While the average tenure for CMOs at Fortune 500 companies is trending in a positive direction, it still lags behind the overall C-suite average. Chief marketers are surely aware of that fact, but chief executives are not: only 52% of CEOs are aware that CMOs have the shortest tenure in the C-suite, according to a survey conducted by Boathouse.
The marketing and communications agency’s fourth annual survey of CEOs about marketing comes as the tenure of CMOs and the evolution of the role continue to be hot topics in marketing. Based on data from interviews with 150 CEOs from top U.S. companies, Boathouse’s latest survey shows that there is still significant work to be done by CMOs to get on the same page as their bosses.
CEOs increasingly rate their CMOs as “Best in Class,” a figure that increased from 21% four years ago to 45% in 2025. Similarly, 71% of CEOs grade their CMO an "A" or "B" for their overall performance. But even as CEOs highly rate the relevance of their marketing function to the overall business compared to three years ago (66% much more or somewhat more relevant) and see marketing as a profit center (65%), the number of CEOs who rate their marketing capabilities as average or underperforming increased from 50% last year to 63% in 2025.
“CMOs are in a little bit of no man's land right now, which is the trap,” said Boathouse CEO John Connors. “On one hand, I think they've got some religion over the past four years, and politically, they're better perceived by the CEO… yet at the same time, they're not seen as an important strategic partner, and marketing overall is seen as trending down.”
Growth and innovation gaps
In a worrying statistic for CMOs, 14% of CEOs have considered eliminating the CMO position in the last year. Perhaps this is due to a persistent disconnect between marketing and growth: Only 51% of CEOs say the CMO is at the core of creating and shaping growth strategy, with 49% saying the CMO is at the periphery, responsible for executing and operationalizing a growth strategy.
But being obsessed with growth is not the CEO’s only responsibility: They also focus on organizational attributes of employee morale and culture, ethical decisions and reputational risk, making the role a difficult tightrope to walk. Plus, more than a third of CEOs have yet to fully realize their transformation strategy, giving CMOs a major opportunity to make a difference in the C-suite by talking about how to bring CEO plans to life.
“Too many marketing people talk about ‘the CEO is not giving me space to execute my brand strategy,’” Connors said. “Why would you try and grab the kingdom and then take it downstream? Why don't you take it upstream to the CEO and see if you're translating the business strategy right?”
Increasingly, those business strategies involve artificial intelligence, which 80% of CEOs are integrating into their organizations, even if over half believe there is some level of “hype” to tech world’s latest fascination. But after initially leading the way on AI adoption, areas like customer service and operations have become more prominent. In a related data point, half of CMOs believe their CMOs are playing it safe on innovation and generating new ideas.
“How many people have you heard say we're running pilots? Please stop telling me you're running pilots, because that is also known as you're covering your ass,” Connors asserted. “I'm not making any big bets… I’m not going to let it beat me, but I'm not going to lose on it. The CEO knows that.”
