Microsoft hunts new CMO as IBM's top marketer exits
“We are in the process of recruiting a new CMO, which will be the subject of a future announcement," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
One of Australia’s largest advertisers, Microsoft, is looking for a new Chief Marketing Officer. Applications have closed for the role, which is advertised with three goals in mind: supporting Microsoft’s business growth, building its reputation, and growing advocacy at scale.
What you need to know:
- Microsoft ANZ is on the hunt for a new CMO and is expected to announce a new hire within weeks.
- Former CMO Pip Arthur, who was in the role for more than five years, was named the company’s Modern Work Business Group Leader in September.
- The search comes as IBM’s chief marketer, Jodie Sangster, announces she’s leaving the company at the end of the week. She says she's not up for the role at Microsoft, instead taking time off to travel.
One of Australia’s biggest advertisers, Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, is poised to name a new Chief Marketing Officer, after Pip Arthur was appointed as a role leading the company’s modern work business group.
Arthur had been CMO for five years, since July 2016, and changed position in September this year.
“I can confirm that Pip Arthur has recently moved into a new product management leadership role at Microsoft, leading our Modern Workplace business group in Australia and New Zealand,” a spokesperson for Microsoft said.
“We are in the process of recruiting a new CMO, which will be the subject of a future announcement.”
Microsoft is believed to spend more than $40 million a year in Australia, and owns the Xbox, Surface and Windows brands. Carat Sydney holds the company’s media account locally. Globally, Microsoft has spent US$1.6 billion in 2020, 2019 and 2018, according to its annual report.
The tech company says its CMO must have eight "key attributes", including business acumen, multinational corporate experience, and tech expertise. They must be a creative thinker with a learner mindset; a marketing thought leader, a storyteller, and a culture builder.
Earlier this week, the CMO of another multinational tech company, IBM’s Jodie Sangster, announced she was leaving the company at the end of the week. She started in early 2020, when she moved across from CMO of IBM Singapore. She wrote on LinkedIn that she'll be taking a two-year break to travel around Australia, and confirmed to Mi3 she was not taking the role at Microsoft. "Might be a bit tricky to do from the outback," she said.
Sangster will be replaced by Priscilla Kim, who will be promoted from Head of Performance Marketing to IBM Australia Marketing Leader.
