2024 CMO Moves Report
The role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) has evolved in recent years, transitioning from a focus on brand and communications to becoming a driver of business growth and innovation. Taligence have monitored these shifts since our inception in 2023, tracking global CMO appointments in companies with 200+ employees, analyzing public announcements, LinkedIn profiles, and company websites.
This report explores trends, demographics, and insights from 310 global CMO appointments in 2024, and compares those with the 213 CMOs appointed in 2023. From geographical patterns, gender and diversity, education, remote work status, experience levels, personality profiles, to industry-specific observations, we provide actionable insights for aspiring and established CMOs, and organizations seeking to understand the future of marketing leadership.
Our analysis focuses exclusively on CMOs, excluding adjacent titles such as Chief Growth, Revenue, Digital, or Brand Officer, and is limited to global CMOs unless a brand lacks central global marketing leadership, in which case regional CMOs are included.
Key Findings
1. Global and Regional Trends
- Significant Increase in CMO Hires: There was a substantial increase in CMO appointments in 2024, with 310 new CMOs announced globally compared to 213 in 2023, representing a 45.5% jump.
- The United States led with 251 appointments across 37 states. California (66 hires), New York (36), and Texas (25) were the top states.
- Globally, CMOs were hired in 25 countries.
2. Industry Breakdown
- Top Hiring Industries include Tech, Professional Services, and Financial Services.
o Tech: 102 hires (+30.8% YoY)
o Professional Services: 45 hires (+66.7% YoY)
o Financial Services: 30 hires (+57.9% YoY)
- High volumes were evident in industries like Media, Sports & Entertainment (+86.7%) and Restaurants (+50%).
3. Geographic Concentration
- California had the highest number of new global CMOs (66), followed by New York (36) and Texas (25). The Western region accounted for the largest share of CMO hires (35.9%), though this was a decrease of 5.2% compared to 2023. The Southern region saw an increase of 2.7%.
- Blue State Advantage: CMO hires in states leaning Democrat ("Blue" states) were double that of states leaning Republican ("Red" states).
4. Gender and Diversity
- Gender Representation: While the percentage of female CMO hires dipped slightly from 60.6% in 2023 to 58.1% in 2024, women still represent the majority of CMO hires (180 out of 310). Industries with the highest percentage of female CMO hires include BioTech, Pharma & Healthcare (83.3%), Retail (71.4%), Media, Sports & Entertainment (67.9%), Auto (66.7%), and Financial Services (63.3%).
- Decline in Diversity: There was a sharp decrease in the diversity of CMO hires from 21.6% in 2023 to 13.9% in 2024. Several industries, including Manufacturing (from 71.4% to 14.3%), Automotive (from 40% to 0%), CPG (from 22.2% to 6.3%), and Media, Sports & Entertainment (from 26.7% to 10.7%), saw significant drops in diverse hires.
5. Experience and Education
- MBA Significance: A significant percentage (38.4%) of new CMOs hold an MBA, indicating that business education remains highly prized. Industries such as Construction (100%), Manufacturing (71.4%), Government (60%), Hotel and Travel (50%), Restaurants (50%), and CPG (43.8%) saw the highest proportion of new CMOs with MBAs hired. This closely aligns with the 2023 data, where 32.4% of newly recruited CMOs held an MBA.
- Experience Levels: The average years of experience for newly hired CMOs slightly increased to 24.7 years (from 24.5 years in 2023). Industries hiring CMOs skewing younger include Media, Sports, & Entertainment (21.7 years), CPG (23.6 years), and Restaurants (23.7 years).
- First-Time CMOs: 39.4% of 2024's CMO hires were new to the C-suite, a decrease of 6.7% compared to 2023. Industries with a higher proportion of first-time CMOs include Construction (100%), Government (80%), Restaurants (61.1%), Professional Services (51.1%), Hotel & Travel (50%), and Media, Sports & Entertainment (50%).
- Industry Travelers: 11.9% of CMO hires were from unrelated industries, a small decrease of 0.7% compared to 2023.
6. Remote Work
- Decline in Remote Work: The percentage of remote CMO hires decreased significantly in 2024, with only 12.9% of new CMOs working remotely compared to 22.5% in 2023. Remote work opportunities are highest in Biotech, Pharma & Healthcare (25%), Media, Sports & Entertainment (21.4%), Tech (16.7%), and Professional Services (15.6%).
