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TOUGH AT THE TOP

in AssOciATiOn wiTH

What is the essence of successful leadership?ceos talk about eight essential leadership skills

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foreWordWhy We conducted this research

CEOs matter to marketers. Arguably they are a marketing director’s first and most important customer. Generally they are the people who hire and fire marketing directors and on average they have a significantly longer tenure in office.

At our Annual Conference, we asked Sir Martin Sorrell what makes a great marketing leader. He replied, “A CEO with a strong marketing led vision that enables the CMO to get the job done.”

So, The Marketing Society and Accenture decided to talk directly to a cross-section of business leaders to find out what they thought were the key qualities of successful CEOs in today’s tough business environment. From this we have produced a list of eight essential leadership skills which the modern CEO needs to develop in order to succeed.

We know that today’s leaders are facing a tough economy, rapid technological change and customers who are ever-more demanding. As they juggle the needs of their different stakeholders, they also have to operate in a glass bowl of transparency and stay calm while their critics comment on Twitter or in the mass media. Life is indeed tough at the top, but happily many CEOs are succeeding, even though the business news often seems to concentrate on failure.

I would like to thank Hugh Burkitt The Marketing Society, John Zealley Accenture, Jonathan Macdonald Accenture, Gemma Greaves The Marketing Society, Rachel Paterson Oystercatchers, Katherine Levy VCCP, Stephanie Brimacombe VCCP, and Nick Smith for their help in this study.

A huge thank you to all the CEOs, entrepreneurs and leaders who we spent time with to help us understand how it is ‘Tough at the Top’.

suki thompsonchairman the Marketing society 2013

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contentsWhat we did 4

Eight essential leadership skills 5 – 23

Implications for CEOs and marketers 24

Appendix – list of respondents 25 – 27

Accenture and The Marketing Society 28

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What We didAs a starting point for our interviews, CEOs were asked to rate a series of leadership attributes on a five point scale from ‘unimportant’ through to ‘critical’.

As well as producing a rating for each attribute, our respondents were encouraged to draw on their own experience and suggest key leadership skills that they believed were vital for success. From these answers we have produced a list of eight essential leadership skills.

In-depth interviews were conducted by The Marketing Society and Accenture with 40 CEOs and company Chairmen during 2012 and these have been supplemented by interviews with CEOs who have presented at The Marketing Society events during the past year.

order of iMportance of ceo leadership attributes

This chart shows the order in which our respondents placed the different skills required by a CEO. ‘Strategic thinker’ was clearly seen as the most important characteristic while ‘personality’ and ‘visionary’ were the least.

But these attributes were really just the starting point for a discussion, and through this a more nuanced list of eight essential leadership skills emerged.

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eight essential leadership skills

1 Give a clear sense of direction 6

Bring the customer into the boardroom 9

Communicate clearly – inside and outside 11

Be flexible but not floppy 13

Take risks but don’t bet the company 16

Build the team around you 18

Listen with humility and act with courage 20

Earn your reward through building trust 22

give a clear sense of direction

Our respondents were unanimous in agreeing that the ability to think strategically is a critical skill for CEOs. In general, they believe that their key role, as a leader is to provide vision and purpose for the company. However, there was strong disagreement about the value of being ‘visionary’. Entrepreneurs see this as a fundamental part of their business success; leaders of large corporations believe that visionaries need to exist within the business but it is not a core skill set of the CEO. There was also a difference of opinion about the value of a ‘higher purpose’. Some CEOs saw it as an important aspect of a modern corporation, others rejected the idea.

Martin Glenn summed up the prevailing advice on leadership in very practical terms:

“ give the whole company a sense of direction and clarity. here is where we are going, this is why we are going there and this is what it means to you.”

Martin glenn, ceo iglo food group

Jill McDonald also spells out the need to begin with a clear view of the future:

“ you know, there’s the three r’s about being “relevant, realistic and relentless”, but in terms of what i would myself ensure…it is around having a clear vision of the future, with the right resources and the right talent and the right investment decisions along the way…which deliver against that vision.”

