Alistair Macrow is one of the few marketing leaders to have successfully made the transition from Global Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Executive Officer, giving him a rare perspective on leadership, commercial decision-making and the role marketing can play in driving business success.
As former Chief Executive of McDonald’s UK & Ireland and previously Global Chief Marketing Officer, he led teams through periods of significant growth and transformation, building brands, developing strategy and helping shape one of the world’s most recognised businesses. Along the way he was recognised with many of the marketing profession’s highest honours, including Marketing Society Marketing Leader of the Year, while the teams he led received IPA Effectiveness Awards and Cannes Lions for Creative Effectiveness.
Today, Alistair works through Lunar Thinking as a strategic adviser, mentor and keynote speaker, partnering with CEOs, CMOs and leadership teams to help organisations navigate growth, transformation and leadership challenges. His work is grounded in the belief that commercial success comes from combining customer insight, creativity, organisational alignment and exceptional leadership—a philosophy that has shaped many successful brand transformation programmes throughout his career and now underpins the strategic advisory and mentoring services he provides to business leaders.
Passionate about developing the next generation of leaders, Alistair has always regarded talent development as one of the most rewarding aspects of his career. He enjoys helping ambitious marketers broaden their thinking, strengthen their leadership, navigate pivotal career decisions and build the confidence to fulfil their potential. He believes the best mentoring relationships combine encouragement with constructive challenge, helping talented people think more broadly, lead more confidently and achieve more than they thought possible.
Alistair Macrow, Lunar Thinking Limited
