CMO job moves and hiring trends to watch

Ad Age partners with executive search firm Taligence for a monthly look at the biggest CMO hires and employment trends. The data tracks all titles with CMO in the name globally and includes companies with a significant presence sourced from English-language announcements and reports. See previous installments here. Chief marketing officers remained in demand in February, with a total of 42 hirings made during the month, only down one from January’s total, which marked the largest monthly total recorded by Taligence since the executive search firm began tracking hires in 2023. Below, a closer look at the February hiring trends: Financial services boom While technology continued to account for the most February CMO hirings, with nine, financial services was close behind with eight appointments made across banking, insurance and fintech. Those making moves include student lending firm Earnest, which hired Emily Wilson Childers from Credit Karma; U.S. Mortgage Corporation, which hired Lindsi Flynn from Assurance Financial; and Bay Federal Credit Union, which hired Mark Ely from Members 1st Federal Credit Union. Michael Wright, managing partner at Taligence, suggested the hiring pace could be influenced by a need for better marketing as a new regulatory environment takes shape under the Trump administration. “Financial services marketing is having its breakout moment,” he said. “With deregulation whispers and digital currency creeping into the mainstream, these brands don’t just need compliance, they need charisma.” Lone Star surge While California and New York continue to lead all states when it comes to new CMO hires, Texas is showing strength, accounting for seven hires last month (only one shy of the Golden State). The Lone Star State hiring spree began picking up steam late last year, notes Taligence. Those fueling the streak in February were Dallas-based Unleashed Brands. The kids-focused company and owner of brands such as Little Gym hired former Burger King marketer Pat O’Toole. Meanwhile, Houston-based legal giant Reed Smith hired Gillian Ward as chief marketing and business development officer. Rookies and promotions Of the 42 CMO hires last month, 19 are stepping into their first C-suite roles. This about equals January’s pace of 18 first-time CMO hires. One of the newbies is Erin Walter, who was promoted into the CMO role at Wichita, Kansas-based Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers. She was among only nine internal promotions in February, as companies continue to look externally to fill most CMO roles. Gender breakdown Women continue to make gains. In February, females accounted for 26 of all CMO hires, following January’s tally of 28 female hires. In 2024, 58% of the 310 CMO hires made were women. More exclusive content for All Access subscribers Agency Review Tracker Leading National Advertisers 2024 World’s Largest Advertisers Key hires Merrell The outdoor footwear and apparel brand hired Richard McLeod as CMO, replacing Pallav Tamaskar, who left the company after joining as CMO in late 2023. McLeod previously served as CMO at Champion and before that was senior VP of brand at Canada Goose. At Merrell he reports to Global Brand President Janice Tennant. At Champion, McLeod was involved with efforts such as a campaign from 72andSunny that celebrated how some streetwear designers got their start using Champion blank sweatshirts and tees as a blank canvas. He began his marketing career in alcohol working for Bacardi, Pernod Ricard and LVMH (Hennessy) before moving to footwear in 2018 when he landed a job at Foot Locker, according to his LinkedIn. In an interview with Taligence, McLeod described why he took the Merrell job: “I was very purposeful about my rubric—culture, opportunity to continue learning, work-life balance, a brand where I could drive transformation, including building a high-performing team, compensation, future opportunities, and lastly, remit.” Moderna The pharmaceutical company known for its COVID vaccine and its mRNA science hired Amy Mahery as senior VP and CMO. Mahery was most recently chief commercial officer at Roviant Sciences and before that spent 18 years at EMD Serono, holding roles across oncology, neurology and immunology. “In short, she knows how to market complex science to the masses,” observes Taligence. She joins Moderna as the company cuts costs amid sluggish business results. Moderna recently hired Known as its U.S. media agency of record. Kate Cronin, Moderna’s chief brand officer, remains at the company and is slated to speak at SXSW on Friday on a panel about “restoring trust in modern science.” Nationwide The insurer promoted Ann Bair to CMO, replacing the retiring Ramon Jones. She had been senior VP of financial services marketing. As CMO, Bair will report to CEO Kirt Walker, overseeing marketing strategy, advertising, creative services, social media, corporate communications and events. Bair has been at Nationwide since 2006, serving in various capacities, including a four-year stint as chief digital officer, when she was credited with launching chatbots and other digital tools. Ulta Beauty The retailer promoted Kelly Mahoney to chief marketing officer from senior VP, customer and growth marketing. Mahoney has been credited with driving Ulta’s highly regarded loyalty program, which counts 44 million members. “It’s clear that brands are increasingly betting on marketing leaders who know how to cultivate and retain dedicated customers,” notes Taligence, pointing to Lowe’s CMO Jennifer Wilson, who was elevated to the role in June 2024 after making a major impact on the home improvement retailer’s loyalty program. PrizePicks The daily fantasy sports brand hired Mike Quigley as CMO, recruiting him from Niantic, where he led marketing for the company’s augmented reality games, including Pokémon GO. “With FanDuel, DraftKings, and Underdog Sports all circling the [daily fantasy sports] space like sharks, PrizePicks is doubling down on a gaming-first CMO to keep users engaged and fend off the competition,” reports Taligence. Cohesity The AI-powered data security firm hired Carol Carpenter as CMO. She was previously CMO at software development firm Unity and before that worked at VMWare and Google, where she was VP of marketing for Google Cloud. Cohesity, which recently merged with Veritas’ enterprise data protection business, is “operating in an ultra-competitive security and cloud market, where standing out requires more than just solid tech—it needs a brand and go-to-market strategy that cuts through the noise. Carpenter’s got the pedigree to pull it off,” reports Taligence. More marketing, media and agency executive moves

CMO job moves and hiring trends to watch

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