Dive Brief:
- Average tenure for CMOs at Fortune 500 companies trended slightly upward in 2024, landing at 4.3 years, according to new findings from Spencer Stuart.
- That figure is below the overall C-suite average of 4.9 years, aligning with past research from the executive search firm. Marketing chiefs are generally longer-lasting than chief sustainability and chief diversity officers, two areas that have come under enormous political pressure.
- Spencer Stuart emphasized that churn is not always a bad thing: 65% of CMOs who left their appointment were promoted internally or took either lateral or step-up jobs elsewhere. Ten percent of exiting CMOs moved on to become CEOs.
Dive Insight:
CMO tenure remained relatively stable in 2024 while still landing below other appointments in the C-suite. Spencer Stuart’s reports have been cited as evidence of volatility impacting marketers, but the executive search firm noted that low tenures can be the result of a number of factors, including positive ones such as promotions. The report found 37% of Fortune 500 CEOs analyzed have some background in marketing.
The jump from CMO to CEO was apparent in some high-profile examples last year: Starbucks’ global marketing chief Brady Brewer was named CEO of the coffee chain’s international operations in April while longtime General Electric CMO Linda Boff took the leadership reins of agency Said Differently over the summer. Some brands instated entirely new marketing titles, with Starbucks hiring its first global chief brand officer in October, a move that effectively replaces Brewer’s old gig.
Two-thirds (66%) of Fortune 500 companies held C-suite marketing leadership roles in 2024, according to Spencer Stuart, an 8 percentage-point drop from the year prior. As with tenure figures, Spencer Stuart explained that the decline isn’t necessarily a sign that marketing’s significance is diminishing. The trend could be indicative of more brands adopting hybrid structures or regionally based marketing appointments. Technology, media and telecommunications companies saw their number of marketing leaders dip last year while consumer packaged goods increased 3 percentage points.
A notable share of marketing leaders (16%) wield multiple titles, such as chief marketing and communications officer, while other executives fill the traditional CMO function but without “chief” in their official name (eg. a senior vice president of marketing). These combinations — and the growing prevalence of marketing stewards who do not have “marketing” in their title at all, like chief growth and commercial officers — reflect how some organizations are adjusting marketing to be more squarely focused on driving revenue, per Spencer Stuart.
“It’s also a clue that, looking ahead to the next generation of leaders, companies will be seeking talent with broad expertise covering many areas, rather than straightforward growth within one niche,” the report said.
Regarding demographics, Spencer Stuart dubbed the CMO as an officially “female-focused function,” with 53% of marketing chiefs women in 2024. The share of women who hold the CMO title has jumped 12 percentage points since 2020. That said, the role has stagnated on other measures of diversity: Just 12% of marketing leaders come from historically underrepresented racial or ethnic groups. Progress on that front could be stymied as diversity, equity and inclusion practices are stripped back at many top brands due to mounting political pressure.
