CMO — Global Agriculture practice (based Australia)

Position overview

Gladwin International Leadership Advisors is representing a confidential organisation in Agriculture & AgriTech on a senior CMO leadership mandate anchored in Australia. The remit explicitly spans China, Malaysia, Canada.

This is a country CEO / MD-class mandate with board- and headquarters-facing accountability for strategy execution, regulatory relationships, and brand in-market.

The role suits an operator who treats integration, culture, and capital allocation as one system — not three separate programmes.

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Context you will inherit

• Market & sector: Rural market leadership — building leaders who can operate effectively in India's 600,000 villages, managing complex agronomic, logistical, and social dynamics
• Geographic spine: Primary hub Australia with explicit corridor responsibility across China, Malaysia, Canada.
• Organisation stage: Portfolio under review: non-core assets, JVs, and country footprints are actively questioned each planning cycle.
• Stakeholders: Stakeholders span board or regional executive committee, global functional heads, JV partners, and strategic account buyers.
• Secondary lens: Supply chain from farm to fork — building leaders who can manage the perishable supply chains that connect farmers to modern retail, food processors, and export markets

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The mandate (12–24 month arc)

1. Category narrative: Reframe how the firm is discussed in the market — move from vendor to partner / platform where credible.
2. Account-based motion: Align marketing and key account teams on bespoke programmes for strategic buyers.
3. Lifecycle marketing: Reduce leakage post-pilot or post-sale — onboarding, adoption, and expansion storytelling.
4. Creative & brand governance: One source of truth for visual and verbal identity; cut off-brand exceptions.
5. Events & field: Rebalance physical and digital presence for ROI, not habit.
6. Privacy-first personalisation: Improve relevance within consent and regulatory constraints.

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Responsibilities (representative)

• Own brand architecture, positioning, and major campaign investment decisions.
• Align marketing and sales on pipeline definitions, targets, and hand-offs.
• Sponsor customer research and segmentation used in S&OP and strategy conversations.
• Rationalise MarTech spend; enforce governance on data and consent.
• Lead executive communications and high-stakes external messaging as needed.

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Leadership profile

• Communication: Executive presence in English; additional languages valued where market-relevant.
• Judgment: High signal-to-noise under pressure; ethical clarity; willingness to halt initiatives that break risk appetite.
• Growth leadership: Demonstrated impact on pipeline, win rate, or brand strength in Agriculture & AgriTech.
• Education: Strong undergraduate grounding; MBA / advanced degree / professional qualification common at this level.
• Geographic muscle: Comfort operating from Australia with regular engagement across China, Malaysia.

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Team & culture

You inherit a mixed-tenure team — pockets of excellence beside roles that need upgrade. The mandate is to raise the bar without demoralising the organisation: clear standards, fair process, and visible wins that prove the new pace is achievable.

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Success measures (examples)

• Financial: Revenue and margin vs. plan; cash conversion; capital efficiency.
• Strategic: Share in priority segments; customer retention in anchor accounts; milestone delivery on transformation.
• People: Engagement trends; regrettable attrition in critical roles; diversity of succession slate.
• Risk: Audit and regulatory outcomes; conduct events; operational resilience metrics.

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First 90 days (orientation arc)

• Days 1–30: Shadow key customer journeys or operations — paper over slides where reality diverges.
• Days 30–60: Cut or pause low-value projects freeing capacity for strategic work.
• Days 60–90: Publish first integrated forecast or plan under your ownership — even if directional.
• Build trust with risk, legal, and audit through transparency — surprises erode licence to move fast.
• Pick one cultural signal (e.g. meeting hygiene, promotion criteria) and model it relentlessly.

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Stakeholder map (illustrative)

• Internal: Matrix of global product houses and local P&L; tension is normal — your role is to broker trade-offs with data.
• External: Customers who influence reference deals; government or industry bodies in regulated sectors.
• Capital providers: Banks, sponsors, or minority investors — each needs a slightly different narrative on risk.

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Travel & mobility

Role requires face-to-face presence in the primary hub with regular regional travel; remote-only not viable.

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Compensation

Competitive CMO compensation for Agriculture & AgriTech leadership: cash, incentive, benefits, and potential equity or carry (case-dependent). Discussed with finalists only.

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Application process

Gladwin International is managing this search confidentially. Shortlisted candidates will engage in structured conversations with the firm’s partners before client introduction. Please apply through the careers portal with a concise note on why this geography, sector, and remit fit your trajectory.

We review every submission personally; unsolicited outreach to the end client is discouraged and may disqualify candidacy.

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Reference: agriculture-agritech · CMO · Australia · Gladwin International Leadership Advisors