Chief Marketing Officer — Engineering Centre

The mandate

The chair and executive committee are aligned that the immediate priority is weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition within a institutionally backed multinational global-capability-centre network. The immediate arena is the engineering centre during an attrition and capability gap. For mandate 219, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Marketing Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹3,000 crore in annual global services budget, with activity spanning several engineering centre customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Marketing Officer Global Capability Centres remit carries direct influence over roughly 2,725 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Chief Marketing Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the engineering centre. The Chief Marketing Officer Global Capability Centres seat must resolve an attrition and capability gap, while preserving the underlying strengths of the engineering centre. For mandate 219, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Marketing Officer’s first year on the engineering centre is expected to end with brand preference, commercial contribution and disciplined marketing investment. In mandate 219, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Marketing Officer — Engineering Centre seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the engineering centre, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because an attrition and capability gap cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Marketing Officer value-creation thesis for the engineering centre, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹3,000 crore in annual global services budget, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Marketing Officer Global Capability Centres organisation of about 2,725 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the engineering centre economics and execution constraints created by an attrition and capability gap, with Chief Marketing Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Marketing Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the engineering centre; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Prove incremental commercial contribution using controlled evidence, not only reach, activity or brand awards in mandate 219.
• Build the Chief Marketing Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the engineering centre, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Global Capability Centres organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the engineering centre baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Marketing Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the engineering centre, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable engineering centre trend against brand preference, commercial contribution and disciplined marketing investment, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Marketing Officer’s agreed first-year engineering centre value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Marketing Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the engineering centre’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Marketing Officer mandate’s highest-priority engineering centre risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical engineering centre talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Marketing Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Marketing Officer-owned improvement in the engineering centre operating constraint behind an attrition and capability gap, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 219: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a CMO, Marketing Director or Growth Leader in a institutionally backed Global Capability Centres or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the engineering centre, your Chief Marketing Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from GCCs, shared services, enterprise technology, business services or multinational operations will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Marketing Officer brief.

As a Chief Marketing Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Global Capability Centres or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹1,750 crore and led an organisation of at least 1,900 people.

For mandate 219, the board wants two transitions: a difficult engineering centre portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during an attrition and capability gap. As the prospective Chief Marketing Officer for this engineering centre, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 219 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Marketing Officer role in Global Capability Centres is based in Gurugram; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of CMO, Marketing Director or Growth Leader, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Global Capability Centres governance forum.
• Proven Chief Marketing Officer ownership of at least ₹1,750 crore and leadership of no fewer than 1,900 employees in a comparable engineering centre context.
• One completed Global Capability Centres or adjacent-sector example of weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from GCCs, shared services, enterprise technology, business services or multinational operations; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Marketing Officer-level engineering centre consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Gurugram location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 219.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Marketing Officer package is ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed + performance variable, calibrated to the final engineering centre scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 219 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Marketing Officer appointment in Gurugram, centred on the engineering centre, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 219.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 219. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 219.