Top 15 Influential Women in Marketing to Watch Out for in 2024!

Who runs the world? GIRLS! Who runs the world? GIRLS!?

Well, we can completely agree with Beyonce; women and girls do run the world. The cherry on top is that they run everything successfully with innovation.?

Women in marketing have turned the world upside down with their exceptional skills in every industry, including digital marketing . A study in 2023 revealed that more than two-thirds (69.5%) of marketers are females. In this ocean of successful, influential women, here are the top 15 of them you should get inspiration from and look out for in 2024!

1. Ann Handley

Ann's marketing advice has touched many through her successful book, Everybody Writes Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content and Content Rules. Ann set up ClickZ, one of the first online resources for digital marketing, at the start of her professional life.?

Ann has long been hailed as one of the top female marketers, and in 2011, Forbes ranked her among the most powerful female social media influencers. Additionally, she regularly contributes to magazines like IBM, the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, NPR, and Huffington Post.

2. Lauren Baker

Lauren helps spearhead Dove’s purpose communications and initiatives in North America. She leads the brand's work that champions an end to hair discrimination in society. Being the Senior Brand Manager of Engagement and Social Impact at Dove, she supports campaigns under the Dove Self-Esteem Project and CROWN (creating a respectful and open world for natural hair).

She has been among the significant global influential women in marketing for over a decade now. With her determination and being vocal, she has left a significantly positive impact on the global brand image of Unilever and its products.

3. Michele Linn

When CMI needed to start its blog and editorial strategy, Michele, with more than two decades of expertise as a marketing manager and consultant, was the ideal professional. She contributed to CMI's audience growth to reach over 200,000 subscribers during her tenure there.

Michele was recognized by Folio magazine as one of the "Top Women in Media" in 2015. In addition, Michele co-hosted the Marketing Breakout Podcast, a show that looked for fresh solutions to conventional marketing issues.

Michele co-founded Mantis Research in 2017, a survey-based research company that helps businesses gain useful insights from their data.

4. Maryam Banikarim

With over 25 years of expertise, Maryam Banikarim is an experienced marketer. Maryam is a prominent motivational and professional speaker who often addresses diversity, inclusion, and leadership in the corporate sector.

With her engagement with numerous non-profit organizations, she leverages her achievements to change other people's lives and careers.

She leads Nextdoor's marketing department and is on an advisory board for several businesses, including Samsung Retail. She was named one of The New York Post's "50 Most Powerful Women in NYC".?

5. Maggie Chan Jones

A hardworking 14-year-old little girl who moved from her homeland to the USA has grown into an exceptional, influential marketer. Starting her journey from Microsoft to becoming the first female CMO at SAP, leading a worldwide team of 1,300 marketers, Maggie's career has grown exponentially.?

Honored as Forbes World's 15th Most Influential CMO in 2017, Maggie is the founder and CEO of Tenshey, Inc. As a woman of color in the tech industry for several years, she runs an organization that promotes gender and minority inclusiveness.

6. Margaret Molloy

Leading in the role of the Chief Marketing Officer and Head of New Business Development for more than 9 years at Seigel+Gale, Margaret began her journey as just a marketing intern at Enterprise Ireland.?

With her dedication and focus on inclusion and equality-based initiatives for 20+ years, Margaret is among the most influential women for several business podcasts and meetings with the leading CMOs.?

She has been awarded "LinkedIn Top 15 Voices in Marketing & Advertising" in 2022 by LinkedIn . She is on the list of "The 101 top B2B Marketing Influencers of 2022" by CMO Huddles .

7. Valeisha Butterfield

With her well-regarded significant work over the past 20 years for leading Fortune 500 companies, Valeisha is a global marketing leader. She has worked with a spectrum of industries, including tech, politics and entertainment. Climbing her way up with hard work, presently Valeisha is the Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement at Google. She is also a board member of the Entertainment Leadership Council for the Anti-Defamation League, fighting against hate in different industries across the globe.?

Over the past two decades, Valeisha has received several honorary mentions from Elle Magazine, a cover feature of Billboard Magazine, Forbes Magazine, Fast Company, Ebony Power100, and many more.?

