Marketing Department Advisory Board
The Marketing Department’s Advisory Board (MDAB) consists of business leaders, senior executives and entrepreneurs from industry and the Marketing Department staff with key leadership responsibilities in research, learning and teaching. Its primary function is to provide independent, external, and timely advice to the Marketing Department at Leeds University Business School.
The Board meets annually, is chaired by Dr Sourindra Banerjee and reports to the Head of the Marketing Department, Professor Bulent Menguc. Our current board members include senior leaders from public and private sector organisations that actively contribute to meetings to ensure the department remains relevant with developments in the marketing profession and reflective of industry needs.
Some of our Board members are University of Leeds alumni and graduates from our programmes. The Board reviews our taught programme portfolio to ensure we’re upholding our standards and strategic objectives, ensure that appropriate skills and competencies are present in our programmes, and help us deliver an exceptional impact on business and society globally through our leadership in research and teaching. The Board also plays a key role in helping the department develop and enhance links with businesses and organisations.
A summary of the board meetings from 2020 and 2022 are presented below.
Marketing Department Advisory Board Meeting 2023
Marketing Department Advisory Board (MDAB) at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, organised its annual meeting on 9th March 2023. This was an in-person meeting after online MDAB meetings of 2020 and 2022. The meeting was attended by external MDAB members, who are business leaders, senior executives and entrepreneurs from industry; and internal MDAB members, who are Marketing Department staff. The meeting was attended by the following external MDAB members:
- Edward Ryder – Director Biskit Ltd.
- Kim Moraes – Senior Global Brand Manager at Evian Danone Waters
- Gillian Ball – Managing Partner at Mediaworks
- Andrew Gibson – Executive Coach and Management Consultant
- Grant Mercer – Managing Director at InShare Smart Risk
- Gareth Turner – Head of Brand at Weetabix
Following a presentation on the Marketing Department, our four Masters Programmes and the wider Leeds University Business School a discussion was held on the needs of businesses and how our students can be supported in their education at Leeds so they can meet those needs upon graduation. The meeting touched upon important topics such as:
1. The impact of artificial intelligence in teaching and research
2. How to improve the employability of students in our Marketing Programmes
3. How companies are dealing with the cost of living crisis
4. What are the skills and training needs of contemporary marketers
We hope to continue our engagement with external MDAB members throughout the academic year of 2023 and 2024.
Marketing Department Advisory Board Meeting 2022
The Marketing Department's Advisory Board (MDAB) held its annual meeting on 18th January 2022. Unfortunately due to the ongoing issue of the Coronavirus Pandemic this was once again held remotely via Zoom. Whilst the circumstances were not what we had hoped as this has historically been a face to face meeting, we were still able to have a productive and interesting discussion.
The board members during this meeting were:
- Gillian Ball – Managing Partner at Mediaworks
- Andrew Gibson – Executive Coach and Management Consultant
- Ellie McFatridge – Marketing and Communications Manager at NHS Property
- Alison Puente – Director Project Rome
- Grant Mercer – Managing Director at InShare Smart Risk
- Gareth Turner – Head of Brand at Weetabix
- Edward Ryder – Director Biskit Ltd.
- Mursal Hedayat MBE – CEO of Chatterbox.io
- Kim Moraes – Senior Global Brand Manager at Evian Danone Waters
- Laura Pitharas – Founder and Creative Director at Laura Pitharas
Following a presentation on the Marketing Department, our four Masters Programmes and the wider Leeds University Business School a discussion was held on the needs of businesses and how our students can be supported in their education at Leeds so they can meet those needs upon graduation. Key topics included Sustainability, Digital knowledge and Skills, Social and Ethical Values, Accessibility, Localisation and Entrepreneurship. We will be taking on board the valuable advice from our external board members and using this when looking at our curriculum and what we offer our students. We are feeling hopeful that the next MDAB meeting will be held in person in 2023.
Marketing Department Advisory Board Meeting 2020
The Marketing Department's Advisory Board (MDAB) held its annual meeting on 22nd September 2020. Unfortunately due to the ongoing issue of the Coronavirus Pandemic this meeting was postponed from March, and held via Zoom.
The board members during this meeting were:
- Gillian Ball – Managing Partner at Mediaworks
- Andrew Gibson – Executive Coach and Management Consultant
- Ellie McFatridge – Marketing and Communications Manager at NHS Property
- Alison Puente – Director Project Rome
- Grant Mercer – Managing Director at InShare Smart Risk
- Gareth Turner – Head of Brand at Weetabix
- Edward Ryder – Director Biskit Ltd.
The board were presented information on the Leeds University Business School, the Marketing Department in addition to a comprehensive breif on our four Masters Programmes. A stimulating discussion took place surrounding the needs of businesses and what provision our students might need to support their education at Leeds in order to meet those requirements upon graduation. Key topics include increase focus on employability, utilising our Alumni and the postive/negatives of lockdown. This feedback is invaluable and we will work tirelessly over the next 12 months to incorporate the suggestions from our external board members to ensure we offer the most relevant and competitive curriculum to our students. We will continue to review the COVID situation for our next meeting.