What does a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) really do? Good question! This is a C-suite role that a lot of young marketers aspire to, and has actually undergone a lot of change in recent years. Like most leaders, CMOs have gone through the actual “work” of marketing and learning the ropes in their younger days, and now they spend their time on vision, strategy, budget, and hiring. They generally report to the CEO or CFO. If you’re dreaming of becoming a high-powered CMO one day, read on!
A modern CMO at a larger corporation, such as Coca Cola, Apple, or BMW probably grew up professionally in a traditional ad world, and saw the transition to digital marketing (read more about the shift from traditional to digital marketing here). A big challenge for today’s CMO is staying digital and being able to point to revenue generation from the marketing team.
Successful CMOs have creative minds and are really able to envision potential, while being increasingly analytical. They need to be able to make the business case for spending money on a huge Superbowl ad or splashy campaign. They have to stay updated on pop culture and what their customers value, and really be at the forefront of understanding how they can relate to their buyers. It’s a constant learning process. CMOs are often inspirational, creative, and entrepreneurial, and they have to be excellent story-tellers.
Some Really Cool CMOs
Here are some famous CMOs. There is no one singular path to being a CMO! Some CMOs start at a company and stay for life, working their way up. Others learn from a lot of different companies before finding a home as CMO. Some stay in one industry, and others flex across several. You’ll also see that some of these C-suite roles aren’t solely about Marketing, because Marketing is so related to other parts of the business.
- Bozoma Saint John, Chief Marketing Officer @ Netflix
- Saint John has one of the coolest resumes out there. She got her start in the advertising agency world post-college, joined PepsiCo as a Senior Brand Manager, and then joined Beats Music (a startup at the time). When Beats was purchased by Apple, she pursued her passion for entertainment and was the Head of Global Consumer Marketing for iTunes and Apple Music. In 2017, she became Chief Brand Officer at Uber. In 2020, she joined Netflix as Chief Marketing Officer.
- Julia Goldin, Chief Product and Marketing Officer @ Lego
- Goldin became CP&MO at Lego in 2014, after her position as CMO at The Revlon Group. She had also served at The Coca Cola Company for 13 years. At Lego, Goldin works on inspiring kids to play and learn through Legos, and builds the product development, marketing, consumer insights, and partnerships.
- Manuel Arroyo, Global Chief Marketing Officer @ The Coca Cola Company
- Started in Brand Management at Coca Cola in 1995 in the Madrid office, and kept working his way up. Arroyo has held titles such as Global Brand Manager, General Manager, President of the South East and West Asia Unit, and President of the Mexico Unit. He was appointed as Global CMO in 2020 and is responsible for as Coca Cola’s beverage brands, as well as several operational marketing teams.
Key Responsibilities of a CMO
Deloitte, a management consulting firm, has actually conducted research on 5 major responsibilities of a CMO. You can find the article here, and I’ve paraphrased the responsibilities below:
- Customer Champion: Use data to figure out what customers want
- Capability Builder: Develop the team’s ability and resources (data skillsets, tech tools)
- Innovation Catalyst: Experiment and create breakthrough, novel types of tools and media
- Chief Storyteller: Tell and protect the brand story
- Growth Driver: Help drive sustainable growth across the whole business