Jill Mcdonald, northern divisional president europe, ceo uk Mcdonald’s

However less than a third of CEOs felt that their role was to be visionary or to be a larger than life personality:

“ the notion of a visionary has been chronically overplayed. i prefer to characterise the ceo as a strategic thinker who is visible, flexible and promotes basic principles.”

ian ailles, ceo thomas cook

Neil Berkett of Virgin Media suggests:

“ it is more important to get the organisation behind a vision than to follow a visionary.”

neil berkett, ceo virgin Media

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Though Irvine Sellar, the man who brought The Shard to London observes:

“ if you need revolution rather than evolution, you need a visionary to lead it. in reality it is entrepreneurs that are able to be truly visionary.”

irvine sellar, chairman sellar property group

And the Chairman and CEO of Mace, the company that built the Shard agrees:

“ having vision is about knowing where you are going. however a visionary is one who leads with insight, imagination and boldness. visionaries also bring together people with a shared sense of purpose which is critical when leading a company.”

stephen pycroft, executive chairman Mace

Simon Fox suggests that the organisation needs visionaries, but the CEO should direct them:

“ in a ftse company you need visionaries in the organisation but the ceo needs to assess the risk around probable outcomes and then lead the evangelists to deliver.”

simon fox, ceo trinity Mirror plc

For some CEOs there is a desire to find a higher purpose. Ronan Dunne believes that:

“ having a higher purpose is a huge motivator, it is about having an agenda and bringing people on a journey, not just an external perception, but a real desire to change the traditional capitalist model.”

ronan dunne, ceo o2

The phrase ‘higher purpose’ can in itself be a turn off for some CEOs, but even in the financial world, Tim Levy recognises that companies are driven by more than money:

“ i am not sure ceos need a higher purpose. What drives me is turning opportunity into reality, improving the way things work and get done, giving life to a vision and being excited by what i do. that’s what makes me passionate and makes every day an adventure! ”

tim levy, ceo future capital partners

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Lord Colin Moynihan explained that the organisers of London 2012 had a long term vision and purpose beyond the event itself:

“ sometimes as a leader we get the chance to make a real difference… We had a vision and a dream to create an outstanding london olympic games, my job was to make sure that the boa became a modern, accountable, performance-driven, highly professional, athlete-centric organisation, of which we could all be extremely proud. but the games were just the start. We needed to create a legacy and ensure that sport is for everyone, only time will tell, but we have put all the building blocks in place.”

lord colin Moynihan, chairman boa

And Carolyn McCall sums up the overall importance of having a clear vision and purpose that will help the CEO to keep moving forward when criticism seems to outweigh praise:

“ a ceo needs fitness, resilience, and to have a lot of stamina. there is nowhere to hide, particularly from the market. you get knocked about regularly by the shareholders, press and customers. you need to continue and not be waylaid, you can’t be downhearted, and you need a vision and a purpose.”

carolyn Mccall, ceo easyJet

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bring the custoMer into the boardrooM

It is perhaps no surprise that customer focus was the second most cited characteristic required of CEOs. As customers become more demanding, with increased expectations of what constitutes good value and good service, organisations need to work harder to understand their customers needs and preferences, and deliver on the brand promise. What is perhaps still surprising is that not all companies and boardrooms are completely customer centric. Peter Drucker wrote more than 50 years ago that “the customer is the business” and that marketing is about “seeing the whole business from the point of view of its final result…that is from the customer’s point of view”.

“ it is now vital that we have ceos on the board that represent the customer. We need to be ‘brand hearted’ and my role is to lead the business on this journey.”

richard solomons, ceo intercontinental hotels

However, Alan Giles confessed that despite his background as a marketer, the pressures of the boardroom can drive out considerations of the customer:

“ it’s almost as if you need a parrot sitting on your shoulder repeating the mantra about let’s not forget the customer…and i think on a listed company board this is where non execs can be so helpful…”

alan giles, chairman fat face

Steve Easterbrook echoes this:

“ there is a need for more voices at the board table to represent the customer. businesses can tend to be very introspective – understanding themselves far better than they understand their customers. it is my job to make sure that the customer is reflected in all the discussions and all the decisions that are made.”

steve easterbrook, ceo Wagamama

Meanwhile customers themselves are changing:

“ the generational divide is disappearing. over 65’s are now teaching each other… understanding how people behave and how to target them provides huge competitive advantage.”

dan cobley, Managing director google uk

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Gavin Patterson expresses the importance of getting service right, and motivating staff to deliver it:

“ [We have] a concept called ‘right first time’…it doesn’t sound like rocket science but it’s very powerful because you can use it as a language with every single person in the business, be they a front line service person or somebody writing coding in it…we’ve supplemented it with net promoter scores like many other people but what we’ve found is actually operationally more useful is net easy or customer effort.”

gavin patterson, ceo bt retail

There is general agreement that serving customers well will lead to greater profitability:

“ recognise that the sole pursuit of profit is fruitless. serve customers well, treat your staff well and have fun. profit is invariably the outcome.”

