Richard Sanderson

Our 19th annual study of Chief Marketing Officer tenure and trends.

Rapid and unpredictable waves of societal change combined with potent advances in technology and analytics have resulted in a growing scrutiny and re-evaluation of the CMO’s role. The role is already unrecognizable from what it was 10 years ago. Five years from now, it will look very different still.

Review and analysis of Chief Marketing Officer participation on boards of directors

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times: Record Turnover and CMO Succession Crisis Continues

• CMO succession crisis. Few companies appear to possess strong internal CMO succession options. 72% of CMO appointments in Q1 & Q2 were external hires. In the technology industry, 89% were external appointments.
• High volatility persists and is rising. 187 marketing leader appointments were recorded in Q1 & Q2. This is the highest observed number since we began tracking all hires 5 years ago.
• QSR hot seat. The turnover trend experienced by retail a year ago has spread to Quick… Show more

• CMO succession crisis. Few companies appear to possess strong internal CMO succession options. 72% of CMO appointments in Q1 & Q2 were external hires. In the technology industry, 89% were external appointments.
• High volatility persists and is rising. 187 marketing leader appointments were recorded in Q1 & Q2. This is the highest observed number since we began tracking all hires 5 years ago.
• QSR hot seat. The turnover trend experienced by retail a year ago has spread to Quick Service Restaurant category. 35% of CMOs have turned over at the top 20 QSRs in the last 6 months.
• Gender parity steps back. 41% of CMO appointments are women, down from 47% in Q3-Q4 2016 Show less

• Record turnover continues. 2016 saw the highest level of marketing-leadership appointments and turnover since Russell Reynolds Associates began comprehensively tracking all major appointments four years ago: 350 appointments compared to 281 in 2015 and 298 in 2014.
• Gender diversity takes a leap. A record 47% of marketing-leadership appointments were women during Q3-Q4 2016. Women have typically accounted for 40% of these appointments in the past.
• External hires continue to increase.… Show more

• Record turnover continues. 2016 saw the highest level of marketing-leadership appointments and turnover since Russell Reynolds Associates began comprehensively tracking all major appointments four years ago: 350 appointments compared to 281 in 2015 and 298 in 2014.
• Gender diversity takes a leap. A record 47% of marketing-leadership appointments were women during Q3-Q4 2016. Women have typically accounted for 40% of these appointments in the past.
• External hires continue to increase. The majority of publicly reported chief marketing officer appointments continue to be external hires. The final two quarters of 2016 saw the highest proportion yet, at 74 percent. Show less

What traits are companies looking for in their next CMO? CMO hiring trends, in-demand skills, and the opportunities and challenges facing today’s top marketers.

• Record turnover. So far, 2016 has witnessed the highest level of marketing-leader appointments and turnover since Russell Reynolds Associates began comprehensively tracking all major appointments four years ago. In the first six months of this year, we recorded 174 marketing-leader appointments
• Retail volatility. Among the top 30 US-based retailers by revenue, 48 percent have turned over their marketing leader in the last 12 months alone. See "From CMO to C-Uh-Oh" for more… Show more

• Record turnover. So far, 2016 has witnessed the highest level of marketing-leader appointments and turnover since Russell Reynolds Associates began comprehensively tracking all major appointments four years ago. In the first six months of this year, we recorded 174 marketing-leader appointments
• Retail volatility. Among the top 30 US-based retailers by revenue, 48 percent have turned over their marketing leader in the last 12 months alone. See "From CMO to C-Uh-Oh" for more insight
• External hires dominate. The clear majority of marketing officer appointments during the first two quarters were external hires, at 62 percent, and technology companies exhibit the greatest tendency to recruit an external marketing leader
• Outsiders in financial services. Financial services continued its strong and persistent trend of appointing marketing leaders from outside the sector
• Gender diversity grows slightly. Women accounted for 40 percent of all marketing-leadership appointments Show less

Why the level of turnover among retail Chief Marketing Officers?

Growth remains the critical imperative in most consumer packaged goods companies. To meet this challenge, several industry-leading companies have introduced a first generation of chief growth officers. In this report, “The Emergence of the Chief Growth Officer”, we combined our analysis of the role with interviews of the first generation chief growth officers in the market to further understand the role, its mandate, and critical success factors.

• The second half of the year continues to witness a higher volume of CMO appointments - replicating a trend seen over many years
• The majority of publicly reported CMO appointments continue to be external hires - although the share of internal promotions has risen to 27%
• The financial services industry again stands out as a net importer of marketing leadership - the majority of FS CMO appointments have come from outside the industry
• The share of female marketing appointments… Show more

• The second half of the year continues to witness a higher volume of CMO appointments - replicating a trend seen over many years
• The majority of publicly reported CMO appointments continue to be external hires - although the share of internal promotions has risen to 27%
• The financial services industry again stands out as a net importer of marketing leadership - the majority of FS CMO appointments have come from outside the industry
• The share of female marketing appointments increased in Q3 and Q4 of 2015 to 39% after dipping to 34% in Q1 and Q2
• Over half of the CMOs that left their roles in the first half of 2015 left to pursue a new opportunity, while one in five were promoted internally to a broader leadership role Show less

Strong personalities take on the growth challenge. Unique quantitative insights on the psychometric profile of the Chief Marketing Officer and the implications for onward career trajectory & relationships with other executive leaders.

Review and analysis of Marketing officer moves in 2015:
• The share of internal elevations and promotions to CMO has increased significantly to 37% this year from 16% last year
• The Financial Services industry stands alone in appointing the majority of its marketing leaders from outside of its industry
• The share of female leadership appointments has fallen back to 34% this year from 45% this time last year

Review and analysis of chief marketing officer moves in 2014

5 key findings for improving the readiness and retention of future marketing leaders.

To help business leaders better understand current trends surrounding the marketing function, Russell Reynolds Associates analyzed 137 companies that reported marketing officer moves during the first two quarters of 2013.

To help marketing leaders—and those who are keen to hire them—stay on top of key trends impacting the marketing function, Russell Reynolds Associates analyzed 160 executive moves across the last six months.