Our Future Marketing Leaders show the industry is in good hands
I have great pleasure in unveiling the third cohort of Marketing Week’s Future Marketing Leaders, sponsored by Digitas.
We introduced the list in 2023 to identify, acknowledge and celebrate the rising stars and CMOs of tomorrow. And that is what we present to you today.
Our cohort is a mix of people at different stages of their career, operating in an array of categories and with different responsibilities. But they all have one thing in common – they are making a demonstrable impact in their business and a meaningful contribution to the success of their brands.
To choose the final 20, we asked the marketing leaders selected for Marketing Week’s Top 100 and other notable figures in marketing to nominate a star. Someone who has achieved much and has the potential to achieve more. Practically, to be considered they needed to be in a brand side role and not the most senior marketer in their organisation. After much deliberation we arrived at the list that you can see here where you can find out more about their careers to date, and their thoughts on the marketing world now and in the future. Some also offer their advice to the next potential cohort of Future Marketing Leaders.
Indulge me while I attempt to do the difficult and sum up some of the sentiment our group expressed, particularly about the essence of effective marketing. Technology will enable marketers to improve what they do, but only the fundamentals will see you, your brand and business right.
EY’s Negin Niroomand puts it well when she talks about the need for the nuance only an insightful marketer can bring: “Marketers must use technology as an enabler, not a replacement, ensuring every interaction strengthens relationships rather than simply pushing a message.”
Elsewhere, Virgin StartUp’s Tanya Fihosy makes the case for deeper understanding: “Technology can make us faster, but empathy makes us better,” she says.
But the final words go to McCain’s Megan Bell who underlines the need for the basics in a contemporary context brilliantly. "The core principles of brand building, product development and innovation remain the same as when I left university as a fresh-faced marketer. But technology, digitalisation and the data now available allows us to get closer to our consumers, understand them and identify how to communicate with them better than ever before."
All our Future Marketing Leaders are smart, sober and thoughtful on the role of marketing. It bodes well for the industry now and in the future. Congratulations to our class of 2026.
Russell Parsons
Editor-in-chief
Marketing Week
