The Professional Services Marketing Group (PSMG), Europe’s leading membership group for marketers in professional services, has today announced the appointment of Professor Malcolm McDonald, Emeritus Professor of Marketing at Cranfield Business School as Non-Executive Chairman and Academic Advisor to the Group.

Professor Malcolm McDonald MA (Oxon) MSc PhD DLitt DSc, is the UK's pre-eminent academic authority on marketing strategy with a specific interest in global best practice in Key Account Management and the financial implications of marketing expenditure.

Malcolm is Emeritus Professor at Cranfield University School of Management and Honorary Professor at Warwick Business School and previously was Professor of Marketing and Deputy Director at Cranfield, with special responsibility for e-business.   He has written over 40 books, including the best seller ‘Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, how to use them’, and has published more than 100 articles and papers worldwide. Malcolm has extensive commercial experience, including a number of years as Marketing Director of Canada Dry and he was until 2012, Chairman of Brand Finance plc.

As Academic Advisor to PSMG, Malcolm will guide the growth of the Group’s highly regarded Training & Education programme for professional services marketers, with a particular focus on the development of post graduate and doctorate level programmes for senior leadership teams. He will also help PSMG to develop a range of Research and Thought Leadership programmes to offer exclusive high level market led information to its membership.  

Commenting on the appointment, PSMG managing partner Gail Jaffa said: “We are thrilled that Malcolm has chosen to join PSMG to oversee our academic programme and that as Non-Executive Chairman, he will lend his global reputation in the marketing sector to lead PSMG’s development going forward.”