About Us / Leadership Details
Donovan Neale-May, President
Donovan Neale-May is a prominent international marketing and brand strategist, best known as the founder and executive director of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council. Established in 2001, the CMO Council is a global affinity network that connects over 16,000 senior marketing executives across 120 countries, managing a combined annual marketing spend approaching $1 trillion.
Current Roles & Initiatives
- CMO Council: He drives global thought leadership, cross-functional C-suite alignment, and research on digital transformation and AI integration in marketing.
- Growth Officer (GO) Council: He leads this affinity group focused on chief growth, revenue, and commercial leaders, pioneering initiatives like "Growth Engineering".
- Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network: He serves as executive director for this global network of executive change agents.
- GlobalFluency, Inc.: He acts as president of this corporate thought leadership and international marketing firm.
- The SABLE Accelerator: He is a founding managing partner of this dedicated mentorship and commercialization network for South African innovators.
Background & Career Highlights
- Early Career: A South African native, he previously held senior positions at major public relations and advertising agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather, operating across Silicon Valley, New York, London, and Los Angeles.
- Corporate Governance: He serves on the Board of Directors for Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) and is a member of the Board of Governors at Rhodes University in South Africa.
- Accolades: Recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential BtoB Marketers in North America by BtoB Magazine.
news featuring donovan
Founder of the Leading Peer-Powered Network for Global CMOs.
Oct 1, 2026 - EliteX
YOUNGEST SOUTH AFRICAN WOMAN TO ATTEMPT ENGLISH CHANNEL CROSSING IN NATIONAL WOMEN’S MONTH
Aug 3, 2026 - Rhodes University Trust
CMOs look to AI to improve and save on content creation
May 21, 2024 - AdNews
Visa and SKUx Team to Promote Digital Consumer Payments
May 16, 2024 - Pyments
Marketing in 2021: Navigating Through Change
Aug 17, 2021 - The CX Pod
CMO report says CMOs are at risk of being left behind in digital marketing
Jul 14, 2021 - Media Update
How Disruptive CMOs Invest Their Marketing Budgets in 2021 and Beyond
Jul 6, 2021 - Beautiful.ai
DEFINE THE NEED BEFORE YOU BLEED: Marketing Rigor can Reduce Start-Up Failure
Jul 5, 2021 - Donovan Neale-May
Marketing Under the C-Suite Microscope
Jun 18, 2021 - Donovan Neale-May
New Report Finds CMOs at Risk of Missing Revenue Targets
May 11, 2021 - Wise Marketer
Why CMOs Need to Apply More Diligence to Cybersecurity Resilience.
Apr 29, 2021 - Donovan Neale-May
THE RISE OF THE CUSTOMER-INTUITIVE ENTERPRISE
Sep 28, 2020 - Donovan Neale-May
MARKETERS STRUGGLE TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS DURING CHAOS
Mar 24, 2020 - Donovan Neale-May
The most challenged brands in 2019 and issues impacting brand perception [infographic]
Jan 8, 2020 - BizCommunity
Marketing Could Be Your Demand Chain's Weakest Link
Jan 8, 2020 - Industry Week
Trust and privacy in 2020 - how should brands approach CCPA, and privacy-assured marketing?
Jan 8, 2020 - Diginomica
Mapping the Multi-Cloud Enterprise
Jan 8, 2020 - IT Pro Today
Belief in multi-cloud usage lacking, says study
Jan 8, 2020 - InformationAge
Customers require privacy-first culture from brands
Jan 8, 2020 - MediaUpdate
CMO Council Report: Without Privacy-First Data Strategy, Brands Risk Losing Customer Trust
Jan 8, 2020 - MediaPost
CMO Council Report: Without Privacy-First Data Strategy, Brands Risk Losing Customer Trust
Dec 10, 2019 - MediaPost
New Growth Guidance Center Launches With Strategic Brief On How To Innovate And Scale Performance
Nov 15, 2019 - VB Profiles
CMO Council Launches Insight Subscription Service
Nov 9, 2019 - Research Live
CMO Council Appoints New Head of Content
Oct 31, 2019 - Martech Cube
CMO Council launches its 'Growth Engineering' campaign
Oct 25, 2019 - MediaUpdate
New CMOC campaign helps businesses innovate and scale performance
Oct 24, 2019 - Bulldog Reporter
New CMOC campaign helps businesses innovate and scale performance
Oct 24, 2019 - Bulldog Reporter
New Growth Guidance Center Launches With Strategic Brief On How To Innovate And Scale Performance
Oct 15, 2019 - TMC News
New Growth Guidance Center Launches With Strategic Brief On How To Innovate And Scale Performance
Oct 15, 2019 - Market Watch
New Growth Guidance Center Launches With Strategic Brief On How To Innovate And Scale Performance
Oct 15, 2019 - Business Insider
Oct 15, 2019 - Latin Business Today
New Growth Guidance Center Launches With Strategic Brief On How To Innovate And Scale Performance
Oct 15, 2019 - Benzinga
Oct 15, 2019 - Yahoo Finance
New Growth Guidance Center Launches With Strategic Brief On How To Innovate And Scale Performance
Oct 15, 2019 - Street Insider
New Growth Guidance Center Launches With Strategic Brief On How To Innovate And Scale Performance
Oct 15, 2019 - Content Engine
Collaboration Between CMOs and CFOs is Crucial
Dec 17, 2018 - Raconteur
Dec 4, 2018 - HostingAdvice
How AI is driving intelligent customer service
Nov 26, 2018 - Gigabit
Donovan Neale May presentation for GIBS Business School Pretoria
Nov 7, 2013 - GIBS Business School Gordon Institute of Business Science, Pretoria
BtoB Interview with Donovan Neale-May
Jan 24, 2011 - BtoB Magazine
Global e-commerce communities are disrupting the retail marketplace
May 21, 2018 - Biz Community