Exclusive interview with Rob Malcolm, former CMO, Diageo

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In an exclusive interview with The Marketing Society, Rob Malcolm, former CMO, Diageo, says good marketers who become great leaders all possess three skills and reveals his early career as a movie star. 

What advice would you offer to Marketing Society members looking to become the leaders of tomorrow? 

Develop your broad-based business skills and experience, not just your marketing expertise. Good marketers who become great business leaders seem to possess three key skills, above all others, in my experience. First, they are excellent at their primary functional calling – the discipline of marketing. Critically this embraces the dual concepts of discipline and creativity – what I like to call “whole brained marketing”. Many marketers fail to master both concepts – so they are either logically and analytically effective but lack the creative magic to deliver marketing programs that deliver the unexpected or fall into undisciplined creativity that is not connected to efficient and effective delivery of business goals and positive return on marketing investment. Second, they develop the leadership ability to influence people to achieve breakthrough results. This means effectively leading in all directions – up, down and sideways. Finally, they have very high standards. They restlessly and relentlessly strive for brilliance – not settling for average. In doing this they raise the performance of all around them. 

What three things can all marketers do to drive the growth of their business?  

First, they genuinely have to be the restless voice of the consumer, constantly seeking out consumer and customer insights that can form the basis of the growth opportunities in the near and longer term. This is the first and most critical role of marketing and it is a very externally focused endeavour. Second, they need to marshal the resources to pursue the highest value opportunities – both financial and organisational. Marketers need to be the masters of resource allocation and reallocation – this should not be delegated to the finance or strategy function. Third, they need to be the champions of the brands – product, BTB or service. Strong brands with high consumer resonance and reputation consistently deliver higher returns on investment than weak ones. 

What’s the biggest mistake you made in business and what did you learn from it?
I have made many over the years and have learned from every one! In my last role as president of global marketing, sales and innovation at Diageo from 2000-2008, one of my core responsibilities was to drive the performance of our global brands through our highly matrixed global/local organisation. My bias was to get the content right at the global level and drive it through the organisation. I did not spend enough time in engaging and leveraging the local organisations in this mission so missed the opportunity for much higher alignment and to leverage the local power of our very strong local teams. 

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your marketing career?
I wish I had discovered the potential for an international career much earlier. It was only year 17 that I left the protective cocoon of Cincinnati to run the P&G business in Saudi Arabia. This literally opened up a “world of opportunity” for me professionally and, personally, for me and my family. I have never looked back – and had 11 great years living and working overseas. 

If you hadn’t been in business, what would you have done?
I would have been a teacher – in fact, I am now catching up – as I teach part time at the Wharton Business School. My grandmother, father, sister and daughter are all teachers – and I am now trying to prove myself worthy of their standards! I am loving every minute. 

What is your guilty pleasure?
Fine red wine – particularly Bordeaux and Super Tuscans 

What book is sitting on your bedside table?
The Colonel – a great book on Teddy Roosevelt and his life after his presidency. He was a true Renaissance man, restless, productive, dynamic and certainly irascible! 

Tell us a secret.
I was an early movie star! I grew up near Hollywood and my best friend was an amateur film maker. He made a film when we were 11 years old – The Great Pill — that won the Kodak national junior film making contest and I was the star. Unfortunately, this was the first and last film I was ever in. 

Posted: March 31st, 2011 | Author: elen.lewis | Filed under: Q+A, leadership | Tags: Diageo, marketing society exclusive, rob malcolm | Leave a Comment »

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