Until recently, the career path was not a common one. But as
brands assign more responsibility and credibility to their top
marketers, it's becoming a more frequent trajectory--at least for
brands outside of retail. In March, Kevin Hochman was promoted to
president and chief concept officer from chief marketing officer at
KFC. A month earlier, Jay Farner was appointed CEO at QuickenLoans
from CMO. Recruiters expect the trend to continue.
"As the scope and impact of marketing leadership roles expands,
we are seeing CMOs actively being discussed and evaluated in
succession conversations with boards," said Richard Sanderson,
co-leader of the marketing officers practice at Russell
Reynolds.
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Elevating a CMO to a president or CEO role recognizes the
importance of consumer-first thinking, said Jay Haines, founder of
search agency Grace Blue. "It makes customers, and not costs, the
focus of the business," he said, noting that it makes sense to
promote the person with the most experience of understanding the
core customer.
Yet while Hobart may be one of a growing number of brand leaders
who earned their chops in marketing, she's a rarity as a female
president of a sporting goods retailer. Madonna Badger, co-founder
of Badger & Winters, which works with Dick's
on the Calia brand, was not surprised. "[Lauren's] vision and
leadership, mixed with generosity and kindness, has always made the
creative better and smarter," said Badger.
The 69-year-old Dick's plans to leverage Hobart's experience to
help the brand be smarter about its marketing spending. Stack
mentioned a continuing focus on more digital and less traditional
vehicles, as the retailer highlights in-house brands like Calia.
Last year, Dick's spent $89.3 million on measured media in the
U.S., according to Kantar Media. The company also works with
Anomaly.
Earlier this week, Dick's reported a 2.4% increase in same-store
sales for the first quarter and net sales of $1.83 billion, a 10%
rise over the year-earlier period. However, results were below
analyst expectations and investors sent shares tumbling as a
result.