Some people may mistakenly think that marketing directors at the major companies are generally middle aged people with bags of experience. This perhaps stems back to outdated perceptions of company directors being stuffy old men drinking whisky and smoking cigars.

In some companies this may still be the case, although the smoking ban in the UK has put paid to those smoking habits. Besides, a marketing director has to be a completely different animal, full of fresh ideas and dynamic.

Whilst not always essential, experience in any role is enormously beneficial, but that doesn?t mean you have to be over 40 to fill these leading roles in sales and marketing. The bottom line is you have to be exceptionally good at your job, full of ideas, aware of what is going on around you and able to inspire and bring the best out of your team.

Companies are keen to bring in the best people to their marketing director posts as they see the success of a company like concrete suppliers, Cemex. Their marketing director, Marcus Halvang was relatively new to the position but he made a very fast impact in helping the company win five Built Environment Marketing Awards in 2008.

However, like most companies in the construction industry, the past 12 months have been very difficult for Cemex. The next 12 months will provide very important challenges for all companies in the industry, which is why every firm will want an exceptional marketing director to lead their campaigns and strategies.