CMO Tenure Study: Progress for Women, Less for Racial Diversity

We are pleased to share our 17th annual CMO Tenure Study. This report looks at trends in not only CMOs’ time in the role but, importantly, it evaluates progress in terms of diversity. Our study is based on the analysis of the tenures of CMOs from 100 of the most-advertised U.S. brands as of Dec. 31, 2020. Here are some of our key findings:

Tenure dropped to lowest point in more than a decade

Average CMO tenure in 2020 dropped to 40 months, the lowest it has been since 2009. Median tenure fell to 25.5 months, the lowest on record. A somewhat surprising trend is that CEO tenure at the same companies in our CMO Tenure Study hit an all-time high in 2020, at 80 months. Most certainly, the pandemic fueled some of the decline in chief marketing officer tenure as executive teams across industries faced unprecedented change in the market. Of note, the median tenure drop was fueled largely by transitions of several notable, long-time marketing executives.

More women in the CMO role, but a decline in racial/ethnic diversity

In 2020, almost half (47%) of all CMOs in our study were women, up from 43% in 2019 and 36% in 2018. Women represented more than half (52%) of the incoming class of CMOs in 2020, an increase from the previous year. Unfortunately, there was a slight drop in racial/ethnic diversity among all CMOs: 13% in 2020 versus 14% in 2019. Among the incoming CMOs in 2020, only 12% were racially or ethnically diverse — a steep drop from 19% in 2019. While more progress undoubtedly needs to be made, there has been some positive movement in this space. Some CMOs with diverse backgrounds have been promoted to other roles, such as Rick Gomez to EVP and chief food and beverage officer at Target, with Cara Sylvester assuming the chief marketing position. Others, such as Citi CMO Carla Zakhem-Hassan, were promoted internally. Additionally, advancements are being made beyond the 100 companies in our study. For example, Deirdre Findlay was named global CMO of Condé Nast and Dara Treseder joined Peloton as SVP and head of global marketing and communications.

Majority of companies promoted internal candidates versus looking outside for CMOs, especially first-timers

The majority of companies (63%) promoted internal candidates to the CMO role in 2020. This percentage was even higher for first-time CMOs: 84% were promoted from within the company vs. 16% of external hires. Onboarding any executive in a virtual environment is a challenge, but especially so for first-time executives. As a result, CEOs and boards prioritized candidates with previous experience within the company in order for them to understand the business and marketing objectives on day one, and hit the ground running in their new role.

CMO Tenure Full Data

"-" denotes data not available.