Can We Extend B2B Marketing’s Half-Life Just by Becoming More ‘Commercial’?

September 24, 2025
3 PM BST

Secure your spot today!

We use BigMarker as our events platform.

About this Event

Richard O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer at Propolis, the global community for B2B marketing leaders as well as events and training organisation B2B Marketing, is challenging us to reclaim our roles as commercial leaders and owners of revenue.We’ll hear O’Connor assert that B2B marketing has a “once in a decade opportunity” to prove its commercial acumen but that it will require honesty about where we are as a profession; that only by demonstrating our value to our chief financial officers will we earn the resources we need to succeed in a broader business culture of Do More With Less.To scrutinise and stress-test O’Connor’s argument and agenda, we’ll also feature Michelle McCann, his former colleague at Estates Gazette (O’Connor was Commercial Director at EG while McCann was the publication’s CMO).An interim CMO and board adviser with a resume that includes leadership roles at B2B household names Thomson Reuters, LexisNexis and CACI among others, McCann’s perspective on B2B marketing’s next best move at this critical juncture is as valuable as anybody’s.

Agenda

  • B2B marketing community leader Richard O’Connor will outline his agenda for the emergence of the more Commercial Marketer as a key strategy for avoiding Being Replaced

  • Collingwood adviser and serial CMO Michelle McCann will ask the questions that threaten to poke holes in former colleague O’Connor’s argument

  • Together, our guests will identify the tactics they agree will extend your DMWL shelf-life by getting you closer to the revenue centre in your business

    © 2025 OrbitalX. All rights reserved.

    Meet the Presenters

    Mark Choueke

    Partner & Chief Creative Officer, OrbitalX

    Mark Choueke is a former award-winning journalist and author of the bestselling B2B marketing book Boring2Brave. He’s built a standout reputation in global B2B marketing and communications, leading growth at companies like Mention Me and Qubit. Mark has driven impact across both startups and large enterprises, and has also raised investment to launch and lead a successful tech marketing agency.He was formerly the editor of Marketing Week and, before that, a business correspondent for the UK national newspaper The Sunday Telegraph. He later made the shift from journalism to marketing, and has since worked with over 50 B2B technology companies worldwide, either as part of senior in-house leadership teams or as a strategic advisor.Mark is a regular keynote speaker and has appeared on industry stages around the world, including ‘Think with Google’ in London, ‘Viva Technology’ in Paris, and AdWeek in New York City.

    Richard O’Connor

    Chief Executive Officer at B2B Marketing and Propolis

    Richard O’Connor is CEO of B2B Marketing, a globally recognised Community Intelligence business uniting events, specialist awards, marketing services, and the multi-award-winning community Propolis.He has held senior roles at organisations including The Independent, where he led Creative Solutions; UBM Built Environment, where he built the Client Solutions team; and later UBM and Informa, where he directed global sales and marketing transformation across EMEA, Asia, and the US. Most recently, he led the commercial team for Radius at RELX.

    Michelle McCann, PhD

    Adviser, Collingwood

    Michelle McCann, PhD, is a marketing leader, adviser, and public speaker with over 20 years’ experience driving marketing, brand, and growth strategies across FinTech, RegTech, and PropTech. She has held senior roles in global corporations and PE-backed scale-ups, including CMO at EG (part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group), Global Head of Portfolio Marketing at Accuity, and leadership positions at MSCI, Thomson Reuters, and Serco.An engaging speaker, Michelle regularly presents on marketing transformation, AI in marketing, leadership, and the evolving role of CMOs in times of disruption.