Want to learn marketing from a Chief Marketing Officer? How about pick the brain of a Chief Design Officer?

As you may have heard, Tuck can be a little tough to get to. It’s certainly not impossible to get to Hanover, but it’s also certainly not New York City.

So when business executives come to Tuck, it’s pretty safe to say that it’s not because they were already coming to town for a business meeting or some other reason. When executives visit Tuck, they’re coming to interact with Tuck’s students and faculty – period. The power of the Tuck brand brought them here, and of course, we’re more than happy to have them visit.

Last week, the power of the Tuck brand was particularly obvious to me. For our marketing class, our “guest lecturer” was the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for the world’s sixth-largest food company. He walked the first-year class through his company’s brand building formula and explained the most urgent changes occurring in consumer packaged goods marketing – especially the continuing shift from traditional media (e.g., television ads) to new media (e.g., blogs, social marketing). His presentation was honest and fresh, and at the end of the lecture he encouraged students to ask questions and give feedback. How often do you get to do that?

Down the hall, this year’s Business & Sustainability Conference was kicking off. After the lecture with the CMO concluded, I headed off to “office hours” to meet the Chief Design Officer of the world’s leading consumer health company. The company is actively pushing the integration of great design (i.e., packaging and branding) and sustainable design, particularly using renewable or recyclable materials. During my office hours visit, I had 30 minutes to chat with the Chief Design Officer one-on-one. We talked about how he built his team, the ways the company is measuring results, and what he considers to be the company’s very best work. How often do you get to do that?

So, if you ever find yourself thinking that Hanover is tough to get to, here’s a thought: if the distance is no big deal for a CMO or Chief Design Officer for some of the world’s largest and most respected companies, should it be for you?