Marketing in the United Kingdom is undergoing one of its most defining shifts in decades. Customer expectations are rising faster than brands can adapt, and the pressure on marketing leaders has never been higher. A recent UK consumer study revealed that 46 percent of people believe “brands could do more to improve,” while another 10 percent say they are outright “disappointed” in how brands engage, respond, and deliver. In a market where loyalty is fragile and attention is expensive, the role of the CMO has evolved from functional leadership to enterprise-critical strategy. Even as the global marketing technology sector surpasses $300 billion in value, the UK is moving beyond traditional tactics, embracing data precision, behavioural science, and creativity with commercial intent.
From AI-powered content ecosystems to culturally resonant storytelling and customer-first product design, the CMOs redefining today’s playbook are those who understand one truth: growth now depends on the ability to anticipate what people want long before they ask for it. These leaders are not just running campaigns; they are shaping how brands behave, how consumers interact with culture, and how organisations drive relevance in a fractured digital world. Each profile in this list reflects a distinct kind of impact, commercial, creative, cultural, or operational but all share one common benchmark: they are the individuals moving the marketing industry forward.
The 2025 BBBuzz Top 20 CMOs Shaping the Future of Marketing in the United Kingdom
1. Andréa Mallard — Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Pinterest
Few marketing leaders have reshaped a global platform with as much clarity, purpose, and creative discipline as Andréa Mallard. Over more than two decades at the intersection of product, brand, and storytelling, she has developed a signature approach: build with data, design with empathy, and communicate with conviction. At Pinterest, this philosophy has transformed what was once dismissed as a “nice-to-have moodboard app” into a powerful, culturally relevant, commerce-driving creative ecosystem. Mallard leads one of the most integrated marketing and product organisations in the industry. Product innovation, design, UX, insights, go-to-market, brand, performance, comms, and an award-winning in-house creative studio all sit under her purview, enabling Pinterest to function with rare end-to-end coherence. Her teams are responsible for profitably acquiring millions of new high-quality users, while also shaping how advertisers, creators, and consumers experience the platform. This is the engine behind Pinterest Predicts, one of the most accurate and culturally sticky annual trend forecasts; Pinterest Presents, a global advertiser summit that has strengthened enterprise relationships; and Pinterest’s narrative repositioning as the world’s safest, most positive corner of the internet. Under her leadership, Pinterest has not only become more inspirational but more intentional. The platform pioneered stronger privacy protections, inclusive AI-powered search, and anti-misinformation tools at a time when social media’s impact on mental health is under intense scrutiny. The payoff is unmistakable: Gen Z is now the most engaged demographic in Pinterest history. Financially, the momentum is equally striking. Q1 revenue rose 23% year over year, nearly doubling the previous quarter’s growth rate. Pinterest’s market cap climbed more than 85% over 12 months ending June 7. Behind that surge is a CMO who understands that brand health is business health and that inspiration—when designed well—scales. Mallard is a three-time Forbes Most Influential CMO, an AdWeek Brand Genius, and an AdAge Marketer of the Year. But her greatest impact may be quieter: she has proven that marketing can build not just brands, but better digital environments.
2. Esi Eggleston Bracey — Chief Growth & Marketing Officer, Unilever
In a landscape where marketing transformation is often spoken about more than achieved, Esi Eggleston Bracey is one of the rare leaders delivering measurable, global-scale reinvention. Based in London and serving on Unilever’s Executive Board, she oversees one of the world’s largest and most complex brand portfolios. Her mandate: accelerate growth, modernize marketing, and reimagine how one of the world’s biggest advertisers shows up in culture. In 2025, Bracey led one of the most ambitious operational shifts in Unilever’s history: integrating “digital twin” technology and real-time 3D production workflows across major beauty & wellbeing brands using NVIDIA Omniverse and OpenUSD. The results were seismic. Content creation time is cut in half. Costs reduced by nearly 50 percent. Global campaigns were deployed faster and with unprecedented creative consistency. Perhaps most importantly, creative teams were freed from routine production bottlenecks, giving them space to return to high-value storytelling. This is what modern leadership looks like when operational discipline meets imaginative ambition. Bracey’s influence also extends to brand philosophy. She developed the 5S Model, a proprietary system that reverse-engineers marketing from sales back to brand-building fundamentals. She has doubled down on equity and inclusion, even as other corporates retreat under political pressure, demonstrating a steadfast belief that brands can be commercially successful and socially consequential at once. Her remit covers Unilever’s top 30 brands, including 16 in the elite “1 billion Euro Club”. Their collective growth trajectory is accelerating, helping position Unilever as Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year. Market confidence reflects the same story: Unilever’s market cap rose more than 10 percent year-over-year as of June 7. Bracey brings together rare traits: visionary reinvention, deep P&L fluency, a future-ready tech lens, and a strong moral compass. Few CMOs shape industries. Eggleston Bracey is unmistakably one of them.
