Colloquium on Marketing Leadership: Lessons from Sid Ratna

What does it take to lead transformational marketing in a legacy industry? At a recent Yale SOM Colloquium on Marketing Leadership, Sid Ratna (SOM ’10), CMO of Vanguard’s Financial Advisor Services division, shared candid insights from his career journey—and offered timeless advice for emerging leaders.

Purpose Comes First

At every stage of his career, Ratna emphasized the importance of finding your why. “You need to be intentional about finding fulfillment,” he told students. “Having purpose gives you the conviction to get through the rough times—and it’s the best way to become the most valued employee.”

For Ratna, that purpose crystallized when he joined Vanguard—a mission-driven company where all profits are returned to clients. In a world where most Americans don’t participate in the market or have access to good financial advice, Vanguard’s model stood apart. “When we drop our fee, competitors drop theirs. That’s the Vanguard effect,” Ratna said. “I wanted to work for one of the last good guys on Wall Street—and we’re not even on Wall Street.”

Great Leaders Take Bets on Potential

One theme Ratna returned to throughout his talk was that real leadership isn’t just about skills or outcomes—it’s about belief. “Great leaders take bets on potential,” he said, reflecting on those who invested in his growth before he had all the answers. His advice to students? “Invest in your first 10–15 years. That’s when the compounding starts.”

He also urged future leaders to bring others along. “The bigger the change you want to drive in your career, the more people you’ll need to bring with you—because you won’t be given the time or money to do it in less than three years.”

Make Strategy Scalable

Ratna spoke openly about the challenges of driving marketing innovation in financial services, where margins are tight and expectations are high. “You can’t spend your way out of the problem,” he said. Instead, his approach focused on shifting from a sales-led model to one centered on customer experience.

By unifying marketing and sales under one division, and by equipping the team with data-driven tools, Ratna helped Vanguard increase digital engagement, grow funnel conversions by double digits, and scale results without increasing spend. “If I play in the scale space, I will win. If I rely solely on human effort, I will lose,” he noted.

Final Advice: Listen First, Lead Second

For those just entering the field, Ratna emphasized humility and curiosity over bold declarations. “No one likes the really smart person who comes in and says, ‘You should consider this,’” he said. “What they do respect is someone who studies the history, listens, and says, ‘Here’s how the context has changed.’”

We’re grateful to Sid Ratna for returning to Yale SOM and sharing his perspective with practical, purpose-driven lessons for the next generation of marketing leaders.

Interested in a speaking opportunity at Yale SOM? Reach out to us at ycci@som.yale.edu.