research
CMO Tenure Hits 10-Year Low
- by Tanya Gazdik , September 2, 2021
The revolving door for CMOs is spinning as fast as it has in over a decade, according to new research.
The data suggests that 86% of chef executive officers believe the top marketers have the power to influence key decisions of the C-suite, yet less than a third actually trust …
It's interesting to compare these findings with what I saw back in the day as an ad agency guy. In the 1970s we figured that an average client brand manager was in his/her job for a given brand for only 2-3 years while the marketing directors---today's CMOs---generally held on for about twice as long. In those days there were far fewer divisions and brands than today, which may explain the current, somewhat higher rate of turnover---more job openings to lure CMOs away.
This should not be a surprise. For the decades of my career, I observed that CMOs are the first line of defense/excuse for CEOs trying to save their own job. CEOs under pressure to improve top and bottom line results often blame their CMO for not getting the job done.