3. Cristina Diezhandino — Chief Marketing Officer, Diageo
Cristina Diezhandino leads marketing for what is arguably the world’s most culturally embedded spirits portfolio, operating from Diageo’s London headquarters with reach into more than 180 countries. Her leadership over the past 18 months has been defined by bold structural shifts and an insistence on creative effectiveness at a global scale. One of her most significant moves was reorganising Diageo’s marketing into agile brand communities, culminating in the launch of the Diageo Luxury Group, a unifying creative and commercial strategy for high-end brands. This restructuring not only modernises how Diageo manages premium spirits; it accelerates innovation, sharpens global storytelling, and ensures cohesive brand expression across regions. Diezhandino also spearheaded Diageo’s largest-ever consumer-data initiative and built a global virtual creative studio designed for rapid, scalable content production. The result is a marketing engine capable of delivering local nuance at global speed, without sacrificing Diageo’s well-known creative ambition. Her commitment to “Progressive Marketing” runs through every decision. At a time when ESG and DEI are facing backlash in several markets, Diezhandino remains firm in her belief that creativity should challenge stereotypes, elevate underrepresented voices, and push the industry forward. Over 42% of Diageo’s recent campaigns have been directed by women, a direct reflection of her belief that representation must exist behind the camera, not just in the script. The impact shows in brand and corporate performance. Guinness remains one of the world’s most culturally loved brands. Johnnie Walker’s “Keep Walking” platform continues to evolve with contemporary relevance. And Diageo, the world’s most valuable spirits company by retail sales, moves with a level of creative conviction few global brands sustain. Diezhandino is a marketer who understands that media is a canvas, and brand storytelling shapes how the world sees itself. Her influence across Diageo’s vast portfolio is proof of what happens when creativity, data, and mission align at scale.
4. Lennard Hoornik — Chief Commercial Officer (Marketing & Brand), Jaguar Land Rover
Lennard Hoornik leads Jaguar Land Rover’s global marketing and commercial strategy from the UK, transforming the iconic automaker into a modern luxury lifestyle brand. In 2025, he orchestrated the bold Copy Nothing rebrand, combining minimalist logos, high-fashion visuals, and a symbolic break from heritage to reposition JLR as more than a carmaker. The campaign captured global attention, sparking conversation across the automotive and marketing worlds. Hoornik’s vision extends beyond branding: he has unified Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender under a cohesive “House of Brands” strategy that emphasises sustainability, luxury, and consumer-centric experiences. Immersive events like experiential Range Rover Houses—from Sundance to Singapore and Whistler to Milan—bring the portfolio’s lifestyle focus to life, meeting members and prospective customers where they are. Under his leadership, Jaguar Land Rover is pushing toward an all-electric future, aiming to become the first luxury automaker to achieve full electrification by 2025. Retail sales for the year ending March 31, 2024, rose 22% YoY, a testament to Hoornik’s willingness to take strategic risks and redefine a global brand while maintaining commercial impact.
5. Javier Meza — President of Marketing & Europe CMO, Coca‑Cola
Based in London, Javier Meza steers Coca-Cola’s marketing across Europe, blending heritage and cultural relevance to keep the 133-year-old brand fresh and engaging. Since joining as President of Marketing and Europe CMO in 2023, Meza has applied his expertise in digital and strategic marketing to create campaigns that resonate across diverse audiences. In 2025, he led the launch of Refresh Your Galaxy, a cross-brand collaboration with the Star Wars franchise, celebrating a 70-year partnership with Disney. The campaign fused nostalgic fandom with Coca-Cola’s brand values, delivering a high-impact global ad and immersive fan experiences that connected the brand to entertainment-driven audiences. Meza’s leadership goes beyond high-profile campaigns. He has championed experience-led marketing and first-party data activation, enabling Coca-Cola to personalise interactions at a regional level. By balancing legacy brand strength with cultural freshness, Meza ensures Coca-Cola remains relevant, dynamic, and resonant for the next generation of consumers.
