The grocer's chief technology, data and marketing officer has been awarded the title of Marketer of the Year at the Marketing Week Awards 2025.
Sainsbury's chief technology, data and marketing officer Mark Given has been named Marketer of the Year at the 2025 Marketing Week Awards.
Given was selected from the Marketing Week Top 100 ranking, sponsored by Digitas, which is a competitive shortlist of the highest-rated marketers across multiple sectors.
He was promoted to chief marketing, data and sustainability officer in January, before his remit was expanded in September with his promotion to chief technology, data and marketing officer.
Sainsbury's said Given's expanding remit "reflects the strategic importance of technology and AI in delivering outstanding customer experience". Chief technology officer Rob Barnes reports into Given.
His focus on technology coincides with the growth of Sainsbury's Nectar loyalty programme. The Nectar Prices offering spans more than 9,000 products, with over 1 million customers accessing personalised savings each week. The company is working to deliver 500 million weekly personalised offers.
Sainsbury's celebrated its highest market share gains since 2016 in the year to 1 March 2025, as first quarter sales rose by 4.9% for the Sainsbury's brand and 4.4% for Argos. In July, Sainsbury's group CEO Simon Roberts put the rise in sales at Argos in part down to improvements in the digital experience, promotional events and The A-List marketing campaign.
This recognition reflects the incredible teams at Sainsbury's who bring our customer obsession to life every day.
The retailer's value perceptions have also grown 370 basis points over the past four years, with quality perceptions up 200 basis points - credited in part to the Next Level strategy and 'save and invest to win' programme.
From a customer perspective, the number of primary customers - who purchase from Sainsbury's as their main shop - has risen 18% in the past four years. Almost 20% of "big basket" customers over Christmas 2024 were entirely new to the supermarket.
Representing a breadth of marketing expertise, our judges were impressed by Given's experience and role in re-shaping Sainsbury's portfolio of brands.
"I'm truly honoured to be named Marketing Week's Marketer of the Year," says Given.
"This recognition reflects the incredible teams at Sainsbury's who bring our customer obsession to life every day. Innovation sits at the heart of how we build our brands always listening and evolving to meet the needs of the millions of people who shop with us. I'm proud of what we've achieved together and even more excited about what's still to come."
Marketing Week's editor-in-chief, Russell Parsons, adds: "For our Marketer of the Year, we look for a marketing leader who has had a demonstrable impact on the success of their company, and who demonstrates what good marketing leadership looks like. And Mark fits that bill. He has been integral to the success of Sainsbury's and has seen his role grow further, adding technology and data to sustainability and marketing - testament to the influence he has earned."
Given joined Sainsbury's in 2013 as head of brand communications, with responsibility for advertising and communication output across all bought, owned and earned channels. Two years later he was promoted to director of marketing planning and propositions director, a remit which included ownership of the corporate customer plan, Nectar loyalty scheme and customer experience design.
He then spent two years as marketing director, before being appointed CMO in 2019.
Prior to joining Sainsbury's, Given was head of sponsorship at O2, leading the Priority programme, and he also held brand director roles at Heineken and P&G.