Although we see an increased interest in appointing marketers to boards, marketing skills are still under represented on many boards. Commercial marketers are as driven as their functional counterparts to create value and often ask how they can gain a seat at the table.

Boards are not a replica of the Executive Leadership Team, where each Leader brings expertise in their domain and then takes a step backwards for the next expert. Directors may bring different strengths, but are held individually and jointly accountable. A Director does not disengage through the Finance presentation, leaving that discussion to the Chair of the Audit Committee, or reduce their engagement on other non-marketing topics.

Boards therefore place a high value on Directors who have broad commercial experience, including comfort around financials as Directors are accountable for solvency.

CMO’s already have great customer and marketing skills. They can maximise their contribution as Directors by gaining experiences that are broader than Marketing.

Be financially literate

Commercial marketers are literate on Profit and Loss Statements. However, there are other areas that marketers have less exposure to, particularly marketers in multinational companies, and these include Balance Sheets, cash flows, and statements around retained earnings and dividends.

Understand that business strategy is not marketing strategy

For a company’s survival or growth, the number one priority this year may not be marketing. It may be securing capital or liquidity, the deployment of supply chain infrastructure, or any number of other critical strategies.  One of the best ways to gain this insight is to move from marketing to broader commercial roles, such as General Manager or CEO.

Consider career experience in other functions

When presented with a problem, marketers will always respond with a marketing solution and marketing language.  When your only tool is a hammer, every solution is a nail.  By gaining experience in other functions, marketers expand their repertoire of language and commercial insight.

Find non-marketing mentors

A Director, CEO or Executive Team Leader with a non-marketing background, such as a CFO, CTO or CPO would have a different insight on how to navigate company growth, investment or the leadership of people from a different perspective.

Consider Governance Education

The Board is driven by it’s governance obligations and framework. This adds a different level of strategic, risk and regulatory oversight than at the Executive level.  Embark on formal governance education, such as the courses offered by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.  Beyond the annual report, read and compare the governance reports, such as the Corporate Governance Statement, Board Charter, skills matrix and other Board policies of companies in your industry.

We are pleased to see a positive trend in the demand for Board Directors with marketing skills, driven by the interest companies have in assuring growth, prudent use of data and digital technologies, and customer centricity.  Marketing is a great discipline for any future CEO and Board Director because ultimately, the only sustainable source of growth comes from the customer’s belief in the company’s brand, products and services. That said, there will be times during the company’s growth where marketing is not the number one priority and therefore having broad commercial acumen is highly desirable.