- No remote roles were reported in the Automotive, Construction, Restaurants, Retail, or Government sectors.
7. Promotion vs. External Hiring
- Most CMOs (83.9%) are hired externally, with only 16.1% being internal promotions. The Automotive sector leads in internal promotions at 44.4%, followed by Professional Services at 26.7% and Media, Sports & Entertainment at 25%.
- This aligns with the 2023 data, where just 12.7% of the 213 CMOs appointed were internal promotions.
8. Personality Traits
- Using Crystal's personality analysis, the report found that "Driver" and "Initiator" personality types are most common among CMOs (31.9% each), followed by "Captain" (17.1%).
- These traits suggest CMOs are often assertive leaders and innovative thinkers, aligning with the growing strategic demands of the role.
- People with the Di (Driver) personality type are typically assertive, capable of putting themselves forward boldly, and resistant to influence from others. Convincing others to work toward their goals, they may be seen as decisive, forceful, and persuasive when convincing others to work toward their goals.
- People with the DI (Initiator) personality type tend to approach people and situations in an energetic, lively manner. They are likely to enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over with strong social skills and a knack for being persuasive.
- People with the D (Captain) personality type tend to be assertive, intense, and ambitious. They are usually pragmatic, results-oriented executors who work quickly and make decisions with firmness and objectivity.
9. Agency Background
- Very few (6.8%) of the 2024 new CMO hires had recent agency experience (within the last 10 years), and only 5 were directly hired from the agency side.
- This closely mirrors the 2023 findings, where only 13 of the 213 CMOs had recent agency experience, and 4 were directly hired from agencies.
10. CMO Attrition & Promotion
- 4 out of 310 CMOs hired in 2024 already left the role and the shortest tenure of new CMO in 2024 was 4 months.
- Looking back at 2023, 40 out of 213 CMOs (18.8%) appointed in 2023 left within the last two years, and the shortest tenure was 4 months. The highest percentages of departures were in Restaurants (50%), Financial Services (26.3%), BioTech, Pharma & Healthcare (22.2%), and Media, Sports & Entertainment (20%).
- Among the 213 CMOs hired in 2023, three received promotions within the last two years, with two advancing to President roles and one becoming Chief Growth Officer. In 2024, one of the newly appointed CMOs has already been promoted.
Summary
The report reveals a substantial increase in CMO appointments, driven primarily by the technology sector, with a geographic concentration in California. While women still constitute the majority of hires, a concerning decline in diversity among appointees was observed. MBAs remain a common qualification, with nearly 40% of CMOs holding the degree. Remote opportunities for CMOs are becoming less common, and most appointments continue to come from external hires. The role also experiences a high rate of turnover, raising questions about long-term stability. Personality traits also stand out as a defining factor, with "Driver" and "Initiator" emerging as the most common DISC types among CMOs, aligning with the need for decisive and innovative leadership. Additionally, agency experience is not a significant pathway to CMO appointments, pointing to shifting expectations for leadership in this field.
Data and Methodology
- Data Sources: Taligence uses various data sources, including RSS feeds, Google Alerts, social listening, inbound leads, and partner data from Crystal (personality insights), Draup (AI-powered talent intelligence), and LinkedIn.
- Geographic Scope: The report focuses primarily on the U.S. market but also includes CMO moves worldwide, with some focus on Europe.
- Company Size: Taligence tracks companies with 200 or more employees to focus on established organizations.
- Diversity Definition: "Diversity" in the report refers to individuals from underrepresented ethnic minorities or the LGBTQ+ community, based on public declarations. Gender diversity is addressed separately.
- Personality Prediction: Crystal's personality predictions are based on an analysis of publicly available LinkedIn data, including job title, skills, interests, industry experience, posts and comments. More details about Crystal's methodology can be found on crystalknows.com.
- Industry Grouping: The report categorizes industries into 13 groups, including: Automotive, Biotech/Pharma/Healthcare, Construction, CPG, Financial Services, Government, Hotel and Travel, Manufacturing, Media/Sports & Entertainment, Professional Services, Restaurants, Retail, and Tech.
