It’s been five years since CMO took the wrappers off our inaugural CMO50 of Australia’s most innovative and effective marketing leaders. And during that time we’ve seen a transformation of the modern marketing function and leadership remit.

Is it my job, or isn’t it? I suspect this is a question every chief marketing officer asks on a daily basis. And in reading this year’s CMO50 profiles, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a question lacking a straight answer.

​More than 100 of Australia's most innovative and effective marketing leaders celebrated the achievements of their CMO peers at the CMO50 2019 dinner in Sydney on 17 October. Here are first pics - including the top 10 for 2019.

Marketing chiefs from digital-first companies, FMCG, media, retail and ecommerce have dominated the fifth annual CMO50 list for 2019.

Alexander Meyer is a CMO imprinted with the notion of finding balance. The idea of balancing two, sometimes contradictory, sides is deeply ingrained and is at the heart of his approach to being a CMO.

For Krispy Kreme CMO, Russell Schulman, getting his CEO onside is about showcasing how marketing activities can have a wide-ranging effect, not just on customers in a particular moment, but right across the business and departments.

Want to get your CEO onside? Then align marketing objectives with broader business objectives, experienced VMware VP and CMO for Asia-Pacific and Japan, Pamela Cass, says.

ME Bank’s chief experience officer, Ingrid Purcell, describes the big shift in marketing as one where brands have become “glass boxes”.

Maintaining an unwavering resilience when things are not going quite to plan is a mantra of Kate Massey’s. The CMO of JCurve, an Australian technology services firm, has spent 10 years helping the B2B business transform from on-premise and cloud solutions provider to cloud-based solutions player with specialisation in ERP. Along the way, acquisitions, changes in strategic direction and new customer needs have been navigated, with marketing adapting and changing its role accordingly.

A passion for customer insights and behaviour drives Amanda Johnston-Pell and it’s only been amplified in the role of CMO. When she started as a marketer, Johnston-Pell says, AI and machine learning-based marketing tools just didn’t exist. “Today they are at the centre of deep customer personalisation and that’s exciting.”

Despite the new and evolving tools and tactics, marketing fundamentals remain the same, Auto & General’s CMO, Jonathan Kerr, believes. Which is why he disagrees with the view marketers are trying to be all things to everyone.

Being intimately aware of your competitive strength is more important than ever for today’s CMO, Steve Brennen believes.

Coming off the back of a brand disaster in 2017, Campbell Arnott’s has not only recovered, but grown over the last 18 months, achieving stunning success driven largely through new product development born of partnerships.

SATC’s Brent Hill is a firm believer taking risk creates creativity. “If you’re prepared to take a risk and do something a bit different, you’ll be creative but you’ll also get results,” the CMO says. “So find good people willing to take calculated risks.”

Vanessa Lyons is the first to agree any marketing looking to orchestrate significant change in an organisation may find the business moving slower than they want it to. But it’s vital to suit the pace of such change to the speed your business can handle.

"​Don’t be fooled by the title – my role encompasses all (and more) of what a CMO aims to achieve. It gives me a seat at the table of Tasmania’s premier member organisation, overseeing one of the largest membership databases in the state and delivering Tasmania’s number one brand to the wider community."

Over the past 12 months, Freedom Foods’ prime focus has been shifting from niche FMCG player into more scalable territories. Spearheading this charge is chief commercial officer, Matt Vince, who has strived to combine brand building ambitions with solid return on investment.

Telling creative stories and positioning the customer in these stories is far more valuable than simply showing what we sell, believes Tom Willis. And it’s this challenge which keeps the Lawpath CMO constantly imagining new ways to reach the target audience with messages and situations they can empathise with.

It was when Catherine Anderson was promoted from CMO to Powershop’s chief customer officer in mid-2018 she felt her mindset shift from marketing to all-of-business.

A big learning for Seafolly’s Adriane McDermott during her career as a marketer has been the way in which she needs to work with CEOs to build commerciality and rapport.

​During FY19, The Star’s marketing team embarked on an ambitious plan to create a zero-based marketing budget.