It might be surprising, but only 2.6% of board members have marketing experience, according to the Marketing Science Institute.

Why might that be the case?

According to Cheryl Hayman, non-executive director, it is because the marketing function is often misunderstood.

“I think everybody always thought that was a skill that was in the organisation and didn't need to be around the board table,” Cheryl says. “What we do isn't black and white, and that's what makes it hard for people to understand.”

Cheryl is on the board of a number of companies and organisations, including HGL Limited, Peer Support Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand. With a background in marketing, Cheryl is an outlier on a lot of boards, and is passionate about promoting the value marketers bring to the table.

“I think we're often put in a box and described as being from the ‘colouring-in’ department. We are so much more than that, we are the entire toolbox and you need a huge amount of really diverse skills to take a product or service to market,” Cheryl says.

The things that equip marketers as great marketers also makes them great members of boards - being insight driven, growth oriented and being accountable for return on investment. Cheryl says, “We have to know a little bit about a lot in order to actually ask the right questions and get the very best from the people we want to help us bring the best success to the organisation.”

“I think that's been somewhat undervalued, and as marketers, we need to up our view on the value of those things,” she says.

Cheryl explains one of the best things about being on a board is the diversity of representation. “You sit around a board table and everybody's different by and large. What I love about it actually is you meet really different and interesting people that you may never have come across in your normal functional role in a corporate sector,” she says.

What advice does Cheryl have for marketers keen to join the board at the table? “You have to be open to be curious, to be unafraid, to ask questions and to recognise you are often with people who have a lot more experience than you.”

To hear more from Cheryl Hayman and find out how marketers can use the power of self-promotion, tune into this episode of The CMO Show.

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Cheryl Hayman on what marketers can bring to the boardroom

The CMO Show

Cheryl Hayman on what marketers can bring to the boardroom