CIM UK announces new chair; looks ahead to its second century

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has announced the election of its new chair and trustees as the Institute enters into its 101st year in representing the marketing profession.

Andrew Harvey, a chartered marketer and business development and communications director at law firm Dickinson Dees, has been elected chair having joined the Institute’s board in 2007.

He succeeds Chris Lenton who remains as a trustee. Claire Dunning and Matthew Neilson were elected vice-chairs in 2011 and will support Andrew in his new role. Following the 2011 elections they will be joined on the board by Christopher Masters, Nick Porter, Chris Parker and the first African to sit on the board, Chris Diaz.

On his appointment as chair, Harvey said: “2012 promises to be an exciting year for The Chartered Institute of Marketing as we focus on how we can best support the marketing community in our second century. It is a great honour to be elected as chair of the Institute’s board and to be given the opportunity to lead the Institute as we enter a challenging yet optimistic period.”

Reporting on The Institute’s financial performance at its recent AGM, outgoing chair, Chris Lenton, reported that the organisation achieved a financial surplus in 2011 and surpassed its budget.

The Institute’s reputation for research and insight continued to build in 2011, as it launched reports on industry issues from marketing to children to sales and marketing fusion and ambush marketing around the London 2012 Olympics.

In a commitment to its professional body remit, new qualifications and training courses, with a focus on digital development, were introduced in 2011. There was growth in members enrolled on the Continuing Professional Development programme and CIM’s learning and development division experienced an uplift in short course and online training as organisations began to restore training budgets post-recession.

Looking forward to 2012, Andrew Harvey said: “Organisations are starting to invest in their people again to help them to respond to the changing nature of business. We expect to see more organisations opting for short training courses to equip teams with new skills, with a particular increase in digital course attendance.”

“In 2012, professionals and organisations alike need to be considering not only how to survive in the current market, but to adapt and thrive within it. The Institute has been inspiring marketers to reach their full potential for the last 100 years and as we look towards its second century, it remains firmly committed to this goal,” he added.

Vice-chair and founder and managing director of Dunning - Creating Sparks, Claire Dunning said: “2011 saw a shift from an increase in digital marketing specialists to marketers seeking out digital training to complement a broad skill base.

This could be a reflection of how digital has made its transition into the marketing sphere as a core, rather than niche, channel for organisations.”

“As an avid supporter of learning and development, I hope to support the Institute grow from strength to strength in its ambition to encourage all marketers – from students to senior professionals – to embrace the digital future and to gain the skills needed to deliver inspiring campaigns in the market,” Dunning added.

Vice-chair Matthew Neilson, global sustainability manager for Unilever said: “With the rapid development of new economies there is a growing need for increased professionalism in marketing throughout the world.  This represents a huge opportunity for an organisation that already has members in over 130 countries and is at the forefront of marketing professionalism.

This new century creates an opportunity to better understand CIM’s global role, especially when marketers themselves are increasingly required to take a global view.”