THE RIFT INSIDE THE C-SUITE:
THE CEO VS. THE CMO
INTRODUCTION
The need for companies to focus on their customers has never been more critical or apparent than during these soft economic times. As companies cast about for the applications and strategies to assist them in that quest, the Chief Marketing Officer has emerged as a fulcrum of those efforts. It's the CMO's role to execute tactical tasks, from sales support to marketing campaigns to ongoing advertising and public relations. The CMO must also pay careful attention to the company's market positioning and customer relationships.
As large corporations redouble their efforts to find more profitable paths to growth, they’re looking for strategic and operational leadership from the marketing organization more than ever before. The result is the increasing pressure on and prominence of a senior executive whose title didn’t even exist 10 years ago: the Chief Marketing Officer, or CMO.
But the track record of CMOs, so far, is mixed. According to a recent study by the global executive recruiting firm Spencer Stuart, the average tenure for CMOs is only about 23 months.
•Average tenure for CMOs: 22.9 months (at the top 100 branded companies).
•Average tenure for CEOs: 53.8 months. ...