Can a finance man lead Twitter's marketing?

Twitter is tipped to be moving its CFO to the CMO role.According to several global reports such as The Verge, Bloomberg and more, Anthony Noto, who has been widely credited in handling Twitter’s IPO, has been tipped to be handed the remit of leading the company's marketing department.Currently Twitter does not have a CMO. According to WSJ, Twitter has been looking for a CMO in the recent months and a source confirmed to the publication that the search still continues. The article on WSJ also stated that that Twitter’s chief communications officer Gabriel Stricker was also handling the marketing duties before it being moved to vice president of product Kevin Weil earlier this year.The move has drawn flak on the Twitter space, with some questioning if a finance man can properly lead marketing.Noto has had extensive experience in Goldman Sachs. But Noto was also famously known for his “DM fail” where he publicly tweeted a private direct message on the public forum on acquiring a company.Can a finance folk take on the marketing realm?Priya Bala, regional director at marketing recruitment firm said: “It's certainly an unusual move. Twitter has had a few ups and downs with formalising a central marketing function, and so this is surely a stop-gap measure while the search continues for an experience CMO. It will be interesting to see how it works out for them.”Typically the skills needed for a CFO, such an overseeing finance, accounting, corporate development and ventures, are markedly different from that of a CMO, but this is changing, added Bala. “CFOs are as much about strategic direction as they are about numbers, and CMOs must have an understanding the market and consumers as well as take charge of branding or advertising strategies.”Where Noto could be most effective while covering both responsibilities is ensuring strong lines of communication between both departments. Given marketing relies heavily on analytics and data to demonstrate a precise return on investment, the opportunity here is great. Using the CFO to help the company unlock a strong marketing analytics approach could be a smart move, adds Bala.“CMOs need to become collaborators with the CFO more than ever, and if done right, Twitter's eventual new CMO and Anthony could become quite the power couple,” said Bala.“It will be interesting to see how a finance guy can effectively contribute in the marketing space. He will have data and analytics on his side, but given that it has been a hot seat, with the previous CMO appointments being shown the door after just a few months, this CFO turned CMO has to quickly establish credibility, win respect and deliver,” she concluded.Meanwhile, Christine Wright, regional director of Hays in Asia added that the rapid evolution of digital marketing is transforming organisational structures and influencing business strategy. As this happens, the gap between IT, finance and marketing teams will narrow and digital leaders with the management skills, operating experience, strategic mindset and vision will emerge to lead businesses.“ Importantly, the individual should not only be a digital guru but also needs to be a seasoned general manager who can help foster a pervasive digital culture. He or she should be able to plan and execute long-term strategy around driving customer awareness, engagement, experience and monetisation,” Wright added.Wright added that despite it being common knowledge that companies can deliver great digital marketing with the use of data, many marketing departments still do not interact with IT or finance to enable this process. Hence, going forward IT, marketing and finance departments need to come together to invest in data solutions that can benefit the organisation and find a common language from the point of view of the customer.