Marketing leadership is shifting in ways that don’t announce themselves.

There’s no spike in press releases. No sudden wave of RFPs. No obvious “in market” signal.

Instead, change is happening structurally – through senior marketers stepping into roles with mandate, budget, and influence, and quietly reassessing how their organisations perform, position themselves, and partner.

The first nine working days of 2026 have already seen 3,000+ senior marketing appointments across global brands, UK businesses, and regional leadership teams. For new business teams in agencies, marketing technology firms, and sponsorship organisations, these moves matter not because change might follow, but because it almost always does.

1. Major global brands resetting marketing leadership

Recent appointments include:

• Citroën - Aline Germain, Global Marketing Director
• Intel - Annie Shea Weckesser, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
• Zscaler - Sunil Frida, Chief Marketing Officer
• Infor - Alyssa Volland, Vice President of Marketing
• UiPath - Karen Knaves, Vice President of AMER Marketing
• Manulife - Michelle Lei Fang, Chief Marketing Officer

2. UK brands making decisive senior marketing hires

January appointments include:

• Omaze - Adam Bishop, Global Chief Marketing Officer
• CitySprint - Jenny Meakin, Marketing Director
• N-iX - Mayur Pitamber, Chief Marketing Officer
• Virgin Active - Ralph Harris-Brown, Marketing Director
• ESG - Jo Knight, Chief Marketing Officer

3. Global marketing specialists shaping direction across markets

Alongside in-market leadership, many organisations are reinforcing global marketing roles responsible for coherence, consistency, and long-term brand value.

Recent appointments include:

• Pernod Ricard - Sebastien Borda, Global Marketing Vice President, Prestige Brands
• EQT Group - Maxwell Scott, Director, Global Head of Marketing Strategy
• Salute - Nicholas Beale, Vice President, Global Marketing
• BoConcept - Hendrik Zimmer, Global Brand and Marketing Director
• Jumeirah - Joao M. Rocco, Vice President, Global Brand Strategy

4. Regional and specialist leaders driving execution

Much of the most consequential change happens below the CMO line, with leaders responsible for regions, performance, communications, data, and media.

Regional leadership

• Gong - Tessa Francine Khoo, Marketing Director, APAC
• Renault Group - Anne-Flore Guillou, Marketing Director, Renault Group Nederland
• Mars (Kellogg’s Cereal portfolio) - Lorenzo Rocco, Marketing Director Europe, Portfolio Strategy and Performance
• SharkNinja - Rob Thomas, Vice President of Marketing, Northern Europe
• Employment Hero - Maisie Goss, Vice President, UK Marketing

Specialist and functional leadership

• Peloton Interactive - Alison Rappaport, Vice President, Internal and Corporate Communications
• Wilmington plc - Ruth Williams, Director of Brand, Content and Creative
• Marwell Wildlife - Sarah Berry, Director of Marketing and Sales
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise - Penny Still, Director, Global PR: Thought Leadership
• EVE LOM - Lesley Crowther, Global Brand President

Other major brands making moves in 2026 include BAE Systems, Deckers Brands, McCain Foods, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Amazon, Snap Inc., MGM Resorts International, BUPA, Etihad, Abbott, DocuSign, Citizens, Blackstone, Novartis, Walt Disney, The Open University, The Access Group, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Capital One, MongoDB, Springer Nature, Severn Trent, Kier Group, eBay, Sky Media, Deloitte, Mars, Adecco, Visa, Danone, OpenAI, GXO Logistics, Kraft Heinz, Planet Fitness, Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services, Novo Nordisk, and Henkel.

AI changing the game for new business and sponsorship teams in 2026

AI started as a scale tool. In 2026, it’s becoming a precision one.

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That changes the new business equation.

If you want to see how it works in practice, request a demo.

The most effective teams in 2026 won’t be louder. They’ll be better informed.