responsibilities have ranged from developing international strategic alliances with other postal Businesses; preparing Royal Mail for de-regulation and competition; running Royal Mail’s Stamps & Collectibles business; developing the e-commerce strategies of Royal Mail, Post Office and Parcelforce; and the commercial development of Royal Mail into its current iteration.
Mark’s latest challenge, as Royal Mail’s Media Director, is to increase Mail’s share of the UK’s advertising, transactional and trans-promotional markets. Mark is Royal Mail's Alternate on the Camelot Board; and his current non-executive directorships include the International Group of the Borders & Immigration Agency (BIA), where he also sits on the Audit Committee.
Nicholas Vetch
executive chairman, Big Yellow
Nicholas Vetch co-founded Big Yellow in September 1998. Prior to that he was joint Chief Executive of Edge Properties plc, which he co-founded in 1989 which was subsequently listed on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and then taken over by Grantchester Properties plc in 1998. Mr Vetch is also Non-Executive Director of Blue Self Storage S.L - a self storage operation in Spain.
Catherine Woolfe
head of advertising and brand strategy at E.ON
Catherine has been Head of Advertising and Brand Strategy at E.ON since 2007. She is responsible for E.ON’s UK marketing activities encompassing integrated advertising, media, brand management, research and insight, digital and social marketing. Previously to this Catherine worked for Volkswagen for seven years where she held various roles in the brand’s marketing function. She was most recently responsible for leading VW’s integrated through-the-line communications, sponsorship and consumer PR activity, winning numerous creative and effectiveness awards for the brand. Catherine is also a member of ISBA’s Executive Committee.
Jerry Wright
chief executive, Audit Bureau of Circulations Ltd (ABC)
Since October 2008, Jerry Wright has been the Chief Executive of the Audit Bureau of Circulations Ltd (ABC), the industry-owned body that measures and certifies press and digital circulation and traffic on behalf of media buyers and sellers. He is focused currently on a wholesale re-organization of the company’s governance and building further on the growth of digital auditing. Prior to that, he was Marketing and Innovation Director, Birds Eye, responsible for the communications, product development and brand health of the Birds Eye range, one of Britain’s biggest food brands (over £0.5 billion in retail sales).
Previously, he had worked in a number of senior brand and business management roles within Unilever, in the UK, Europe and Asia, across a 25-year career spanning the detergent, household, personal care and food markets. He began his career as a graduate trainee in Lever Brothers, cutting his teeth on such quintessential super-brands as Persil, Domestos, Jif, Lux and Surf, took marketing leadership roles in Hong Kong/China and Italy and held board-level business unit responsibility in Lever UK .
After a spell as a senior member of the Unilever Corporate Strategy team, he was based in Bangkok for three years, holding national board (Thailand), regional brand (Omo, Sunsilk) and category (Haircare and Homecare) roles across the Asia region.
He also has a long-standing in interest in media, setting up Unilever’s first multi-million direct marketing consumer database in the mid 90’s and overseeing the Unilever media planning and buying operation from 2004-2006. Jerry served on the ISBA Council for 3 years and was a member of the Advisory Committee on Advertising to the COI from 2004 to 2007, as well as working with the CIPS Specialist Knowledge Group on marketing procurement.