As part of our 2025 CMO Awards gala dinner, powered by Mi3, we speak with our Platinum Partner Adobe's VP and MD for ANZ, Katrina Troughton, about why marketing professionals have the opportunity to create fresh impact in businesses today.

Inspiring, innovative and impactful are Troughton’s three ‘I’ favourite words for CMOs. But what she really thinks marketers need right now is boldness.

“I remember a marketer early in my career a marketing leader saying to me, their job is to change the business and used to go, really?” she admits. “But when I had the chance to start working with some amazing marketing professionals, the ability they had to partner with you, not just be there to run a campaign, but understand the business in-depth, be a driver of change and help us imagine what’s coming and how to get there? That’s the part that makes marketing as a profession – and some of the people I’ve got to work with – difference makers.”

This is more important than ever as we finally realise personalising and creating impactful journeys for customers through AI, says Troughton.

“At the same time we’re in the biggest disruption period we’ve had – it’s massive. But I really believe from that comes opportunity. We have to move fast; we are being driven to do that. But I think it’s going to also make us all even more thoughtful about what we’re doing, what our impact is going to be, and how we really can drive customer personalisation and journeys to that level of one,” she adds.