Jayne-anne gadhia, ceo virgin Money

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coMMunicate clearly – inside and outside

The third most important skill for CEOs is communicating clearly both inside and outside the organisation.

In an age when more people ‘Like’ videos on YouTube than vote in elections, it is easy to see how the digital world has empowered the consumer on a mass scale. Increasingly, organisations have less and less control over what is being said about them, and customers want to know not just whether a product or service offers good value for money, but also what it stands for. Faced with this, CEOs have to be ready to respond and communicate with customers, shareholders, analysts and the media…and how they do can have a significant impact on an organisation’s standing.

However, it is not just in the external environment where good communication is a pre-requisite of good leadership. A key aspect of communication is how CEOs motivate and energise the workforce within the organisations that they lead.

“ it’s not enough to be a smart strategist and financially astute, communication is vital. My communication skills have moved from a 2 to a 4, but in the future all ceos will need to be a 5 plus.”

tom falk, chairman and ceo kimberly clark

As Stephen Miron points out, the old hierarchical model of organisations has gone:

“ command and control these days only works for a very short period of time, it’s very disempowering. now ceos need to be more thoughtful, rounded, motivational, leveraging a style of communication.”

stephen Miron, group ceo global radio

We are reminded in Steven Spielberg’s recent film that Abraham Lincoln was famous for his storytelling and today’s CEO also needs that skill, says Stevie Spring:

“ ’storyteller in chief’ is one of the key jobs of any ceo: coalescing all stakeholders around a single version of the corporate truth…living and telling that story.”

stevie spring, ceo luxup

Today’s CEO has to cope with a world of digital communication which empowers all stakeholders:

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“ it’s important as a ceo now that you understand the power of social media. if you want to win your customers’ faith you’ve got to go onto facebook and twitter and say, ‘sorry, we’ve made a mistake’.”

carolyn Mccall, ceo easyJet

As an attribute on its own ‘media savvy’ was only seen as very important by just over half of our respondents, but this is an area where all CEOs are on a fast learning curve. Many CEOs came from a financial background where communicating with the outside world is not a priority. But CEOs need to learn how to engage more directly with customers via social media.

The skills of CEOs in this area at the moment are variable. As Tim Davie puts it:

“ some ceos are thriving in a more responsive environment in which they can communicate much more freely with their consumers. others seem doomed as they fight to control a one-way message, and fail to do so.”

tim davie, acting director general bbc

But in a transparent age, actions will still speak louder than words; and the CEO’s values are constantly on show:

“ When facing major business challenges, especially those involving your people, it’s important to stay true to your values.”

huw pennell, Managing director Maxxium

“ My values, my behaviours and what i stand for are a key part of my leadership. i need to live this and communicate this both internally to my people and externally to clients and all stake holders.”

conor davey, group ceo Williams lea

The message is clear. For CEOs, nowadays, effective communication is no longer an add-on; it must be a core competence. Whoever the audience and whatever the message, rapid, relevant and accurate communication must be at the heart of everything that the CEO does.

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be flexible but not floppy

Being flexible was ranked fourth in our list of attributes and was generally agreed to be an important requirement of a CEO. The speed and scale of business today requires CEOs to have a flexible approach to their own leadership style. Leaders need to be flexible about decision making to accommodate an array of variables, such as urgency, risk level, time constraints, and regional and cultural differences. Successful CEOs need to know when to be resolute and when to be pragmatic. This led on to some wise advice about the value sometimes of using a crisis, and to the requirement these days to work flexibly with partners – sometimes with those who previously have been competitors.

Andy Duff says that leaders need:

“ …courage, competence and consistency…to know when to stick to a programme that is struggling and when to ditch it.”

andy duff, chairman severn trent

This may not be just about a temporary change of direction before reverting to a normal course of action. Rather, it is about doing something fundamentally different, taking a calculated gamble, based on insight and understanding.

