January 29, 2001

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Chief Marketing Officers Maintain Close Ties To IT

By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee and Eric Chabrow

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One of the newest executive "C" titles is chief marketing officer, a position that's evolved over the last few years as businesses gain new channels for developing customer relationships. The Web has helped propel the CMO because it's created new ways to interact with and learn about customers, says Nina Smith, CMO at business-intelligence services provider WebTrends Corp. Smith expects the title to become as common as CIO.

But a CMO's involvement with IT differs from one business to the next. At Amerigroup Inc., a Virginia Beach, Va., insurance-management company, CMO Herman Wright focuses on brand management and agency relationships, not technology, although he oversees content on the company's Web site. In other companies, the chief marketing officer is more involved with product development, innovation, and assurance, and usually works hand-in-hand with the CIO.

Michael Cummins, corporate VP and CMO at Equifax Inc., the $1.8 billion credit-reporting agency in Atlanta, works closely with his company's IT chief on product innovation. Cummins has an eclectic background that gives him the skills to tackle both business and technology projects. He holds a Ph.D. in economics, worked as a strategic planner for a global satellite company, and headed a technology research and development incubator program at Georgia Tech.

Cummins is concerned with market research and customer demographics, but he also must develop technology to manage transactions, process payments, provide security, and furnish an easy-to-use customer interface. "Being CMO at Equifax isn't like going to work at Coke or Procter & Gamble," Cummins says. "Our factory is the technology group."

At business and technology consulting firm Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc., senior VP Charles Lucier is the firm's CMO and chief knowledge officer. Lucier works with CIO George Tillmann to implement strategic IT initiatives. Lucier handles the broad picture; Tillmann tackles the nuts and bolts. "I need his expertise on the technologies, on the risks," Lucier says. "I'm not a technologist. I'm a strategist. I know what I don't know."

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Photo by John Bentham

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