Autumn Budget must unlock business investment and hiring confidence, Fortune Hill says
With the Autumn Budget approaching, businesses are trying to understand what different outcomes could mean for investment, hiring and growth.
Rather than attempting to predict exactly what the Chancellor will announce, Joel Barnett, Founder and Chief Executive of Fortune Hill, a global executive search consultancy, argues that leadership teams should already be planning for different scenarios and considering how each would change their priorities.
For marketing leaders in particular, he says the Budget could alter the trade-offs CMOs need to make between accelerating growth and making existing budgets work harder. More broadly, he argues that continued pressure on business costs could keep boards cautious about senior hiring, making adaptable and commercially minded leadership even more valuable.
Below, Joel shares his thoughts on how businesses and their leadership teams should be preparing ahead of the Budget.
“Ahead of the Budget, we’re seeing the most enlightened leadership teams are scenario-planning rather than trying to predict one outcome. If the Government eases some of the pressure around employment and operating costs, businesses need to know which investments they would be prepared to accelerate. If those pressures remain broadly where they are, they need to be equally clear on which decisions are still critical.”
Joel Barnett, Founder and Chief Executive, Fortune Hill
That matters particularly for marketing. The CMO brief has already become stretched, with businesses expecting leaders to connect brand, customer, data, technology and commercial performance much more closely than they might have done a few years ago.
The CMO role will not fundamentally change after the Budget, but the trade-offs will. One outcome calls for a leader who can accelerate, backing growth, new markets and transformation. The other calls for one who can sharpen, protecting what drives revenue and making every pound work harder. Only the elite CMOs can do both, and boards should know now which kind they have.
The preparation now should not be about trying to guess exactly what will be announced. It should be about knowing how different outcomes would change priorities, and making sure businesses have marketing leadership capable of making the right decision in each scenario.
About Fortune Hill
Fortune Hill is an international Executive Search consultancy that guides ambitious businesses to appoint leaders who transform commercial performance, elevate culture and compound shareholder value. They specialise in the functions with the biggest impact on business success: Customer Growth & Engagement, and People & Culture. Combining deep subject matter expertise, insight-led research and a whole-human understanding of performance, Fortune Hill helps organisations appoint leaders who can make a meaningful and lasting impact.
