Will more chief marketers make it to the corner office, or are recent trends exceptions to the rule?
Recently, Starbucks made headlines by announcing Brian Niccol would be stepping into the role of CEO. While Niccol had been CEO of Chipotle, what interested many observers was that he cut his teeth as a Chief Marketing Officer.
Niccol follows some other recent examples of the CMO-to-CEO track. In 2019, JPMorgan Chase promoted its Chief Marketing Officer, Kristin Lemkau, to CEO of its U.S. wealth management business. More recently, Kickstarter, Avon and Iris Worldwide have all promoted internally, elevating their chief marketers to the top job.
Despite these examples, the CMO to CEO path is untraditional. But it’s interesting to consider whether Niccol’s ascension is the start of a trend to watch.
While at Chipotle, Niccol led the company to significant success, doubling revenue and increasing the stock price by nearly 800 percent. He also raised wages for team members, strengthening employee culture for the brand. Given Starbucks’ recent challenges, it’s logical that the global chain would choose an experienced marketer to reshape consumer strategy.
In the past decade, the duties of marketing executives have required more flexibility, as CMOs are increasingly engaging with other key areas of business intertwined with marketing. It takes a holistic view of marketing and strategy to rise to the top and stay there. It’s also dependent on the industry.
To explore this trend further, I spoke with a legendary former CMO, Linda Boff, who recently made a similar move, departing GE to become CEO of Said Differently.
Before taking the top job at Said Differently, Boff spent more than two decades at GE serving as the global chief marketing and communications officer for half her tenure. She has been included in the Forbes CMO Hall of Fame, and went beyond her CMO duties at GE, managing the company’s global learning and philanthropy and co-leading GE’s Women’s Network.
During our conversation, she noted that CMO roles demand a broad understanding of an organization, an invaluable skill that extends outside of traditional marketing. “Marketing is a great place to mine for CEOs because CMOs are often very aware of markets, focused on growth, and skilled at stakeholder management,” said Boff.
Boff would like to think the CMO to CEO transition is becoming more common. She cites companies H&R Block and Boston Beer as also securing chief marketers into CEO positions.
But, some industries are more suited for this transition than others. And it takes a special kind of marketer to make the jump successfully. “In retail, and for brands like Levi’s, Nike, and Calvin Klein, marketing is so integral that it’s easier to see CMOs transitioning to CEO roles,” said Boff. “But in more traditional manufacturing or sectors like pharma, where different skill sets are emphasized, it might be less common.”
Boff feels strongly that those who are able to transition successfully from CMO to CEO roles are leaders who go beyond the traditional boundaries of marketing, something that has been integral to her career. “From my experience, and from what I’ve seen with other CMOs I know, the key is to be more than just the head of marketing,” said Boff. “ My closest relationships [at GE] were with our CFO, CHRO, general counsel, and CEO. It wasn’t about just doing marketing well; it was about how the organization as a whole could grow.”
There are multiple skills and experiences from Boff’s time as CMO that continue to be applicable after making the leap to a CEO, such as stakeholder management, understanding external macro influences, analytical skills and most importantly, listening and communication.
CMOs bring unique value to organizations, having a deep understanding of consumer behavior and brand building. Having an experienced CMO lead an organization may make particular sense in retail and consumer-focus sectors, where marketing is often the lifeblood of the organization.
Along with taking responsibility for the company’s successes and failures, CEOs must be able to receive input from diverse groups of C-suite leaders and stakeholders and think about long-term effects on the organization as a whole. “You have to make decisions and own them, for better or worse,” said Boff.
While Niccol and Boff have proven the feasibility of the CMO to CEO transition, it is irrational to conclude that CMOs will be increasingly put in top positions without acknowledging factors such as industry-specific demands, the broad range of responsibilities expected from CEOs and the evolving nature of the CMO position.
