Empowering the Marketing Function for Excellence in Product Innovation

Marketing Roundtable

April 26, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

An empowered marketing organization can be the critical factor necessary to achieve truly market-driven innovations in product development. Sara Coffou will share her insights, from an executive search perspective, into five key trends that are shaping today’s marketing organizations, and the changing roles and skill sets that are demanded from today’s marketing leaders. Learn more.

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Where

Gleacher Center
Chicago, Illinois

Who

Sara Coffou
Founder
Coffou Partners, Inc.

Program

6:00 PM - 6:30 PM: Registration & Networking
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM: Program
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Cash Bar Reception

Registration

Register Online
Please register by 4/25/2006

Questions

Scott McGarvey, '81

Event Details

An empowered marketing organization can be the critical factor necessary to achieve truly market-driven innovations in product development. Sara Coffou will share her insights, from an executive search perspective, into five key trends that are shaping today’s marketing organizations, and the changing roles and skill sets that are demanded from today’s marketing leaders:

• The increasing responsibility and accountability of the marketing function in the business
• The blurring of brand, marketing and product roles
• The mantra of innovation
• The growing role of design in the product development process
• Demand for best practices in the marketing function -- from ideation through product launch

Speaker Profiles

Sara Coffou
Founder, Coffou Partners, Inc.

As a founder of her firm, Sara Coffou has a long track record in leading an executive search practice, as well as managing a firm with a strong reputation for client and candidate respect, service and quality. Her functional research expertise is in general management, marketing, sales, R&D, and finance for senior leadership positions with global clients throughout the United States. Those positions have been in a wide variety of industries from consumer products and healthcare to digital technology and financial services.

In addition to conducting executive search services, Sara also works in partnership with her clients. She led the development of a New Leader Assimilation program, which has been adopted by many of the firm’s clients and candidates. She has also been very active in assisting clients with implementing successful diversity recruiting programs. More recently she has been working with her colleagues to better understand the definition and measurement around culture and fit between client organization and candidates.

Prior to founding the firm, Sara worked in marketing and new product innovation. For a telecommunications joint venture between IBM and Sears, she directed new product and acquisitions and introduced early forays into the electronic commerce industry. At Discover Card, she let a brand management team developing and launching fee based services and electronic banking. And at First Chicago, she held a variety of positions in strategic planning, product development, and marketing for retail and global commercial businesses. Sara has also worked extensively with Whirlpool and Herman Miller, recognized design leaders in their respective industries.

She received her undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and her MBA from the University of Chicago.