For Alan Brown the business needs to be flexible, but not follow fads:

“ being flexible is vital and the only way for a business to succeed, but sometimes a little rigidity and inertia can stop an organisation lurching off on a short lived fad.”

alan brown, ceo rentokil

When the business really needs to change then Martin Glenn believes that a ‘burning platform’ can help the CEO:

“ you know, there’s always a role for fear… particularly if there’s a business in crisis, then a burning platform is very helpful. the trite saying would be: how do you change a business from being very good crisis managers, responding to burning platforms…to having a burning ambition, which appears in everything they do?”

Martin glenn, ceo iglo food group

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CEOs should naturally focus on the long term goal, but be prepared to change course in order to reach it. The daily running of the company must always be connected to the bigger picture, often requiring CEOs to take a more strategic, longer term view of how they operate. This may require a different approach to servicing clients, either directly or through partner organisations. Indeed, the willingness of CEOs to enter into strategic partnerships is now of significant importance.

“ i would have said 15 years ago you didn’t have to partner with anyone. now, to execute solutions we have a clear partnership programme with a defined strategic approach and fixed kpi’s to ensure success.”

conor davey, group ceo Williams lea

And this also applies in the charity sector:

“ influencing across boundaries and building truly strategic alliances is as important as running the show. We now approach partnerships in a more innovative way, challenging ourselves and our partners to support people with cancer in as many ways and in as many places and through as many channels as possible. ”

ciarán devane, ceo Macmillan cancer support

Mark Reynolds says that the CEO may need to consider partnering with companies that may also have been competitors:

“ We have always been good at working in partnership with a wide range of companies, in the future we will need to do more joint ventures – a successful Joint venture requires alignment of objectives, each partner needs to share information openly and be prepared to work in true partnership, even if at times you are competitors – it sounds simple but the reality is, it can be hard.”

Mark reynolds, ceo Mace

Neil Berkett believes that partnerships offer a better way of being customer centric:

“ We have now reversed the cycle, we used to outsource anything that moved, now we are developing strategic partnerships so we can bring back the customer interface under our control, we need to carefully measure metrics

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and work with some people both in partnership whilst at the same time being in competition with them.”

neil berkett, ceo virgin Media

Andria Vidler has to grapple with artistic partners:

“ it is not easy to make a partnership work with an artist, it needs constant nurturing, you can’t dictate all your needs, you need to invest time and effort into making it successful, then when a crisis hits (and the nature of the music industry suggest it often will) you both have the strength to deal with it.”

andria vidler, ceo eMi

Jan-Pieter Lips works with customers who are also powerful partners:

“ our partners are very important to us, if any of them stop being partners it’s quite serious, you can’t simply let your partner dictate the economic terms of your relationship… so you must invest heavily in making that partnership work.”

Jan-pieter lips, eMea regional president aimia (nectar)

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take risks but don’t bet the coMpany

Handling risk was fifth on our list of attributes. Given the rapid emergence of new competitors, changing consumer dynamics and the unpredictable nature of fast moving markets, it is perhaps no surprise that managing risk is seen as a vital competency of today’s CEOs, but the extent of that risk varies a lot according to ownership of the business and the stage of maturity it has reached. What is true for all though, is that with constant change an ever present feature of the marketplace, leaders need to be comfortable with uncertainty and be ready to change tack as the storm clouds gather.

“ a ship is safest in the harbour but that’s not what it’s designed for… ceos running business have to take risk.”

Mark Wood, chairman various

And Stephen Pycroft warns against complacency;

“ taking risks in life is always difficult but in business it is fundamental in order to grow the company. complacency leads to stagnation.”

stephen pycroft, executive chairman Mace

And Sir Paul Judge agrees:

“ the only company that might never make a mistake is the one that lives in a changeless market and does nothing new. progress is about going into the unknown and therefore embodies risk. risk taking implies a possible loss as otherwise it would be called ‘sure thing taking’. however the risk decision must not involve so many resources that if the project goes wrong then it potentially jeopardises the organisation’s ability to survive and prosper.”

sir paul Judge, chairman various

Benny Higgins reminds us that the role of the CEO in a public company is also to manage risk not just to take it:

“ too often people urge companies to take risk when it is the need to manage risk that is paramount. risk appetite anchored around strategy and values is a concept with potential application beyond the bounds of financial services where it was conceived.”

benny higgins ceo tesco bank

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As an entrepreneur Irvine Sellar has a greater appetite for risk than many FTSE CEOs:

