Lorraine Barber-Miller is the chief marketing and e-commerce officer at Philips, a 130-year-old company in the middle of a large marketing transformation.

In this episode, Lorraine and I discuss what makes Philips unique and her background at IBM and ADP before joining Philips. We also discuss Philips’s B2B and B2C complexities as a business and the global marketing transformation she’s leading.

Lorraine says, “We are transforming the function at Philips to build world-class capabilities to position Philips as the leading health tech partner to our customers and consumers.” Both marketing and e-commerce play a significant role in making this positioning a reality, and they do it by executing five strategic priorities: strengthening and protecting their brand leadership, focusing on customer-centricity, meeting the customer where and how they want to be engaged, leading with data-driven marketing, and recruiting and retaining top talent.

Listen to the full conversation to hear how each of these factors influences the transformation.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The complexity of having both B2B and B2C business
  • What it means to transform to digital-first
  • The importance of individual contribution

Key Highlights:

  • [01:19] Living on a man-made island in Dubai
  • [02:06] Lorraine’s career motivations
  • [05:25] Joining Philips during the pandemic
  • [07:37] Navigating both B2B and B2C business
  • [09:45] Driving a marketing transformation
  • [15:05] Engaging a 3,000-member team 
  • [16:34] Where e-commerce fits into the transformation process
  • [20:15] Consolidation agency relationships worldwide
  • [22:22] Lorraine’s advice for marketers leading a transformation journey
  • [27:05] Stepping back and seeing the whole picture
  • [29:25] A moment that defines Lorraine, made her who she is today
  • [30:21] Lorraine’s advice to her younger self 
  • [31:18] What marketers should be learning more about
  • [33:13] The brands and organizations Lorraine follows
  • [34:00] The biggest threat and opportunity for marketers today

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Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on opportunities around brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine startups.