8. Cara Schwartz

The founder of Fearless Media, with experience of 25+ years, Cara is an amazing example of a powerful and leading woman in marketing. Wearing the badges of several prestigious awards and honors, she is the Executive Vice President of Tangible Media, bringing in millions of dollars for her organization. She was awarded as one of the leading Female Founders by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2019.

9. Cheryl McCants

With a hold on marketing strategies and project management for over 30 years, Cheryl is the founder and CEO of Impact Consulting Enterprises. As a project manager, diversity specialist, and strategist for digital communication, Cheryl infuses her distinctive blend of direct, no-chaser perspective and program-creation prowess into all that she does, all the while providing outstanding, on-time, on-budget, and superior customer service.?

She has been honored as one of the top three Women of the Year- Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations by Stevie Awards in 2017. She also holds a position among the Top 25 Women Entrepreneurs list by NJ Monthly Magazine and Leading Women Entrepreneur in 2016.

10. Ann Lewnes

Ann Lewnes is the leading digital marketer as a CMO who turned Adobe's marketing initiatives into data-driven insightful marketing. Currently, she holds the position of a board member at MongoDB.?

She has been honored as one of the World's Most Influential CMOs by Forbes and one of the most innovative CMOs by Business Insider . Adding up to her honors she has also been awarded the New York Women in Communications' Matrix award in 2020.?

11. Rebecca Messina

An exceptional Coca-Cola marketing veteran. With an experience of 22 years in leadership marketing positions for Coke across South America and Europe, Rebecca is among the most popular and influential women in marketing. She was on the list of the World's Most Influential CMOs by Forbes in 2019 and the Most Innovative CMOs by Business Insider in 2016. She was Uber's first-ever global CMO. Currently, she is one of the creative board members for Nick's.?

12. Jackie Hermes

Starting with a vegan cookie and a baby, Jackie was a hardworking MBA student with an ambition to achieve great things and the confidence to hustle in life. Slowly and steadily climbing the ladder of marketing, she founded Accelity in 2013. Within a few years, she grew Accelity into a 7-figure organization without any outsider funding. Being one of the strivings and hustling influential women, she has been helping businesses across the globe with their marketing strategies and software integrations with Accelity.

13. Purna Virji

Starting as the senior manager of global engagement at Microsoft, Purna has gained over 18 years of experience in the marketing industry. She has become one of the most amazing digital marketers. Currently, she is working as the Principal Consultant for LinkedIn.?

She has also created the best-selling work, High-Impact Content Marketing: Strategies to Make Your Content Intentional, Engaging and Effective. Additionally, she was honored as the #1 Most Influential PPC Expert in the World by PPC Hero in 2016.

14. Renee D. Edwards

Renee has grown from being the Social Media Marketing Lead at Samsung to being the Director of Global Social Media for IBM. Over the years, she has worked and had a significant impact on the marketing strategies of different companies like Intel, Samsung, IBM and ADP with her innovative and unique approaches to engaging the online audience.?

She was honored as an executive member of IADAS in 2023. She has also been awarded with the Intel Achievement Award by Intel in 2013.

15. Lisa Hockaday Jackson

Lisa is a global marketing leader who has worked diligently with numerous Fortune 500 companies, creating intelligent and creative marketing and communication strategies. She has been a successful and growing marketing professional at GC GlobalNet for around 10 years now. With her hard work and exceptional performance, she has transformed the marketing of clients like AT&T, Intel, IBM, SAP, and Ericsson.?

Lisa's skills and experience in intelligence (IC), DOD, DOT, information technology, and services industry have earned her several recognitions and honors from various organizations.

Conclusion

In today's marketing landscape, the presence of inspiring women leaders is more evident than ever. Thanks to inclusive hiring practices and supportive work environments, marketing workplaces across the world. have made significant strides toward achieving gender balance.

However, it's essential to acknowledge that challenges persist, particularly for women from racially diverse backgrounds. Despite progress, disparities remain. By amplifying the stories and perspectives of inspirational women, we can continue our journey toward true gender equality worldwide.

As marketing evolves, new opportunities emerge for trailblazing women to lead the way. Let's champion diversity, empower one another, and pave the path for the next generation of women leaders in marketing.