“ When you start out you bet everything on the success of the company, the house, the car, the wife, the children and even the dog! after you become successful you have to protect your assets, take more calculated risks, ask the question ‘how much will i lose not how much could i gain’ but as an entrepreneur i will take a balanced view of measuring the risk.”

irvine sellar, chairman sellar property group

And Tim Levy has also taken big risks because he was the founder and owner:

“ i definitely have bet the company on several occasions and have probably been able to do so as sole shareholder. i am not sure i would or could have done this with multiple shareholders, but had i not, we probably would have gone bust on several occasions.”

tim levy, ceo & founder future capital partners

Carrie Longton took a different type of risk in starting her business:

“ does working for 6 years for no money count?! i guess the first big step was finally getting an office and starting to employ people – took us around 7 years to do that. like every small business that’s self-funded every time we employ someone, or start a new venture like gransnet, or the Mumsnet blogger’s network it’s a risk and a thrill – it means you believe that person or venture can make you grow – there are no guarantees but it’s worked so far.”

carrie longton, co-founder Mumsnet

Ronan Dunne believes that in large publicly quoted companies there is little opportunity to take the kind of risk that could jeopardise the whole organisation, but the risk that CEOs must take is a personal one:

“ With 90 day analysts there is no room to really take business risk, but there is a need to change the capitalist model, to stand out from the corporate veil. profitable growth is key; you cannot save your way to glory. therefore for me the greatest risk is personal risk.”

ronan dunne, ceo 02

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build the teaM around you

‘Personality’ was an attribute that less than half of our respondents said was important. This is perhaps not surprising as successful company leaders can be either highly extrovert like Sir Richard Branson, or clearly introvert like Sir Terry Leahy. But there was unanimity among both the entrepreneur leaders and the CEOs running corporations that building the team around them was a key skill.

“ create something that everyone who works around you can be really proud of…surround yourself with great people. build capability.”

Jayne-anne gadhia, ceo virgin Money

And a good team needs a balance of people:

“ i’ve learnt over the years that you’ve got to put together a team of people that allow you to be both internally focussed around the continuous improvement and operational grip, but also have others that are more externally focussed looking for trends, discontinuities in the market place, competitive threats, fundamental changes in regulation that open up…”

gavin patterson, ceo bt retail

Thomas Falk emphasises the importance of continuity:

“ the building of great talent is the way to future proof the business. i was taught for a long time how to be the leader of kimberly clark, and i am only the 8th ceo in its history. We believe great leaders inspire others to dream, learn, do and become more. i now spend time with the current leaders of the business thinking and making sure that we have the next generation of leaders with new skills to make the business successful over the next 100 years.”

thomas falk, chairman and ceo kimberly clark

Today’s CEOs also need to understand that young people working in companies today want to be inspired by more than just financial targets:

“ …if you walk around the office here you look at the average age of the folks that we employ, everybody wants to go and work down here for more reason than just the profit… We’ve done some other interesting stuff which is more broadly csr than just sustainability…what you’re drinking is from one Water

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which is a company that was set up not for profit. it was set up in the uk and all the money that they make goes to putting wells in africa and it’s a really cool idea actually. What we did is on the analytics side we helped them build their selling case to get listings in the supermarkets.”

david Johnston, global coo aimia

Strong leaders need to be confident enough to build really strong teams around them:

“ a ceo should pick the right fight, pick the right people with the right attitude and coach them to be great, i need people who understand great client service and working in teams. My job is to know the clients, make us the best at what we do, build a great company and then pass it down to the right people when the time is right.”

stephen pycroft, executive chairman Mace

And the entrepreneur, Julian Metcalfe, who has built an extremely successful business based on great customer service, believes:

“ the only essential skill of any entrepreneur is to know who’s got fire in their belly and who hasn’t; [who’s got] a shared goal to build businesses.”

Julian Metcalfe, founder pret a Manger and itsu

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listen With huMility and act With courage

‘Business acumen’ did not in itself rate highly as a key attribute of CEOs, but they clearly need to be extremely shrewd about what information and advice they listen to, and what they act on. Today’s volume of data means that CEOs need to listen carefully and think clearly – as Dido Harding puts it:

“ great business leaders need the ability to listen and really hear the feedback from customers, colleagues and their stakeholders and then, of course, you need courage and clarity of thinking to do something about what you have heard… ”

dido harding, ceo talktalk

Today a Chief Executive has to think really hard about what to listen to as there is a constant danger of being inundated by data. David Johnston says:

“ everyone is drinking from a fire hose of data and it’s very difficult to make sense of it.”

