As the calendar turns to 2026, marketing leaders across Africa are stepping into the new year not with generic resolutions but with hard-earned wisdom forged in the fires of demanding roles, shifting markets, and personal growth. From Lagos to Kampala, Accra to Johannesburg, a quiet but powerful conversation is emerging among Chief Marketing Officers and Heads of Marketing: success at the highest levels demands more than strategy and execution,it requires intentionality, authenticity, and a deep sense of self.
Reframe Your Impact to Unlock Leadership Doors
Bodam Taiwo, Customer Marketing Director for Diageo South, West & Central Africa, speaks to a frustration many senior marketers recognise all too well. “There’s a quieter kind of frustration,” she says. “The one that whispers, ‘I’m delivering, but I’m not progressing as I should’ or ‘I’m trusted to execute, yet not invited into leadership conversations.’” Taiwo’s insight cuts to the heart of the transition from high-performing individual contributor to strategic leader.
“The shift isn’t about working harder,” she observes. “It’s about how you frame your impact, how you lead conversations, what you’re known for, and how you show up in complex environments.” For Taiwo, visibility is not vanity and positioning is not arrogance-they are essential tools for advancement.
Amplify What Makes You Different
That call to own one’s unique value resonates strongly with Colin Asiimwe, Head of Marketing at MultiChoice Uganda. As the year begins, Asiimwe urges his peers to lean into their differences. “Not everyone can do what you can do,” he says. “Not everyone can match your energy or see the path you see.” His advice is bold: “Stand at the farthest edge and crank it all the way up. Dial up your differences. Amplify your outlier factors.” Authenticity, in his view, is the ultimate competitive advantage. “Our courage gives others courage,” he adds, reminding leaders that shining brightly burns away doubt, for themselves and for those watching.
Bring Professional Discipline to Personal Life
Balance between professional ambition and personal fulfilment emerges as another recurring theme. Helen Nangonzi, Head of Marketing and Communications at Absa Uganda, has applied the discipline she brings to work goals to her personal life with transformative results. “Once you commit to paper, something happens,” she shares.
“I reviewed my personal list weekly, just like a work plan.” Nangonzi challenges fellow leaders to reverse a common imbalance: “We often give our best clothes and efforts to work, but our families get our tired versions.” Her playbook for 2026 is simple yet profound-bring the same dedication, planning, and intention to personal life as to professional life.
Prioritise Delivery Over Visibility
In Ghana, Asiedua Addae, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing at Standard Chartered Bank, offers a counterintuitive perspective on recognition. “I’ve learned that recognition often arrives when it is not being pursued,” she reflects. “When the work takes precedence over visibility, when standards remain uncompromised.” Addae’s approach is rooted in quiet excellence: “It reveals itself over time. It builds trust, strengthens teams, and produces outcomes that endure.” Heading into 2026, her commitment is unwavering,to lead with intent and never dilute quality for convenience.
Lead Communication with Responsibility and Purpose
Henry Nii Dottey, Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications at United Bank for Africa Ghana, frames the year ahead through the lens of responsibility. “True leadership in communication is not just about visibility, but responsibility,” he says. “Knowing when to speak, when to listen, and when to step back to rethink the story.”
Dottey sees communicators as strategists and custodians of trust in a fast-moving world. His personal commitments for the year—values-anchored leadership, mentorship through his upcoming HNDME programme, and belief in consistency and purpose-serve as a reminder that experience shared is experience multiplied.
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Cultivate Self-Trust in Challenging Environments
Across the continent, Osato Evbuomwan, Marketing Director at Moët Hennessy, emphasises the importance of self-trust in challenging environments. “Choosing to validate your own work, your growth, your track record is not arrogance. It’s survival,” she asserts. Evbuomwan has deliberately invested in her own development, not because conditions were perfect, but because growth cannot wait for them. “Your worth isn’t erased by a challenging environment,” she reminds fellow leaders. “And the steadiness you’ve shown under pressure is shaping you into a leader with depth.”
Navigate Hard Seasons with Grace and Strategy
Finally, Monica Chege, Head of Marketing at Jubilee Health Insurance, closes her reflections with gentle yet powerful lessons carried forward. “Extend yourself grace first, even when no one else does,” she advises. “Not every battle needs your energy. Peace is also a strategy.” Chege encourages leaders to celebrate small wins loudly, to rest without guilt, and to release what no longer serves them. “Hard seasons don’t break you,” she says. “They reveal you.”
Together, these voices form a rich, collective playbook for 2026-one built on authenticity, intentionality, quiet excellence, and self-compassion. In an era of constant change, Africa’s marketing leaders are proving that the most sustainable edge comes not from chasing trends but from knowing, trusting, and steadily becoming the fullest version of oneself.
In this premier installment, TheCMO PlayBook elevates these candid exchanges into a strategic resource for the modern marketing executive, offering actionable wisdom that bridges ambition with self-awareness to drive sustainable impact across Africa’s rapidly evolving business landscape.
Editor’s Note: This article is dependent on the strategic and solid LinkedIn posts of the marketing leaders
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