6. Marcel Marcondes — Global CMO, AB InBev
Marcel Marcondes leads AB InBev’s global marketing with a singular focus: connecting beer to culture, celebration, and the people who enjoy it. With nearly two decades at the company, Marcel has held multiple leadership roles, including Global President of Beyond Beer and Chief Marketing Officer at Anheuser-Busch in the U.S., before stepping into his current role overseeing a portfolio of 500 brands, including some of the world’s most valuable beer names. Under his leadership, AB InBev’s marketing teams embrace a consumer-centric, data-driven approach that blends personalisation at scale with deep cultural resonance. From one-to-one engagement to innovative B2B and direct-to-consumer strategies, Marcel has expanded beer occasions while offering balanced product choices, including premium no- and low-alcohol options. Marcel’s vision has been recognised globally: AB InBev became the first-ever back-to-back winner of Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year (2022 & 2023), and in 2024, the company was ranked #1 for Marketing Effectiveness by the Effie Global Index for the third consecutive year. His “megabrands” strategy drove a 3.3% revenue uplift overall, with Corona seeing 5.6% growth outside Mexico in Q2 2024 alone. A mentor, board member of the ANA, and recipient of the WFA’s Global Marketer of the Year award, Marcel combines strategic rigour, creative leadership, and a global perspective to shape some of the most effective and culturally impactful marketing in the world.
7. Noel Mack—Chief Brand Officer, Gymshark—spearheads
Gymshark’s brand, marketing, and community initiatives from the UK are driving a vision that fuses culture, creativity, and direct-to-consumer engagement. In 2025, he earned a spot among “Campaign’s Power 100: Leisure & Lifestyle” Top 5, a recognition of his role in cementing Gymshark’s cultural relevance among Gen Z and Millennial fitness enthusiasts. Under Mack’s leadership, the “We Do Gym” platform has flourished, blending social-first storytelling, creator collaborations, and seamless integration between digital content and product launches. His approach keeps Gymshark’s rebellious, challenger-brand spirit alive while fostering a loyal and engaged community. Mack’s ability to maintain authenticity and community-driven marketing has allowed Gymshark to consistently outperform many traditional, retail-led sportswear competitors, proving that in today’s market, connection and culture often outweigh conventional advertising.
8. Nina Bibby—Group Chief Marketing Officer, Barclays
Based in London, Nina Bibby leads Barclays’ brand, marketing communications, and customer insights across both consumer and corporate divisions. Since her appointment in 2023, she has championed a modern, consumer-first approach, using data-driven personalisation to elevate Barclays’ digital customer experience while refreshing the bank’s brand voice. Bibby draws on her telecoms background to blend disciplined financial-services marketing with innovative, customer-centric strategies, a combination that stands out in a sector often criticised for conservative, stale branding. In 2025, her leadership has been pivotal in positioning Barclays as a forward-thinking institution for younger, digitally native consumers, making her one of the UK’s most influential marketing executives in banking.
9. Suresh Balaji — Chief Marketing Officer, Lloyds Banking Group / Global Head of Marketing, HSBC
Since joining Lloyds Banking Group in 2023, Suresh Balaji has overseen group-wide brand, marketing, and customer experience, driving one of the UK’s most ambitious data-led campaigns to date. In late 2024, he led the bank’s largest-ever multi-channel effort supporting a major mobile banking app relaunch, spanning AV, social, outdoor, digital, influencer, and even gaming channels, signalling a bold break from traditional banking marketing. Balaji’s approach combines digital transformation, data insights, and experience design to modernise the Lloyds brand, while his dual role as Global Head of Marketing at HSBC demonstrates his global vision. With a career spanning HSBC, GlaxoSmithKline, and WPP, Balaji is a seasoned leader in marketing technologies, analytics, media transformation, and demand generation. He also serves on numerous advisory boards and champions diversity and inclusion initiatives, including co-chairing the Male Allies Leadership Council in Hong Kong. A chemistry graduate with postgraduate credentials from Oxford, Balaji is recognised among Campaign Asia’s Top 50 CMOs in the Asia Pacific—a leader equally committed to professional excellence and personal legacy, famously reading Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls to his daughters whenever possible.
10. Ami Badani — Chief Marketing Officer, Arm Holdings (UK / European operations)
Ami Badani steers Arm Holdings’ marketing across the UK and European markets, redefining the perception of a company long known as a chipmaker. In 2025, she pioneered “ecosystem marketing”, weaving together product storytelling, developer community engagement, and sustainability narratives to position Arm as a partner in global digital transformation. Badani’s strategy reflects the evolution of B2B marketing: long-term brand building, technical storytelling, and community-first approaches that resonate beyond traditional corporate communications. Her ability to merge tech expertise with brand sensibility and strategic foresight cements her status as one of the UK’s most influential marketing leaders for 2025, shaping how Arm connects with enterprise, developer, and emerging-edge audiences alike.
