CMO Council launches LatAM Advisory Board.

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council – a global group of 5,000 senior executives controlling more than $125 billion in annual marketing spend – is expanding its reach and presence in Latin America with a new advisory board and assessment of marketing credibility and effectiveness in the region. The regional group will draw senior marketer representation from some 27 predominantly Spanish, French and Portuguese-speaking countries with a total population of over 569 million.

The first meeting of the Latin American Advisory Board was hosted by the Sales & Marketing Executives Association of Puerto Rico at their annual conference held at the Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort from October 29 to November 1, 2009. CMO Council Advisory Board members include senior marketing decision makers from AlphaGraphics, HP, Philips, Sao Paulo Tourism, Sodexho, Coty, 1First Bank, South American Restaurants Corp., UBS Financial Services, UNO Radio Group, T-Mobile, Goodyear, Sullair Argentina, Nexxo Financial, and Deloitte.

“It’s important that Latin America has a more influential and prominent voice in global marketing circles as our regional economies pick up and global sporting events, such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, focus international media attention on our major tourism, commerce and cultural centers,” noted Milton Longobardi, director of marketing and sales at Brazil’s Sao Paulo Tourism, which attracts more than 11 million visitors annually. “The CMO Council will provide us all with a forum to exchange views, share global best practices, and network with senior marketing executives worldwide,” added Longobardi, who has held corporate marketing positions at Nextel, Citibank, Gillette, Bosch and AIG.

Commenting on a new partnership between the CMO Council and The Association of Sales and Marketing Executives of Puerto Rico, SME president Olga E. Rivera Velazco pointed to high levels of marketing innovation and creativity in experiential grassroots engagement and merchandising in Latin American countries.

“There is a strong desire for professional development among marketers and we also have a high incidence of post-graduate education and international experience among regional executives,” said Velazco. “Latins love shopping and retail stores in Puerto Rico generate very high levels of sales compared to their retail chain counterparts in North America,” she noted. “In Puerto Rico, there is also very dense concentration of print and broadcast media, and broad adoption of mobile communications and increasing broadband connectivity. This makes it an ideal test market for new Latin American products and services,” Velazco added.

As in other regions, the CMO Council Latin America will seek to:

* Address key issues facing marketers in the region; leverage the knowledge and expertise of veteran marketers to advance insights and competencies.
* Work with universities on creating programs that will improve the quality of marketing/business graduates.
* Improve thought leadership in the region through the encouragement of the marketing professionals to produce related studies.
* Reach out to business schools and enroll as many marketing professors as possible in the CMO Council Academic Liaison Board.
* Create opportunities for board members to speak and represent the CMO Council on university and college campuses, as well as at professional conferences and summits.

CMO Council advisory board member, Eva M. Frontera, a faculty advisor and lecturer at the University of Phoenix, Puerto Rico campus, as well as a corporate marketer with extensive experience in the insurance, banking and health care sectors, has been an active advocate and leader in the formation of the CMO Council’s Latin America advisory board. “We have much to contribute and much to learn,” said Frontera, who was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 Young Professionals in Puerto Rico by the Caribbean Business newspaper. “The CMO Council has become a well-respected knowledge transfer agent and a strong advocate of redefining global marketing practices relative to creating greater business value and performance.”

The CMO Council will be conducting a benchmark Rate the State of Marketing in Latin America audit to gain insights and views from senior managers at regional companies. It has already conducted similar surveys in Africa and the Middle East.

For more information at http://www.cmocouncil.org>