The number of Fortune 500 CMOs declined last year

The chief marketing officer role was on the wane last year at the nation’s largest corporations, as some companies turned to alternative titles to encompass marketing and others reorganized. But at the same time, the number of women in the position reached an all-time high, according to Spencer Stuart’s annual CMO Tenure study. In 2024, 66% of Fortune 500 companies had a C-suite marketing leader, a drop from the 71% that had such a leader in 2023, the firm reported. However, last year’s percentage is still higher than the 64% of CMO-equivalents from 2022, Spencer Stuart found. Richard Sanderson, who leads Spencer Stuart’s marketing, sales and communications officer practice in North America, cautioned that last year’s decline does not imply that brands do not value marketing as a discipline. “The lack of a CMO doesn’t mean marketing is not important,” he said. “It means marketing manifests itself differently in different organizations.” See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here Spencer Stuart found that by industry, 49% of industrial businesses do not have a CMO; conversely, in media, technology and telecom, only 20% do not employ someone in the role. Sanderson noted that many of the differences come from the way the company is structured. The role’s existence varies over time, a trend that has increased in recent years. For example, Lowe’s got rid of the CMO role three years ago with the exit of Marisa Thalberg but brought it back with the promotion of Jennifer Wilson last year. Starbucks eliminated the CMO role last year when Brady Brewer was promoted to CEO of Starbucks International; Tressie Lieberman joined the coffee chain as global chief brand officer in November and Cheryl Gresham became its senior VP of North America marketing last month. Indeed, some evidence shows a robust CMO job market when including a broader set of companies. 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 at companies with 200 or more employees. In January, 43 CMO hires were made, followed by 42 last month, Taligence reported. Direct-to-consumer brands in particular are focusing on CMOs, according to Polly Wong, president of direct marketing agency Belardi Wong. “We are seeing a resurgence back to a more traditional CMO,” she said recently, noting that such smaller brands are now “building a distinct brand and voice” to give consumers a reason to buy something rather than just focusing on performance marketing as they have in years past. More: The state of DTC—what is working and what’s ahead Sanderson pointed to the continuing trend of incorporating the CMO role into other titles such as the chief growth officer, chief commercial officer, chief revenue officer and chief customer officer. “We’re finding only 40% of CMOs have this straight chief marketing officer title,” he said. Gender parity More than half, or 53%, of CMOs at Fortune 500 companies are women, a percentage that has grown consistently since 2020 when it was 41%. Yet just 12% of such marketers come from historically underrepresented ethnic or racial groups, a consistent figure in recent years, the report found. “There’s been some great movement around gender parity but the needle hasn’t moved on historically unrepresented groups,” Sanderson said. Stable tenure Spencer Stuart’s report also examined CMO tenure, which the firm found to be holding steady. The average tenure at Fortune 500 companies last year was 4.3 years, slightly higher than 2023’s 4.2 years. Nearly two-thirds, or 65%, of CMOs that left their role were either promoted or moved to better positions at other companies. “Low tenure does not equal failure,” Sanderson said, noting the move to bigger or better roles through promotion or lateral moves. Tenure also varies by category, he added, noting that health care CMOs have an average tenure of 5.3 years, while the average tenure of marketers in the consumer industry is just 3.9 years. Become an All Access subscriber Get access to exclusive resources including Leading National Advertisers, World’s Largest Advertisers, Agency Report, Agency Review Tracker and TV Pricing Report. Click here

The number of Fortune 500 CMOs declined last year

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