TLDR: General Motors’ Chief Marketing Officer, Norm de Greve, emphasizes the critical need for marketing strategies to align seamlessly across all C-suite functions. In a discussion with McKinsey, de Greve highlighted how GM is undergoing a profound transformation towards an all-electric future, necessitating a unified approach that ties creativity to business outcomes, prioritizes the customer’s voice, and leverages artificial intelligence to reshape operational efficiencies and drive growth.
In a recent conversation with McKinsey partner Robert Tas, Norm de Greve, Chief Marketing Officer at General Motors, shed light on the evolving role of marketing within a large enterprise, particularly as GM navigates a significant transformation towards an all-electric future. De Greve underscored the imperative of aligning marketing efforts tightly across the entire C-suite to foster a shared growth mindset and ensure strategic coherence.
De Greve articulated that the ideal marketing approach involves activities that simultaneously build the brand and drive demand. He stated, ‘Every time you put something into the market—a campaign, an ad, a piece of social content—it should be double duty. If it’s designed thoughtfully, there’s no reason it can’t both convert and reinforce the brand.’ This dual focus, he explained, allows for broader brand investments to build meaning and distinctiveness while also generating immediate impact.
A cornerstone of GM’s marketing strategy under de Greve is the unwavering focus on the customer. He stressed the importance of preventing large companies from becoming insular, where leaders might lose sight of market realities. ‘Part of our job is to pull the organization back outside—to reflect the real world, not just the boardroom,’ de Greve remarked, advocating for ethnography and direct engagement with customers over sole reliance on internal metrics. He believes this customer-centricity should extend beyond the marketing department to all executive functions.
Crucially, de Greve highlighted the embrace of artificial intelligence (AI) as a transformative force in marketing operations. AI is seen as a key enabler to reshape how teams function, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in a fast-changing marketplace. This aligns with a broader industry trend where AI is increasingly integrated into strategic business functions to optimize processes and decision-making.
De Greve’s insights come amidst a period where McKinsey reports a widening gap between CEOs and CMOs regarding marketing’s role and value. Data from a McKinsey and Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey revealed that CEO-CMO alignment dropped 20% over the last two years, with only half of CMOs surveyed feeling involved in strategic planning. De Greve’s approach at GM, which emphasizes tying marketing directly to financial objectives and fostering cross-functional partnerships, serves as a model for bridging this divide. As he noted in a separate context, ‘It’s critical to align marketing with financial objectives to build trust and credibility. I’m proactive about sharing what we’re doing and how we’re driving ROI.’ This proactive communication and focus on measurable business outcomes are vital for elevating marketing’s strategic importance within the C-suite.
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Norm de Greve was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at General Motors in July 2023, joining from CVS Health where he served as CMO from 2015. His mandate at GM includes leading marketing efforts during a critical period of transformation, shifting from traditional marketing reliance to a strategy that drives GM’s leadership in electrification and autonomous driving, and builds demand for its electric vehicle models and top-selling trucks and SUVs.
