HSBC Installs First-Ever Global CMO to Unify Brand Strategy

Published on August 8, 2025

Snapshot:
HSBC has appointed John McDonald as its inaugural Global Chief Marketing Officer, effective 1 October 2025, in a move to centralize marketing and branding efforts across its four core businesses. The newly created role aims to support HSBC’s ambition to become a simpler, more agile bank, with McDonald overseeing efforts across international wealth and premier banking, corporate and institutional banking, and the UK and Hong Kong markets.

McDonald joins from UBS, where he was group CMO, and brings over 25 years of marketing experience with major brands including Mastercard, American Express, and British Airways. He will now lead marketing teams from all four business divisions under a unified structure, with an emphasis on deepening client engagement and increasing brand relevance.

The announcement follows a series of bold brand moves by HSBC in 2025, including a refreshed global airport strategy spanning 23 international hubs and high-profile sponsorships like LIV Golf and Kai Tak Sports Park. The bank has also leaned into youth engagement, launching Gen Z-focused campaigns like the interactive “trading bar” in Hong Kong and cinematic storytelling in Malaysia.

These efforts build on HSBC’s broader rebranding of its private banking and institutional services, alongside content partnerships with Bloomberg, Condé Nast, and Vox Media. According to CEO Barry O’Byrne, McDonald’s expertise will be critical as the bank scales its wealth focus and aims to build a brand that resonates globally.

Internally, HSBC UK CMO Becky Moffat was recently promoted to chief customer officer, reflecting a parallel effort to connect marketing more directly with customer experience. McDonald echoed these themes in a LinkedIn post, calling this a “pivotal time” for transformation at HSBC. The appointment underscores the bank’s belief that centralized, context-aware marketing leadership is essential to long-term competitive advantage.

Full story: Marketing Week - Marketing-Interactive

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