In this episode of Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO, host Jaime Hunt sits down with Mike Morris, Partner at the Ward Group, a leading executive search firm specializing in marketing and communications leadership roles. Together, they unpack how higher education marketers can position themselves for VP- and CMO-level roles—and how to build relationships with search firms that actually lead to job offers. This insightful conversation covers what presidents often misunderstand about the CMO role, how to craft a compelling resume, and why emotional intelligence may matter more than your title.
In this episode of Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO, host Jaime Hunt sits down with Mike Morris, Partner at the Ward Group, a leading executive search firm specializing in marketing and communications leadership roles. Together, they unpack how higher education marketers can position themselves for VP- and CMO-level roles—and how to build relationships with search firms that actually lead to job offers. This insightful conversation covers what presidents often misunderstand about the CMO role, how to craft a compelling resume, and why emotional intelligence may matter more than your title.
Guest Name: Mike Morris, Director, The Ward Group
Guest Bio: Throughout Mike’s time at The Ward Group—a retained executive search firm that specializes functionally in marketing and communications leadership roles—he has focused primarily in the firm’s higher education portfolio. Working with presidents and search committees, from public research universities to liberal arts colleges and beyond, Mike brings a breadth of experience and insight to institutional partners across the country.
Previously, Mike spent over a decade in higher education, namely college athletics recruiting. Working at schools such as Boston College, Harvard University, and Dartmouth College, he was heavily involved in the recruitment of prospective football student-athletes. In both college athletics and executive search, success is “all about the people.”
Mike’s additional experience at TWG includes recruiting marketing and communications leaders for clients nationwide in categories like healthcare, financial services, and health tech. For him, the natural synergy created by understanding clients’ values beyond the job description and getting to know candidates beyond the resume is the ultimate payoff.