11. Luciano Comin — Chief Marketing Officer, British American Tobacco (BAT, UK-operated international remit)
Luciano Comin, London-based CMO of British American Tobacco since September 2024, is redefining marketing in one of the world’s most regulated industries. In 2025, he led BAT’s global shift from traditional tobacco branding to a compliance-conscious, adult-consumer-focused strategy, leveraging modern MarTech, targeted segmentation, and data-driven channel optimisation. While tobacco remains a contentious sector, Comin’s leadership demonstrates the operational rigour and strategic agility essential to navigating complex, highly regulated markets. His approach underscores that even in challenging industries, marketing can be both innovative and disciplined, delivering measurable business impact while maintaining ethical and regulatory standards.
12. Will Brass — Chief Commercial Officer (Marketing & Partnerships), Premier League (UK)
Based in the UK, Will Brass leads the Premier League’s global commercial and brand partnerships, turning football into a truly worldwide cultural phenomenon. In 2025, he secured major sponsorship deals, including a renewed multi-year contract with a leading beverage brand and the league’s first-ever global beer partnership, strategic moves that position the Premier League as a lifestyle and entertainment brand, not just a sports league. Brass has transformed match-day rituals into global events, blending marketing, rights management, and fan engagement in innovative ways that few sports executives can match. Under his leadership, the Premier League has expanded its commercial footprint, boosted brand value, and strengthened connections with fans worldwide, proving that sport and storytelling can be inseparable.
13. John McDonald — Global Chief Marketing Officer, HSBC (UK)
Set to take the helm as HSBC’s first-ever global CMO on October 1, 2025, John McDonald steps into a role that signals the bank’s bold commitment to marketing-driven transformation. Based in London, his remit spans brand, marketing, and client engagement across wealth, premier banking, corporate, and institutional divisions worldwide. Although his tenure is just beginning, McDonald inherits a global financial powerhouse with ambitious plans to expand its wealth and premier banking services. With a track record at major global brands and agencies, he brings the expertise and vision needed to modernise HSBC’s brand, elevate client engagement, and set a new benchmark for marketing leadership in global banking.
14. Carol Chen — Global CMO, Mobility & Convenience, Shell plc (UK)
Carol Chen spearheads global marketing for Shell’s Mobility & Convenience division from London, overseeing EV charging, fuel retail, convenience stores, and mobility services. In 2025, she is driving a bold repositioning of Shell, shifting its perception from a legacy oil giant to a forward-looking mobility-services brand. Chen’s role demands a delicate balance: safeguarding corporate reputation, advancing sustainability narratives, engaging consumers across convenience and energy services, and executing global marketing strategies. Her ability to combine data-driven insights, digital engagement, and trust-building positions her among the UK’s most influential energy-sector marketers of 2025.
15. Margaret Jobling—Group Chief Marketing Officer, NatWest Group (UK)
Margaret Jobling leads NatWest Group’s marketing from London, reshaping the bank’s brand around purpose, inclusion, and customer-centricity. Since taking the helm, she has driven campaigns centred on financial empowerment and seamless digital banking experiences, while embedding data-driven personalisation across diverse customer segments. Drawing on her consumer-brand expertise, Jobling brings a fresh, modern perspective to a traditionally conservative sector, helping NatWest connect with younger, digitally native audiences. Her transformative approach underscores why she ranks among the UK’s top CMOs in 2025, particularly in the competitive financial-services landscape.
