The CMOs were moving and shaking last week—like, more so than usual.
- Kate Rouch is leaving Facebook in favor of becoming Coinbase’s first CMO.
- Women’s co-working space The Wing hired Jen Cho as its lead marketer.
- Remember Kerry Sullivan, who has been marketing Neutrogena since before the brand’s Hayden Panettiere commercial days? She’s CMO of Dollar Shave Club now. Feel old yet?
- Petco’s Tariq Hassan is en route from the dog park to the golden arches of McDonald’s as head marketer and digital customer experience officer in the US.
- American sportball’s The MLB’s new CMO is Karin Timpone, who joined from Marriott.
So what’s up with the musical chairs? There are two theories circulating.
The obvious answer: CMOs are well-known for having short tenures in the C-suite. In 2020, the average tenure of a CMO was 40 months, down from 41 in 2019. For comparison, the average CEO tenure is now six and a half years.
The 2021 answers: The Great Resignation, but you already know that. Ad Age recently reported that, as the definition of what “marketing” is expands, other “chief” titles—like chief experience officer and chief brand officer—are elbowing CMOs out. Even the ANA is taking notice: “During a meeting of its Global CMO Growth Council in June, the ANA put up a slide enumerating more than two dozen titles now in use among council members that either relate to, report to or replace the traditional CMO title,” Ad Age wrote.
+1: They could be taking a cue from their employees. A survey of 84 CMOs conducted by PwC earlier this year found that 100% said employee turnover rates are increasing.—PB