Isabelle Duarté

The Outsider’s Advantage

Seeing organisations from the edges

I grew up between cultures, built my career across countries, and learned early that some of the most interesting insights come from the margins. This blog is place to think out loud about work, marketing, finance and leadership – from that vantage point. A place for CMOs, CFOs, and business leaders to reflect on what’s changing and what’s important.

Watch, Read, Listen

Topics Explored

I write about how CFOs, CMOs, and Business Leaders make decisions when the rules are changing. My work sits at the intersection of finance, marketing, leadership, and growth – exploring the mental models, trade-offs, and operating principles that help organisations scale with clarity, trust, and intent.

Progressive Finance

I focus on how finance evolves to better support CFOs and business leaders. Progressive finance is a concept I help define, to shift focus from control that slows businesses to empowerment that fosters agility.

Trust, autonomy, and accountability are built in from the start.

Marketing as a Discipline

Much of my writing draws on my experiences as a CMO: clear choices, operational rigour and structure. Frameworks like the Four Ps show how strategy becomes actionable.

I explore how this discipline translates beyond marketing into leadership, finance, and growth decisions. 

Leadership in Practice

I see leadership as something you practice every day, not just a job title. I explore the balance between trust and control, speed and safety, and autonomy and accountability.

I am interested in how leaders’ actions, choices and behaviours influence business culture.

Growth with Intent

Growth is a recurring theme in my work and my career path. It is exhilarating, sometimes elusive, and almost always chaotic.

I explore how organisations scale without creating chaos or fragility. Where structure, purpose and clarity enable speed, not bureaucracy.