16. Aimee Sieczko — Head of Marketing, Hotel Café Royal
Aimee Sieczko is an experienced marketing and communications professional, currently working as Head of Marketing at Hotel Café Royal, a well-known five-star luxury hotel on Regent Street, London. She joined the hotel in December 2024 and is responsible for promoting the hotel’s brand, managing marketing campaigns, and engaging guests through both online and offline channels. Before this role, Aimee worked at Hilton Hotels, where she advanced from Marketing and Communications Manager to Director of Marketing and Communications. While at Hilton, she led major projects, including creating documentaries like Inside The Hilton: Park Lane and producing award-winning publications such as The Journal. These experiences highlight her skills in combining creative content with strategic marketing.At Hotel Café Royal, Aimee manages seasonal campaigns, improves marketing communications, and strengthens the hotel’s presence in the competitive luxury hospitality market. Her work supports the hotel’s reputation for combining historic elegance with modern experiences, ensuring the brand stays relevant, stylish, and appealing to today’s guests
17. Chris Leong — Chief Marketing Officer, Ecolab
Chris Leong is the current Chief Marketing Officer of Ecolab, where she leads global marketing strategy for the sustainability-focused water, hygiene, and energy solutions company. Prior to this role, Leong served briefly—approximately six months—as Chief Marketing Officer at Schneider Electric, overseeing marketing across the EMEA region with a strong strategic focus on the UK. Although short, her tenure at Schneider Electric was marked by a clear shift in brand positioning toward sustainability-led energy technology and enterprise-level storytelling. At Schneider Electric, Leong advanced the brand narrative beyond traditional hardware and industrial automation, reinforcing the company’s identity as a strategic partner in energy management, digital transformation, and climate action. Her use of thought leadership, digital storytelling, and integrated enterprise marketing reflected a deep understanding of how to engage complex B2B audiences operating within regulatory, environmental, and technological constraints (Kotler et al., 2021). Even within a limited timeframe, her leadership aligned Schneider’s marketing with broader global conversations on sustainability, innovation, and systems intelligence. Following her transition to Ecolab in 2025, Leong has continued to apply this sustainability-first marketing philosophy at a global scale. At Ecolab, her role extends beyond brand communications into value-based marketing that links environmental impact, operational efficiency, and long-term business resilience. Her career trajectory illustrates a consistent strategic focus on purpose-driven branding, particularly within industrial and enterprise contexts where trust, expertise, and measurable impact are critical (Sheth & Sisodia, 2022). Taken together, Chris Leong’s work at both Schneider Electric and Ecolab positions her as a leading marketing executive in sustainability-driven industrial sectors. While her time at Schneider Electric was brief, it formed part of a broader leadership narrative that underscores her influence in shaping modern B2B marketing around innovation, responsibility, and long-term value creation.
18. Priscilla Ng — Group Chief Customer & Marketing Officer, Prudential plc (UK/International remit)
Priscilla Ng leads Prudential’s global marketing and customer experience teams from London, shaping a unified, customer-first approach across regions. In 2025, she focused on centralising marketing, enhancing personalisation, and streamlining product launches under a cohesive brand strategy. Ng’s work in transforming a global insurer’s approach to marketing and customer journeys in a conservative, highly regulated industry highlights her strategic vision, operational rigour, and long-term brand-building expertise. This positions her among the UK’s most influential marketing leaders in 2025.
19. Becky Moffat — Head of Marketing for HSBC UK
Becky Moffat is an experienced marketing leader and the Head of Marketing (Chief Marketing Officer) for HSBC UK, one of the UK’s largest banks. She leads the bank’s brand development, customer engagement, and marketing innovation. Becky joined HSBC UK in January 2021, bringing extensive experience in customer-focused marketing and digital transformation from industries including banking, media, publishing, and retail. Before HSBC, Becky held senior marketing roles at Boots, where she was Head of Digital Experience, and at Barclays, Barclaycard, and Santander, focusing on understanding customers and delivering tech-driven marketing solutions. She has been recognised in Marketing Week’s Top 100 Most Effective Marketers and Campaign’s Power 100, showing her strong impact in marketing leadership. At HSBC UK, Becky has led campaigns that combine brand storytelling with business growth, reaching new audiences and boosting digital engagement. Outside her core role, she serves as a non-executive director for a travel startup and contributes to professional councils like the IPA Effectiveness Council and Effie UK Council. Becky balances work with personal interests such as family time, horse riding, and practising karate
20. Nicola Buck — Chief Marketing Officer, Castrol (UK)
Based in London, Nicola Buck serves as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for BP and Chief Marketing Officer for Castrol. In 2025, she led Castrol’s title sponsorship of the South African Rally‑Raid Championship (SARRC), reinforcing the brand’s performance credentials and visibility in high-stakes motorsport. Buck also oversaw a multi-market push across Castrol’s EV fluids and mobility services portfolio, positioning the brand for a future shaped by electrification and sustainability. Her approach blends data-driven marketing, including CRM, automation, and precise targeting, with long-term brand building, allowing Castrol to navigate a rapidly evolving auto-mobility landscape while balancing immediate performance with sustained brand equity. Her public presence at major events highlights how she influences not only Castrol’s strategy but also broader industry thinking on mobility and energy marketing, cementing her as one of the UK’s leading marketing executives in 2025.
Conclusion
These 20 CMOs exemplify the pinnacle of marketing leadership across industries, regions, and sectors. They are doing more than running campaigns; they are designing experiences, shaping global narratives, and redefining what brands mean to people. By spotlighting their work, BBBuzz underscores its mission: to celebrate the most ambitious, innovative, and influential marketing, advertising, and brand-building stories shaping today’s business landscape
