What makes a CMO successful? In over 15 years of research, I’ve collected a couple of leadership insights from credible sources—I found useful. Some come from my own research.

Applications for the European CMO Fellowship 2024 are now open (and close 16 October)!

What author and podcast hosts Drew Neisser learned from interviewing over 300 chief marketing officers.

CMO Transitions are happening at an unprecedented rate. What to do?

Coca-Cola’s ditching of its chief marketing officer role for a chief growth officer is a clear warning to CMOs: stand for growth, or lose it all.

The average chief marketing officer in large U.S. firms leaves after just 4.1 years, while the CEO stays around for eight. It is not good for business.

Influential CMOs are associated with revenue, yet too often marketers are not. They’re missing the point. It’s time for CMOs to get into the revenue camp.

Every CMO agrees: skills are central for marketing teams’ business impact and internal standing. But when it comes to building those skills, the marketing department is too often undermanaged and underfunded. It’s time for CMOs to catch up.

Marketers often ask: “Do I have what it takes to step up and shape my company’s customer agenda?” But when good marketers hold back, companies may struggle to grow and customers are worse off. That’s when it’s time to add more fuel into marketer’s tank: confidence.

Why are CFOs so powerful? They have crucial and credible financial data every CEO wants to see. Competing with a CFO’s credibility can be hard if your own data is forward looking—or if your work’s impact is hard to measure. Don’t try to compete—change the game. Open the books!

In theory, the CMO role should be exalted, but reality is different. New evidence suggests many CMOs are missing the needs of an important customer: their own company. It’s time to change this.

CMOs and CFOs always had a special relationship. Five steps can strengthen the ties between the two.