In this episode of Time for a Reset: Insights from Global Brand Marketers, brought to you by Overline, host Nick King speaks with Pardeep Duggal, Global Marketing Director at Bupa Global, about why marketing must sit at the heart of business transformation, not on its sidelines. Drawing on decades of cross-industry experience, Pardeep shares practical frameworks for earning boardroom credibility, building high-performing teams, and embedding marketing into the core business strategy. From leading with data before creativity to adopting AI through real-world use cases, she outlines how modern marketing leaders can balance rigour with bold thinking. It’s a candid, opportunity-focused conversation for CMOs ready to shape strategy, not simply defend spend.Topics Covered: How to reframe marketing's role from communications-only to business transformation by positioning marketing as integral to customer strategy, digital ubiquity, and business outcomes, not as a separate function. The three non-negotiable qualities that define high-performing marketing leaders. Intellectual capability to understand business dynamics, relentless work ethic, and learning agility trump tenure or pedigree. The "Swoosh" methodology for delivering marketing transformation. Start by fixing operational basics and earning credibility, then paint a three-year vision of progressive change.Why credibility precedes creativity in the boardroom. Lead with a data-driven understanding of business models, revenue drivers, and digital impact before deploying your creative superpower. Numbers open doors; creativity changes minds.The winning team composition is a mix of industry veterans with fresh talent from other sectors. Pair people who understand organizational unwritten rules with outsiders who bring new perspectives. How to connect with the C-suite through emotional immersion, not just dashboards. Use theatrical, real-world experiences, hotel room customer simulations, unfiltered customer sessions, and live store visits to make customer insights visceral and memorable for executives.Pardeep Duggal is the Global Marketing and Digital Director at Bupa Global. She brings three decades of experience transforming customer experiences across heavily regulated industries, including banking, energy, insurance, and healthcare. Known for embedding marketing into enterprise-wide business transformation strategies, she has built high-performing teams at leading organizations, including E.ON, CVS, Santander, and Barclaycard. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Instructions on how to do this are available here.Support the show

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