Board Member. A director who has run marketing, overseeing your growth plans and spend.
Most boards can read a P&L line by line. Far fewer can tell whether a 30% jump in marketing spend will pay back. Zachary Ellison takes a seat on your board or advisory board as a marketing board member: board-level reporting, oversight of plans and spend, and counsel to your CEO.
What the board gains.
Marketing gets the same scrutiny as finance. Growth plans reach the board with their assumptions written down, then get measured against what happened. Spend gets reviewed for return, not just approved. Your CEO has a director to call before a big marketing decision, not after. And when growth stalls, the board can tell whether it's demand, conversion, team or tools, and press on the right one.
What the seat covers.
- 01A board or advisory board seat
A formal seat on your board of directors or advisory board, with marketing and growth as the defined area of responsibility.
- 02Board-level marketing reporting
We help decide what marketing reports to the board. Directors see the few numbers that explain growth, not a dump of channel data.
- 03Oversight of plans
We review the annual marketing plan and major initiatives, test the assumptions behind them and ask how success gets measured.
- 04Oversight of spend
We look at where the budget goes and what it returns, and we flag any spend that can't show its value.
- 05Counsel to the CEO
A direct line between meetings for the CEO to work through marketing decisions, senior hires and vendor choices with a director.
- 06Operating experience
A director who has set the budgets, hired the agencies and run the weekly meetings in law firms, home service companies, healthcare practices and DTC brands.
How the board role works.
- 01
Step 01
Fit conversation
We talk with your CEO or chair about the company's stage, who already sits on the board and what you need from a marketing director.
- 02
Step 02
Define the brief
We agree the type of seat, the scope of marketing and growth oversight, and the reporting the board should expect each meeting.
- 03
Step 03
Take the seat
Zachary attends board meetings, reads the materials in advance and leads the marketing and growth parts of each discussion.
Step 04
Counsel between meetings
Your CEO has direct access between sessions. The board gets a clearer, steadier view of marketing every time it meets.
Best for
- Growth-stage companies whose boards have nobody with hands-on marketing experience.
- Investor-backed home service platforms and dental groups where growth plans need closer oversight.
- Founders who want an advisory board member who has run marketing, not just studied it.
Not the right fit if
- Companies that need someone running marketing day to day. A board seat oversees the work. The retainer does it.
- Boards looking for a name on the letterhead rather than active oversight and hard questions.
Frequently asked questions.
What does a marketing board member do?
Brings marketing and growth expertise to a board of directors or an advisory board. That means reviewing marketing plans and spend, shaping how marketing reports to the board, holding management to its growth targets and counseling the CEO on major marketing decisions, hires and vendors.
Is this a board of directors seat or an advisory board seat?
Either. It depends on your governance and what you need. The brief is the same in both: marketing and growth, with board-level reporting, oversight of plans and spend, and counsel to the CEO between meetings.
How is a board seat different from fractional CMO advisory?
Advisory supports the person running marketing with day-to-day decisions. A board seat works at the governance level. It oversees plans and spend for the board and counsels the CEO. The two can run together: advisory supports the team, and the seat keeps marketing accountable to directors.
Do you work with investor-backed companies?
Yes, inside the four industries we serve. Investors are buying home service companies, dental groups and other practices, and their boards need growth plans they can test against results. The Marketing Impact OS gives directors one score across seven dimensions and a record of what changed and why.
Where to next.
Start with your free Marketing Impact score.
It takes a few minutes. You get a score from 1 to 5 on each of the seven dimensions of your marketing and see where to start. If you’d rather talk first, book a 15-minute call.