Registration is now open for the September 2026 ANA IRG Marketing Leadership Program, designed for experienced marketers with CMO potential.
The online program, which meets weekly for 1.5h over 9 weeks, connects participants to an incredible community of global CMOs, content experts, and peers from all industries. The goal of the Marketing Leadership Program is to increase impact by driving what we call Humanized Growth, long-term value creation for all stakeholders, e.g. customers, colleagues, communities and capital markets.
Participants will become better leaders by building new expert, practitioner, and peer connections, participating in small group discussions and plenary sessions, and completing individual work on real business opportunities and challenges.
Register for the Marketing Leadership Program starting September 2026.
Our Focus
The three Modules of the Marketing Leadership Program, based on the results of the IRG Growth Study , address the WHY, WHAT, and HOW of overperforming growth organizations. Each session offers insights from an expert contributor, best practices, and peer-to-peer discussions. At the end of each module, participants will have an opportunity to reflect and test their learnings against their business realities. By the end of the program, every participant will have developed their own personal leadership and business growth plan.
Program Highlights:
- Characteristics of over-performing Marketing leaders and growth companies.
- Key findings from the IRG Humanized Growth in the era of AI study , presented in Cannes Lions 2025
- Da Vinci leadership – with Spencer Stuart
- Business and personal leadership growth plan development
- Invitation to IRG Cannes CMO Summit
Upon completion:
- IRG Graduation Certificate
- Continued peer-to-peer connections
- IRG Alumni Community of 850+ senior leaders
- IRG Marketing Thought Leadership articles
- Continued access to ANA Lions CMO Growth Council meetings, IRG CMO summits, and global roundtables
Who is Eligible?
This program is designed for experienced Marketing leaders with CMO Potential (15+ years of experience) who aspire to:
- Increase business influence and impact
- Drive new – more humanized – business growth
- Expand their professional network
- Learn from the most experienced and successful Marketing practitioners
- Take their business and personal leadership to the next level
Program Participation Fee
- For ANA members: $ 3.950
- For non-members: $ 7.950
The fee includes the 9-week learning journey and access to the IRG platform and program resources for one year.
Previous Contributors
Raja Rajamannar
CMO
Mastercard
Elizabeth Rutledge
CMO
Amex
Antonio Lucio
CMO
HP Inc
Carla Hassan
CMO
JP Morgan Chase & Co
Marc de Swaan Arons
Founder
IRG
Chris Burggraeve
Author
Ex CMO AB InBev, Academic
Jeremy Gilley
Founder
Peace One Day
Khensani Nobanda
CMO
Nedback
Marcel Marcondes
CMO
ABInBev
Register for the Marketing Leadership Program starting September 2026.
The ANA Growth Agenda
The CMO Growth Council was established by the ANA and Cannes Lions in June 2018 to build a roadmap for driving business growth through marketing. Led by Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard, the Council includes leading CMOs from top brands around the world.
As part of the ANA Global CMO Growth Council priorities, the Talent and Marketing Organization working team is partnering with the Institute for Real Growth (IRG) to provide this new blended learning program for busy Marketing and other senior growth leaders.
The Institute for Real Growth
The Institute for Real Growth (IRG) helps senior Marketing leaders increase their personal, business, and societal impact
… by driving more Humanized Growth.
Program Testimonials
Nick Primola
Group EVP, ANA Global CMO Growth Council
This program is dedicated to our senior members – because when the Marketing leader grows, Marketing grows and when Marketing grows, the company grows
Andisa Ntusbane
Managing Exec, Vodafone SA
IRG is truly about building a global community of practice. I found the Da Vinci Growth CMO model very useful for what is required of CMOs in this new era.
Juliette Krige
Head of Marketing Nedbank
The program was so inspiring and I have already started to implement these to my KPI’s and areas of growth for my upcoming discussions with my boss
Yumi Clevenger-Lee
CMO, Quest
The Marketing Leadership Program by the IRG is excellent. The content is rich and I feel inspired with the new tools to lead a human-centered growth agenda
IRG Partners
