CGT Reveals 2015 CMO of the Year Finalists

The 2015 CMO of the Year Award is a one of-a-kind award that will be given to the Chief Marketing Officer who has made the largest demonstrable impact on his/her consumer goods organization through the implementation and successful use of new marketing strategies, technologies and/or processes. The winner will be announced at a special awards ceremony during the 2015 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Summit in June in NYC.

The nominations have been open since January 2015, submitted by members of the consumer goods community. Narrowing the nominations down to three deserving individuals, CGT has presented them to its esteemed Editorial and Research Advisory Boards for voting. Without further ado, here are this year's finalists for CMO of the Year:

• Alison Lewis, CMO, Johnson & Johnson (J&J)
  Alison Lewis set out her vision for aligning J&J's agencies and holding companies with a new global "hub and spoke" system for its global megabrands in 2014. The dozen megabrands account for the bulk of J&J's $14.7 billion in global consumer sales and $2.5 billion in reported global ad spending, though the company will retain key local and regional brands. The best example to date of J&J's new approach in practice has been Clean & Clear, which went from three campaigns to a single "See the real me" campaign from DDB globally this year. That's resulted in the brand taking the lead in U.S. skincare category growth for the first time in six years, as well as taking share in India. 

 

• Bruce F. Fleming, EVP & CMO, Church & Dwight
  When you think of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, you think of a little yellow box. With a lot of history (more than 165 years), the brand is constantly used and appreciated by new generations. Although most use baking soda as an effective, yet gentle cleaner, and alternative to using harsh chemicals, company CMO, Bruce Fleming is responsible for expanding the Arm & Hammer brand into many other categories including oral hygiene. Through the development of innovative products alongside innovative marketing, Fleming has helped to expand the portfolio of toothpaste and other oral care products that are leveraging baking soda and hydrogen peroxide (both known for teeth whitening and oxygenating qualities for oral gum health).

 

• Richard Davies, Chief Marketing and Insights Officer, Newell Rubbermaid
  Richard Davies joined Newell Rubbermaid in January 2013 to build bigger brands and innovation, and make a larger marketing impact, while extending the company’s footprint to the faster growing emerging markets in Latin America and Asia. When he took over, Davies shook up the CMO model by putting research in charge, as well as veering from tradition, trimming staff and emphasizing consumer insights. With brands such as Paper Mate pens, Graco baby products, Rubbermaid storage products, Calphalon cookware and much more, he consolidated marketing staff and agencies, giving unprecedented authority to an expanded independent research group.

For coverage of last year's award winners, click here. To learn more about attending the 2015 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Summit (including the awards ceremony), click here.