90 Second Interview with Mark Roberts

Izzy Huddart, Consultant and Corporate Affairs lead at tml Partners, sat down with Mark Roberts, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing – Europe & Americas, at Standard Chartered, to get his thoughts on career development, influential leadership and marketing and communications trends producing opportunities and challenges for business leaders.

Who is your business hero and why?

Phil Knight, for building Nike into a brand that converts customers into fans. More broadly, I respect any leader who exhibits the courage and conviction to make tough business decisions that balance purpose, people and profit.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received?

“Never stop learning” and “embrace uncertainty”.

What has had the most influential impact on your leadership skills and why?

Family and sport. Both have taught me the value of support and determination alongside a healthy sense of humour.

What future trends do you think marketing and communications will see in your sector over the next five years?

The adoption of digital assets will continue to feed fintech innovation. The challenge will be to explain these products in order to drive customer adoption whilst reacting to evolving regulation. The AI driven content wave will also start in earnest, which, whilst exciting, will place more demands on account and relationship management practices. Those that get these basics right will rise to the top.

What has fundamentally changed about your industry since you started working in it?

The impact of new technology and digitisation has been the core theme of the last two decades, causing financial services businesses to adapt. ESG has evolved and is now entering its troublesome teenager phase as it grapples to establish its true identity. Dress codes have softened and no-one uses a BlackBerry or a Nokia anymore.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges for marketing & communications leaders?

Continuing to balance science and art to deliver compelling output that has a positive business impact and boardroom value.

If you could go back 10 years, what career advice would you give yourself?

Not really career advice as such but I would certainly tell a younger me to take the maximum parental leave available.

Who are tml Partners?

tml Partners are Marketing and Corporate Affairs recruitment specialists with access to a global network of leaders.

Our Corporate Affairs team work across senior communications roles on a permanent or interim basis.

To learn how tml Partners can help you, get in touch with Izzy Huddart: