CMO hiring is on the rise—behind top marketer employment trends

In recent years, plenty of attention has been paid to a possible decline in the relevance of the chief marketing officer, as some companies did away with the title or put marketing leadership under different roles. But those fears might be overblown, according to recent hiring trends. In 2024, 310 CMO hires were made globally, up from the 213 positions filled in 2023, according to Taligence, an executive search and talent intelligence firm that uses publicly available data to track hirings. The firm also found that the U.S. accounted for 81% of those hirings, with California, New York and Texas recording the most hirings. Also read: CMOs to watch in 2025 CMOs are “ubiquitous and becoming more ubiquitous. Industries that didn't even have CMOs are hiring CMOs,” said Michael Wright, a managing partner at Taligence and former global head of talent acquisition innovation and operations at WPP. “Marketing is a complex art and science, and you need somebody in your corner who understands it if you want to run a successful company.” Wright noted that some companies that generated headlines for eliminating top marketing positions have started to fill those jobs again. For instance, Lowe’s, which eliminated the CMO title in late 2022, filled it again in mid-2024, promoting Jennifer Wilson into the role. Below, a closer look at key 2024 CMO hiring trends, based on findings from Taligence, which sources its data from English-language information and tracks any job with CMO as part of the title. Read Ad Age’s 2025 predictions stories here Turnover is stubbornly high While CMOs are in demand, they are often not at a company for long. The position has long been plagued by high turnover and there are no signs that the situation is improving. Of the 310 CMOs hired last year, four have already departed, with one lasting just four months, according to Taligence, which also found that about 19% of the CMOs hired in 2023 left within two years. It cited restaurants, financial services and biotech, pharmaceuticals and health care as having the highest attrition rates. The turnover “highlights the demanding nature of the position and problematic talent assessment,” Taligence stated. Also read: CMOs’ biggest concerns as the year begins Companies are hiring externally Those talent assessment issues seem to be affecting succession planning. A majority of companies continue to hire externally for CMO jobs, rather than finding candidates inside their own walls. Only16% of CMOs hired in 2024 were internal promotions, according to Taligence. Agency executives are not in demand When looking externally, companies don’t seem to be recruiting from ad agencies. Only about 7% of CMOs hired in 2024 had recent agency experience (within the past 10 years), with just five hires coming directly from the agency side, according to Taligence. “Agencies have gotten very specialized over the years, more so in the last decade,” Wright said. And “many people recruiting CMOs are looking for people that can do and know about all of the things. So I think that's to the detriment of more CMOs being hired from [agencies].” Remote opportunities dwindle As more companies demand workers return to the office, CMOs are not immune. Only 13% of CMO jobs filled last year were for remote positions, down from 23% in 2023, according to Taligence. No remote hires were made in automotive, construction or retail. More flexibility was observed in biotech, pharma and health care, as well as media and sports and entertainment. Some candidates are prioritizing the flexibility hybrid roles provide. Recent news: WPP’s return-to-office policy prompts petition Female hiring is still strong, overall diversity is down Companies continue to hire female CMOs at a strong clip—58% of the hires last year were women, only slightly down from 61% in 2023. In retail, 71% of the CMO hires were women. But the marketing industry continues to take a step back when it comes to overall diversity that does not factor in gender—only 14% of CMOs hired last year were diverse by that measure, down from 22% in 2023. The decline comes as many companies pull back on DEI programs. The industries in which diverse CMO hirings fell the most include manufacturing (from 71.4% to 14.3%), automotive (40% to 0%) and consumer packaged goods (22.2% to 6.3%), according to Taligence. Advanced degrees in demand In some good news for universities, MBAs still appear to matter—38% of CMOs hired last year held the degree, “highlighting the continued value of advanced business education for marketing leadership roles,” according to Taligence.

CMO hiring is on the rise—behind top marketer employment trends

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