And it doesn’t always join up he adds:

“ google know what your interest is in, but not what you do about it… facebook know what you like but not what you buy. loyalty cards know what you buy but not what advertising you see. sky tv knows what advertising you watched but not what you did about it. Where marketers will have to turn their attention is how they connect the dots across the data sources.”

david Johnston, global coo aimia

Jill McDonald is also concerned about the dangers of too much data:

“ data is important but insight is critical and i’m always wary not to overload the organisation with the former at the risk of drowning the latter.”

Jill Mcdonald, northern divisional president europe, ceo uk Mcdonald’s

But Gavin Patterson is an enthusiast for the new world of “Big Data”:

“ the stakes are high but with data you can take it right down to the individual customer right down to the individual employee as well. so we track the service, sales and quality metrics, down to every single person in the business

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and manage them against it… i think we’re probably 20% on the journey, there’s so much more to go.”

gavin patterson, ceo bt retail

In this situation of trying to make sense of so much data about consumer behaviour, it can be a good option to try things out cheaply and learn through doing:

“ help me learn, quick, cheap dirty… What i want to do is a risk assessment over a longer term time frame, but i rarely have time to do this.”

ian filby, ceo dfs

And those enthusiastic innovators at Google also believe in testing new ideas quickly in the market place:

“ We do have lots of launches. We believe in doing things early and often and letting our users decide what works and what doesn’t. so our innovations begin as beta launches and we place support behind the products that then grow. so there is order inside the chaos.”

dan cobley, Managing director google uk

Andria Vidler also believes in acting fast in the music industry, but doesn’t even have the time to experiment:

“ speed has changed the nature of our industry…you can’t pilot stuff anymore, you can’t test the water in quite the same way, because you have to assume everything will go global quickly…you just have to make it happen and then see whether it takes off or not.”

andria vidler, ceo eMi

But ultimately the Chief Executive needs to get hold of the right information and act boldly says Tony Reed:

“ you need to be honest, passionate, humble, bold and brave. have strong beliefs with authenticity. Work at the right level with the right information to back your strategy.”

tony reed, ceo one stop

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earn your reWard through building trust

In a time where policy makers, financial and retail institutions and tabloid journalism have all been exposed, CEOs are operating in a transparent world and building a sense of trust and credibility is key. A willingness to communicate openly and transparently is a first step in this direction.

Benny Higgins emphasises how the CEO must earn the trust of his colleagues inside the business and his customers outside it:

“ trust is what binds us together – with our customers, with our colleagues, and with our communities. it is only by showing the courage to lean into the truth that we can create enduring trust.”

“ We are challenging the established high street institutions. What is really important is that we stand up for customers and offer them a bank they can trust.”

benny higgins, ceo tesco bank

Sir Paul Judge stresses that CEOs must satisfy all their stakeholders in order to win their trust and support.

“ leaders should do what they are employed to do by organising their people and other assets to achieve their key objective whether this is for charity beneficiaries, patients, pupils or shareholders. however in the modern interconnected world in order to achieve these objectives, leaders must also get the respect of all their other stakeholders. they must understand and foster positive engagement with employees, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and local communities as if these are not supportive then it is very unlikely that the key objectives will be achieved.”

sir paul Judge, chairman various

Carrie Longton is running a business which depends critically on the trust of its users, and all commercial decisions have to be reviewed in the light of this:

“ Without the Mumsnet community there would be no business and my job is to try and build the business not just without alienating mumsnetters but actively trying to provide services, offers etc that they will like. Mumsnet’s purpose is

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and has always been to make parents’ lives easier – and that applies to the business we run as well as the community and the campaigns.”

carrie longton, co-founder Mumsnet

CEOs have been much criticised for their level of pay. While investigating this issue was not a specific aim of our research a number of CEOs did comment.

“ the whole ceo pay rise thing is so ridiculous. What’s going to get the country out of this, you know? it’s going to be the businesses. do you want the best people running the businesses? i think you probably do. it’s a sideshow that is spectacularly unhelpful so i think governments should be looking for examples of good business and shouting out the examples of good business as well as ensuring bad business isn’t rewarded.”

