DM Trust chief: 'Industry has to attract the best talent'

The DM industry must redouble its efforts to ensure it attracts and retains only the best talent so it can exploit the new age of data-driven marketing.
That is the rallying cry of marketing consultant and academic Matthew Housden, who has succeeded Opt-4 director Rosemary Smith who has been chair of the DM Trust – formed by the merger of the DM Foundation and IDM Trust – since 2015.
Its mission is to create a sustainable future for data-driven marketing by distributing funds to support talent coming into the industry and promoting fairness to consumers. Last year, it invested over £200,000 in campaigns to raise the standards of the industry and support the education of the next generation.
Housden, who has worked for Miller Freeman, IBM, Barclays, and the London Business School, said: “At one of the most exciting periods of change marketing has ever gone through, we must remain committed to improving the skills of individuals within our profession and giving the next generation of talent routes into our industry. The mission of the DM Trust is to promote the value of responsible marketing and we need to ensure we have the people in our industry to do that.
“I am looking forward to continuing the great work done under the leadership of Rosemary to help companies deal with the challenges and opportunities they have faced in recent years. The current business environment makes it imperative that organisations can find the right people with the creativity and skills they need for our entire industry to continue to thrive. The DM Trust will remain dedicated to helping the industry attract this much-needed talent.”
Housden is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Greenwich, visiting Professor at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business, and visiting faculty at the University of Leeds Business School and Imperial College London. He has been a member of the board of the DM Trust since 2015 and is also a member of the IDM qualifications advisory board.
He continued: “I have worked in and around the data-driven marketing industry for nearly 30 years. In that time, I’ve dedicated a large part of my career to helping improve the performance of data-driven marketing organisations and the individuals that work for them. I look forward to continuing this work with my fellow Trustees at the DM Trust, and industry bodies like the DMA and IDM.”

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