Syl Saller is one of the UK’s highest-profile and most respected marketers. Beginning her career at Gillette in 1984 she had a number of senior leadership and marketing roles before joining Diageo in 1999, rising through the ranks to become global chief marketing and innovation officer in 2013. Notably, in a world which often sees marketers bemoaning their lack of influence, she is also on the company’s executive board. Related, she is the president of The Marketing Society, where she is pushing an agenda aimed at making marketers better leaders in their businesses. In a wide-ranging interview Saller discusses: · Why you can learn as much from failure as you can from success · The evolution of the Diageo brand · Empowering the next generation of female leaders · Why marketers need to “follow the margin” · Finding the balance between being demanding and supportive · Why taking things personally is a good thing but “wallowing” isn’t