One CEO stated;

“ 70% of my pay is variable. When shareholders do well, i do well, they don’t do well, i don’t… i don’t think we’re hugely well paid, the job’s in danger at times, you do these jobs and as soon as you fail you’re kicked out…it becomes i think a little bit more like sports stars who can only do them for a short period.”

It was felt by another;

“ some ceos have done a pretty poor job of explaining why those bonuses are paid and part of it’s because businesses have done a pretty poor job of not aligning bonuses to the results and to the shareholders or whomever the beneficiaries should be. so i think the reality is if bonuses were aligned to results which benefited our stakeholders then you can either like the number or not but at least you can understand it.”

If CEOs can win the trust of their colleagues and customers, they can be highly rewarded with no complaints from their stakeholders, customers and ultimately the media.

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iMplications for ceos and MarketersThis is a tough list of leadership skills for a tough role. But those CEOs that can exercise these skills will indeed succeed, despite these testing economic times. And they will deserve to be highly rewarded.

The internet has fundamentally changed the power of the consumer and the power of the media and CEOs need to respond by having a clear plan, acting responsibly on behalf of their stakeholders and communicating clearly.

The CEO must have a clear set of values that mean that the corporation is behaving in a way which will stand up to scrutiny from the media and the public.

For the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) wanting to make the move up to CEO this is a useful guide to the skills required at the next level. For CMOs wanting to work more successfully within their current organisation there are also lessons to be learned. The CMO must understand the CEOs agenda and help deliver it by providing the right data and helping the CEO keep focussed on the customer.

The Society is currently developing a new Manifesto for Marketing to be published in May 2013 and these CEO views on leadership will provide valuable input.

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With thanksto the folloWing ceos and coMpany leaders

David Johnston Global COO aimia

Tim Davie Acting Director Generalbbc

Lord Colin Moynihan CEOboa

Gavin Patterson CEObt retail

Ian Filby CEOdfs

Carolyn McCall CEOeasyJet

Andria Vidler CEO eMi

Alan Giles Chairman fat face

Tim Levy CEO future capital

Stephen Miron Group CEO global radio

Dan Cobley Managing Director google

Martin Glenn CEO iglo food group

25tough at the top

Richard Solomons CEOintercontinental hotels

Julian Metcalfe Founderitsu/pret a Manger

Thomas Falk Chairman & CEOkimberly clark

Stevie Spring CEOluxup

Stephen Pycroft Executive ChairmanMace

Mark Reynolds CEOMace

Ciarán Devane CEOMacmillan

Mark Wood Chairman various

Huw Pennell Managing DirectorMaxxium

Jill McDonald Northern Divisional President Europe, CEO UKMcdonald’s

Carrie Longton Co-FounderMumsnet

Jan Pieter Lips EMEA Regional President Aimia (Nectar)nectar

Tony Reed CEOone stop

Ronan Dunne CEOo2

26 tough at the top

Alan Brown CEOrentokil

Nicola Horlick Chairmanrockpool investments

Irvine Sellar Chairmansellar property group

Andrew Duff Chairmansevern trent

Sir Paul Judge Chairman various

Dido Harding CEOtalk talk

Benny Higgins CEOtesco bank

Ian Ailles CEOthomas cook

Andy Berry CEOtouraid

Simon Fox CEOtrinity Mirror

Neil Berkett CEOvirgin Media

Jayne-Anne Gadhia CEOvirgin Money

Steve Easterbrook CEOWagamama

Conor Davey Group CEOWilliams lea

27tough at the top

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US $27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended 31 August 2012.

www.accenture.com

The Marketing Society is an exclusive network of senior marketers. Over the past 54 years we have emerged as one of the most influential drivers of marketing in the business community. The Society challenges its members to think differently and be bolder marketing leaders by supporting the development of leading-edge thinking and promoting the evidence of effective marketing. We do this through The Marketing Society Awards for Excellence, our publication Market Leader and in the online Clubhouse. Our well-respected calendar of world class events provides extensive networking opportunities and inspiration with speakers including Lord Sebastian Coe, Sir Terry Leahy and Paul Polman.

We are the place for discerning marketers to learn, develop, share best practice.

www.marketingsociety.co.uk020 8973 1700

28 tough at the top

www.marketingsociety.co.uk