Turnover of Chief Marketing Officers Continues to Increase; Increased Visibility and Importance of Role Create Greater Expectations, Need for More Skill Sets

CHICAGO, August 14, 2006 — The tenure for Chief Marketing Officers at the 100 top consumer branded companies continued to decline in 2006 to an average of a little more than 23 months, according to leading executive search firm Spencer Stuart.

The average for 2006 was 23.2 months, compared to 23.5 months in 2005 and 23.6 in 2004.

“As the chief marketing officer role has risen in strategic importance and visibility, it clearly has brought on rising performance expectations and demands for the role that require broader and more sophisticated skill sets,” according to Greg Welch, who runs Spencer Stuart’s Marketing Officer Practice and who also heads the firm’s Global Consumer Goods & Services Practice out of the Chicago headquarters. “As was the case last year, we were again surprised by the number of changes in this critical role, ” said Welch.

Welch indicated that discussions with top CMOs and top CEOs have identified a number of issues that may be driving increased CMO turnover and potential solutions:

1. Driving buy-in across the C-Suite. As CMOs increasingly have become part of the executive suite, the need to effectively communicate with other C-Level executives is paramount. Most companies need a pretty dramatic change in their marketing agendas, and driving these course corrections requires close personal relationships with the rest of the senior executive team. Those CMOs who do this well are the executives with a complete understanding of the broader business and financial strategies affecting the company, and they must know how the marketing function fits in with the broader tapestry.
2. Broadening responsibility and knowledge requirements. While traditionally marketing has been more closely identified with advertising and promotions, CMOs now have been given the responsibility to oversee and integrate a far more complicated marketing mix, from direct to consumer communication, the internet and public relations to branding products across multiple global geographies. CMOs must not only have a more sophisticated understanding of that mix, but be able to serve as the orchestra leader for all of these activities as they are integrated together across the enterprise.
3. CEO-CMO support and communications. A recent survey by Spencer Stuart of almost 300 senior marketing, sales and management executives found that 85 percent said it was either extremely critical or very critical that CEOs communicate with marketing, and almost 80 percent reported that CEOs should hold their direct reports accountable for partnering with marketing. However, less than half thought it was being done today. Both the CEO and CMO not only must be aligned around marketing’s mission and its expected impact, but also across the role and responsibilities within the organization. It is critical that both executives consistently articulate the goals of the marketing agenda across the organization.
4. Cultural fit. Not unlike the due diligence which we provide for our clients, CMOs too need to do their homework in understanding a prospective employer’s culture and the engines that drive its P&L to assure fit. No two organizations are alike, and successful behavior performance in one organization doesn’t simply translate into success in another.

“Organizations with a long-tenured CMO avoid the obvious distractions of recruitment, training and severance, and instead are able to focus on business issues such as productivity and growth, ” according to Welch.

About Spencer Stuart
Spencer Stuart is one of the world’s leading executive search consulting firms. Privately held since 1956, Spencer Stuart applies its extensive knowledge of industries, functions and talent to advise select clients — ranging from major multinationals to emerging companies to nonprofit organizations — and address their leadership requirements. Through 50 offices in more than 25 countries and a broad range of practice groups, Spencer Stuart consultants focus on senior-level executive search, board director appointments, succession planning and in-depth senior executive management assessments. For more information on Spencer Stuart, please visit www.spencerstuart.com.

Press Contacts