Anthony Gregorio Says CMO Role is “Toughest In Corporate Australia”

While some CMOs “are very, very good, and make it look easy,” Anthony Gregorio wants people to know “it's not easy”, which is why he’ll focus on “sharpen[ing]” Attivo Group agencies’ ability to build and strengthen brands.

“I do think the CMO role is the toughest in corporate Australia, and they have an incredibly wide remit,” he told LBB after being appointed executive chairman at Attivo Group AUNZ, which houses creative agency 303 MullenLowe, media agency Mediahub, and PR business Tonic Communications. 

In New Zealand, the business includes agencies Farrimond, Rainmakers, and Gorilla, while last year the acquisitions of Hill Holiday and DNY saw the group expand to the US.

“It's not good enough just to be good at marketing. You need to understand technology and how different stacks work together to get the best out of that. You've got to have at least a good understanding of how to apply data and what sort of data to look at, and what's not worth looking at. Now AI is staying in the sun, and it's important to understand its impact on the business, and at the same time, you're on the hook for growth.”

Anthony joins Attivo Group after two years as a partner at Tumbleturn Marketing Advisory. He told LBB that his time in the consultancy showed him the demands of CMOs’ workloads combined with “the uncertain and volatile times that we live in,” mean “it's no surprise that a lot of [CMOs] are more worried about keeping their jobs than being focused on their growth. 

“The better an agency can be at helping them focus on really just one thing – making their clients’ brands more valuable – the more value they will provide to clients, and the better regarded they will be. It’s something that I hope to help sharpen in the agencies within the group at Attivo, because I really think that the ability of agencies to be transformative and create tangible value from creative thinking is unparalleled. When you get it right, it really does become a driver for growth.”

A deeper understanding of “the breadth of challenges CMOs face” today isn’t the only result of Anthony’s time in a pitch consultancy. The former Saatchi & Saatchi CEO said another major lesson is “the importance of a strategically aligned process that doesn't favor any one discipline, but brings values and brings all the disciplines together to create a sum that's greater than the parts.” If done correctly, it is “something that really can help tilt the playing field in favor of a client and deliver an unfair advantage.”

“That was reinforced in my time at consulting. The agencies that won were the ones that could do that for clients, and that's what clients were looking for.”

The decision to return to the agency world was driven by a mix of timing, opportunity, and people. At Attivo Group, he joins a local leadership team that includes Attivo AUNZ CEO and Mediahub AUNZ CEO Sue Squillace, chief operating officer John Rizoski, and global CEO Cam Murchison.

“The fact that the group has capabilities across brand thinking, media, PR, shopper marketing, and fast turnaround production was really attractive,” he said.

“I wasn't really expecting to go back on the agency side – I wasn't looking for any opportunity, so it was going to have to be the right opportunity to get me to consider even thinking about coming back. When Sue and Cam approached me and discussed this role, it was really a combination of taking advantage of my years of agency experience and my recent consulting experience, and applying it to help Attivo grow.”

The move felt right, he added, particularly “because Attivo is this entrepreneurial collection of independent businesses, and it's full of smart people.”

Anthony’s remit includes leading local operations and working towards a long-term growth strategy for the group’s agencies. “We're not the largest group in Australia, nor do I think being the largest is the key metric, but growing is always important,” he said.

“Growth creates opportunities for people, people can't grow if the business isn't growing. It's an important aspect of what I am here to do – but growth also requires a whole bunch of other things to be in place. That includes commitment to people, how you go to market, and how you are positioned.

“Raising the profile of the group is a really important part of my job as well. It's full of smart people, good clients, and has done some really great work, I just don't think enough people know about it.”

Anthony added acquisition is “always on our radar”. 

“Cam has acquired businesses in the US, which is where he's going to spend a bit more of his time, hence me being hired, really. But I think he's extremely entrepreneurial, and is very keen to grow both organically and through acquisition if the right acquisitions come across our desks.”

At a broader level, Anthony believes marketers in 2025 need to reclaim their influence within organisations and “get back to being considered as highly as they probably used to be within corporations and businesses.”

“Clients need to really reclaim that intellectual confidence within their business, around the power that marketing has to solve problems and be an engine for growth. All problems can be solved if you apply some strategic rigour to something and then execute well, the best marketers can do that.

“The malaise that everyone seems to be in and the pressure that is on everyone, you only get through it if you have the confidence to harness that knowledge and that power into work that is transformative and shifts momentum for your business.”