New for 2026: The Marketing Alumni Special Interest Group

A new Alumni Special Interest Group is here, and it's making the case for marketing as the strategic powerhouse it truly is. Nupur Gadkari, Lead Ambassador for the new network, tells us more:

“Nobody Cares About Marketing" (Tell That to the Brand Worth $1 Trillion.)

In 1997, Apple was 90 days from bankruptcy. Same engineers. Same products. What changed? A marketer walked back through the door. Steve Jobs launched "Think Different," and the rest is history; the world's first $3 trillion company, built on the back of a story, not a spec sheet. Fast forward to today: a CEO somewhere just said, "We don't need a bigger marketing budget." A board just removed the CMO seat entirely. At the same time, somewhere a marketer ALSO just generated a 3,600% return on a single email campaign that nobody in leadership will ever see. And yet people ask: "So what does marketing actually do?"
We're here to answer that. And more importantly to change that. But first - some fun facts.

Did You Know?

According to the Duke/Fuqua CMO Survey (Spring 2025), marketing budgets now represent 9.4% of company revenues - a significant jump from 7.7% in 2024. Marketing headcount grew by 5.4% in 2025. AI now powers 17.2% of all marketing efforts, having doubled since 2022, with projections suggesting it will drive nearly half of all marketing activity within three years. This is not a discipline standing still. This is a discipline sprinting.

And yet, and here's the part that keeps me up at night, only 30% of CMOs believe there is a clearly defined view of what constitutes marketing ROI. Between 2016 and 2018, the percentage of Fortune 500 board seats going to directors with CMO experience climbed from 4% to 10%... then dropped. Pressure from boards on marketing leaders has risen 21% since 2023. What a unique situation - Marketing is simultaneously more powerful and more misunderstood than ever. That's exactly why we're here.

Let's Bust Those Myths

You've heard them. Maybe you've even started to believe them:

"Marketing is just branding." No. Marketing is the engine that connects customer insight to business strategy. Branding is one beautiful piece of a much bigger machine.

"Marketing can't prove ROI." Really? Email marketing alone delivers an average ROI of 3,600%. Companies that blog more than 15 times a month get five times more traffic. The data exists - the people telling marketing's story with numbers, don’t.

"Sales drives revenue, not marketing." BIG sigh here. Here's a stat for your next boardroom debate: businesses with 40 or more landing pages generate 1,200% more leads than those with just one. Sales closes deals. Marketing creates the universe in which those deals become possible. And with that I’ve hopefully set the stage, because... drumroll…  

Welcome to the WBS Alumni Marketing Special Interest Group

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of the Marketing Special Interest Group (SIG) - a brand-new home within the Warwick Business School alumni network for every marketer, marketing-curious leader, and strategic thinker who believes this discipline deserves more than a seat at the table. It deserves to set the table. The Marketing SIG exists to elevate marketing from a support function to what it truly is: a strategic operating system at the heart of how businesses grow, compete, and win. Our vision is simple but ambitious - to position marketing as a core strategic force within organisations, with a strong and credible presence in the boardroom. While that all sounds super serious, we will have fun along the way (I promise!).

So What Are We Actually Going to Do?

Plenty. The WBS Marketing SIG is built on five core pillars: 

• Championing marketing as a strategic operating system
• Advocating for marketing leadership at board level
• Building a powerful WBS alumni community of marketers and marketing leaders across the UK, Europe, and our Global Alumni Network 
• Reigniting passion for the craft, and, my personal favourite - myth busting.

We're planning curated events, panel discussions with industry heavyweights, alumni networking sessions, thought leadership content, and collaborative knowledge sharing that goes beyond surface-level conversation. This is about real connection, real debate, and real impact.

The Fun Part

Here's what I want you to know above all else: this is going to be fun. Marketing is storytelling. It is creativity meets commercial thinking. It's the discipline that turned a swoosh into a global symbol and a half-eaten apple into the world's most valuable brand. It's the reason you can't get that jingle out of your head and why you clicked on this headline. As your Founding Chair, my mission (with an amazing team of ambassadors) is to help every member of this Special Interest Group fall back in love with marketing or discover that love for the first time. Whether you're a seasoned CMO, an alumnus who pivoted away from marketing and wants back in, or a current WBS student curious about where this path leads, there's a place for you here. The WBS Marketing Alumni Network is open, it's ambitious, and it's just getting started.

Come for the insights. Stay for the community. Leave every session a little more fired up than when you arrived.

Looking forward to having you all onboard! With big ideas and even bigger ambitions, strategically yours, Nupur Gadkari (Lead Ambassador - WBS Alumni Marketing Special Interest Group). Supported by Christina Smith (Ambassador); Shreya Dhamorikar (Ambassador).

Sanjiv Patel, Regional Chair for the UK and Europe Global Alumni Network said: “I’m thrilled to see the launch of this Marketing Special Interest Group, it’s a fantastic way to bring together the incredible Warwick Business School alumni community. In a world where marketing is constantly evolving, spaces like this allow us to reconnect, share perspectives, and learn from one another. I’m excited about the strength this group brings in fostering meaningful collaboration and fresh thinking. For me, this is more than a just a group, it’s a community shaping the future of marketing together.”

Professor Andy Lockett, Dean of Warwick Business School added: “Our alumni don’t just build careers, they shape industries and this alumni group is a direct expression of that: a community determined to elevate marketing and ensure it has its place at the heart of business strategy. We look forward to the upcoming launch event and to see the impact that this group will create.” 

Join the Marketing Special Interest LinkedIn group.