Ad Age has partnered 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.

The robust chief marketing officer job market of 2024 did not slow down in 2025’s first month—43 global chief marketing officer appointments were made in January. That is the largest monthly total recorded by Taligence since the executive search firm began tracking hires in 2023.

Below, a closer look at the hirings:

Women leading

Of the 43 CMO hires, 28 were women and 15 were men. This comes after women accounted for 58% of the 310 CMO hires made in all of 2024. 

First-timers

Of the 43 CMO hires, 18 executives are stepping into the role for the first time. “People are more willing to take bets on a CMO who has never done he job versus a CFO,” said Michael Wright, managing partner at Taligence and former global head of talent acquisition innovation and operations at WPP. 

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Golden State rush

California led U.S. activity with five new CMOs, while Massachusetts, Texas, New York and Florida followed with three each. In total, appointments were spread across 16 states. The U.K. accounted for four CMO hires with Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, India and Canada also accounting for some appointments.

Also read: U.S. ad employment is lower than previously thought

Industry breakdown 

Software development saw the highest number of hires (11 new CMOs), followed by retail with five and hospitality, healthcare, and network security each with three. Altogether, new CMOs were hired across 21 industries.

Looking inside

Only 10 of the 43 CMO hires were internal promotions. While that amounts to only 23%, it is the highest percentage Taligence has reported since it began tracking moves. But the low percentage highlights the succession planning problem plaguing marketing departments. By comparison, when hiring CEOs, 73% of global, publicly listed companies in 2024 promoted from within, according to Russell Reynolds.

Key hires

The North Face: The outdoors retailer promoted Dennis Seydel into the CMO job after he had served as VP of global brand management. He had a 17-year tenure at Nike, followed by leadership roles at Google and Uber. In a LinkedIn post, Seydel stated that “having spent my career at the intersection of culture, innovation, and brand building, I’m thrilled to help shape this legendary brand’s next chapter.”

The North Face is owned by VF Corporation, which recently listed an open CMO role for Dickies.

Coach:  Joon Silverstein was promoted from senior VP to CMO at the maker of handbags and other upscale goods. “Silverstein has been making waves, particularly in the challenge of marketing across generations,” according to Taligence, citing Coach’s “Unlock Your Courage” campaign.

Carlsberg Britvic: The U.K.-based beer and soft drinks maker, formed as result of a recent merger, promoted Munnawar Chishty from Britvic GB’s marketing director to global CMO. She will oversee brands including Carlsberg, Brooklyn Brewery, Tango and J20. 

Says Tailigence: “Known for campaigns that breathe new life into legacy brands, Chishty’s work—such as her J20 Mocktails campaign with VCCP—has successfully blended cheeky nostalgia with modern consumer insights. With this latest move, she’s set to bring that same innovative energy to an even broader stage.”

LinkedIn: The Microsoft platform hired Jessica Jensen as chief marketing and strategy officer, recruiting her from Indeed, where she had been CMO since 2021. She replaces Melissa Selcher, who departed in May after a long tenure. Jensen’s hire comes amid leadership changes that have included the departure of Jim Habig, VP of business-to-business marketing, who left in June and is now works for Apple.

Litera: The company, which makes technology solutions for law firms, hired Cynthia Gumbert as CMO. She was previously CMO of software maker SmartBear where “she led a brand transformation and positioned the company for market dominance,” according to Tailigence, which notes that she holds a Harvard MBA, as well as degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tufts University.

More marketing, media and agency executive moves

• Ikea’s chief creative officer leaves to join SharkNinja
• McDonald’s US marketing leader Tariq Hassan is leaving
• Kimberly-Clark hires BBDO exec as its first chief creative and design officer
• Warner Bros. Discovery names two leaders to fill ad chief role
• Assembly hires new North America CEO
• Forsman & Bodenfors hires global chief creative officer
• DDB restructures North America agencies under new leadership unit