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CMO Summit Insights

For 18 years, Spencer Stuart’s annual CMO Summit has gathered chief marketing officers and senior marketers to discuss critical issues affecting their brands, their teams and their careers.

CMO Summit 2020:
How CMOs are showing up in a time of crisis

Facing a global pandemic, economic upheaval and societal change, top marketers around the globe have seen their jobs change quickly and immensely in 2020. Leadership in the midst of this volatility was the theme of our 18th CMO Summit, which, not surprisingly, was also transformed for 2020, convening for the first time in a virtual setting, with a uniquely global panel of leading marketers meeting via video: Janey Whiteside, EVP and chief customer officer at Walmart who joined from the United States; Silvia Lagnado, sustainable growth officer at Natura &Co, who was in Brazil; and Singapore-based Erica Kerner, SVP and head of marketing strategies and partnerships for ONE Championship.

Read our key takeaways from the event and view highlights from previous summits below.

2019 CMO Summit

2019 CMO Summit Panelists

  • Kellyn Smith Kenny, CMO of Hilton
  • Barbara Messing, former SVP & CMO of Walmart
  • Diego Scotti, EVP & CMO of Verizon
View highlights

2019 West Coast CMO Summit Panelists

  • Jennifer Dulski, former head of groups and community at Facebook
  • Mike Linton, chief revenue officer at Ancestry
  • Blair Shane, former partner and chief marketing officer at Sequoia Capital
View highlights

Previous CMO Summits

View highlights from other CMO Summits for additional insights on navigating the challenges and opportunities facing marketing leaders.

The Importance of High-Functioning Teams

At the 2018 West Coast CMO Summit, three marketing leaders shared their experiences building capable, nimble teams to navigate an ever-changing business landscape.
More highlights

CMOs and Culture: What Is the Role of Marketing in Today’s Changing World?

At the 2018 CMO Summit, three global leaders discussed culture and its growing role in the brand experience.
More highlights

Finding a Connection Between Marketers and Boards

Highlights from the 2017 Spencer Stuart CMO Summit in San Francisco, where three accomplished CMOs described their work and experience on corporate boards.
More highlights

Can You Bring Your Passion and Your Career Together?

Three CMOs — Andy Donkin, global CMO of Under Armour; Alison Lewis, global CMO of Johnson & Johnson; and Will Smith, CMO of Abercrombie & Fitch ­— told us how they’ve combined their outside interests with their careers at the 2017 NY CMO Summit.
More highlights

Reconciling Your Career with Your Passion: Can You Bring Them Together?

November 2016
Christine Heckart of Brocade, Mike Linton of Farmers Insurance and Arra G. Yerganian of Sutter Health discuss how to combine passion with career.
More Highlights

Building Teams, Building Careers

May 2016
At the 2016 CMO Summit, we explored what skills chief marketers need to look for as they create best-in-class teams, ways to develop their marketing talent and how to build their own careers.
More highlights
West Coast CMO Summit 2015 Panelists

CMOs on People, Product and Passion

December 2015
Gary Briggs of Facebook, Kevin Burke of Square and Maria Stipp of Lagunitas shared their perspectives on the drivers of the brand and culture and what marketers can learn from founder-led companies.
More highlights

Today's CMO: At the Intersection of Brand Experience and Organizational Culture

June 2015
The 2015 CMO Summit explored the CMO’s role in both creating and reinforcing a culture that delivers the best possible brand experience in a world where the customer experience is an increasingly powerful differentiator.
More highlights
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