Client Testimonials

Marketing references in executive search are unusually hard to interpret. A campaign credit on a CV often belongs to the agency, not the leader; a brand revival lives or dies on three or four decisions made eighteen months before the metrics shift. Our reference conversations focus on what the CMO actually decided when no one had clean data — pricing posture during margin compression, brand voice during a category collapse, the discipline to kill a programme the board had publicly endorsed.

Recent placements speak to that emphasis. A listed FMCG group's CMO inherited a portfolio with three premium brands and one mass-market workhorse generating 70% of revenue and 30% of profit; references describe her decision in year one to reposition the workhorse upward rather than chase a fourth premium launch — a call that took two quarters to defend before it took two years to vindicate. A D2C personal-care founder we placed as Chief Growth Officer rebuilt the marketing organisation around cohort economics rather than channel verticals; the most useful reference call on him was with the CFO he initially clashed with.

We are happy to share grounded references for any CMO, Chief Growth Officer, or Head of Brand candidate we have placed — under NDA, once we understand the sector context, the brand stage, and the specific failure modes you are trying to avoid in this hire.