90 Second Interview with Steve Axe
Emma Calder, Manager of the FMCG recruitment practice at tml Partners, sat down with Steve Axe, former CMO of Nomad Foods, to get his thoughts on career development, opportunities and challenges for marketing leaders, and influential leadership.
Who is your business hero and why?
Reed Hastings – co-founder and CEO of Netflix. He revolutionised the entertainment industry by introducing a subscription model for streaming video content and developed an ongoing culture of disruptive innovation. Anybody remember Blockbuster?
What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received?
“Love what you do and do what you love” – Steve Jobs originally, but I’ve always used it to guide me, and now my kids’ career choices too.
What has had the most influential impact on your leadership career and why?
Making mistakes, even big ones, and learning from them.
What future trends do you think marketing and communications will see in your sector over the next five years?
Ever-increasing personalisation and customer experience driven by the explosion of AI and machine learning.
What has fundamentally changed about your industry since you started working in it?
The media communication landscape – 30 years ago when I started we were trained to make great 30sec TV ads. That was ‘the campaign’. It’s now transformed into multi-media multi-touchpoint consumer experiences.
What do you consider to be the biggest challenges for marketing & comms leaders?
Attracting and retaining great talent. Winning is always about the people around you.
If you could go back 10 years, what career advice would you give yourself?
Take time to proactively reflect on your next career chapter – don’t jump at the next opportunity that presents itself.
Who are tml Partners?
tml Partners are specialist marketing headhunters with access to a global network of marketing leaders.
Whether you’re seeking interim or permanent solutions, our team have the expertise to support across various sectors and locations.
To learn how tml Partners can help you, get in touch with Emma Calder:
