Syl Saller

Syl Saller is the Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer for Diageo plc and a member of the Executive Committee. Diageo operates in 180 countries with a portfolio of over 400 brands including Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Tanqueray and Guinness. Syl oversees all Global Marketing, Design, Innovation as well as the Futures Group, and Reserve, Diageo’s luxury division, worldwide. Before Syl was appointed CMO, she was Global Innovation Director, responsible for Diageo’s innovation strategy, including all new product development, launch programmes and R&D.

Syl was a Non Exec Director for Domino’s Pizza Group from 2011 to 2014. She chaired the Nominations Committee and was a member of the Remuneration Committee. Syl currently chairs the Distill Ventures Investment Board. Distill Ventures is Diageo’s investment arm for start-ups, supporting entrepreneurs in growing new brands which Diageo has a right to purchase at a later date.

Syl’s experience ranges from luxury goods to FMCG to retail. She has a proven track record in complex multi-nationals as well as in smaller scale organisations in both developed and emerging markets. Her functional expertise is broad and includes marketing, innovation, sales, supply and general management.

She is strategic, visionary, highly commercial and has consistently been seen as an exceptionally inspirational leader. She is known for her coaching skills and is a member of the Association for Coaches and the Marketing Academy Coaching Faculty.

Syl is well recognised by external organisations as a leader and expert in her field. She was named Marketer of the Year, DeBrett's/Times 500 Most Influential People in Britain, Forbes top 50 CMOs, Ad Age’s Women to Watch,Top 100 Most Innovative CMO's, Marketing’s Vision 100 and Campaign’s Power 100. She is a thought leader and sought after keynote speaker. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Hampshire and has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.