Why CMOs Don’t Become CEOs – and How They Can

Published April 26-May 8, 2023

Maya’s Ascent

I wrote about how Maya, the CMO of A1Books, rose to become the CEO in my fiction story.

Two years had passed after Maya’s Strategy Foundry. This time, the whole organisation had come together – in-person and virtually. A1Books’ CEO had called for an all-hands meet. As the gathered crowd of A1Books’ employees hushed, the CEO stood, his presence commanding the room with an air of solemnity mixed with pride. “Colleagues, partners, friends,” he began, his voice filled with warmth, “this year has been nothing short of a metamorphosis for A1Books. I stand before you, eager to share the fruits of our collective labour. It’s with immense pride I announce that this year has been our most profitable ever. Also, our customer satisfaction has soared to new heights. This is your victory; a testament to the innovation and dedication you’ve all shown. The success of our Profipoly Quest by taming CAC and increasing CLV, our tackle of the data-friction-waste triad, the adept implementation of the BRTLNG framework, and the seamless integration of Martech 2.0 Unistack, Channels 2.0, and the Progency partnership have not gone unnoticed. Our efforts have propelled A1Books to be honoured as the Best Company of the Year.”

The audience erupted into applause, a standing ovation that echoed the CEO’s enthusiasm. Smiles, cheers, and the palpable sense of shared achievement filled the room.

The CEO raised his hands, signalling for quiet. “Yet, with every end comes a new beginning,” he continued. “Today marks not just a milestone but also a transition. I will be stepping down – I have had a long journey, and it is time for me to give back. I will be passing the torch, leaving the next phase of this incredible journey in hands I trust. Maya, your Chief Profits Officer, will step up as your new Chief Executive Officer. Her vision, her drive, and her unwavering commitment have been pivotal to our triumphs. Please join me in welcoming her to this new role. The future is bright, and under Maya’s leadership, I am confident that our ascent will continue. Maya, the stage and A1Books is yours.”

Maya’s was the rare ascent. Most CEOs don’t come from marketing. As I quoted from a story in Raconteur in The Profipoly Quest: “The companies on the FTSE 100 are an eclectic bunch. There are household names such as Tesco, Barclays and BT, alongside less well-known brands including chemicals firm Croda International and mining company Fresnillo. But if there’s one thing they have in common it’s that none of the people who lead these businesses used to head up the marketing function. A dive into the data on the backgrounds of these CEOs finds that, before taking on the top job, 32% were divisional directors, 14% CEOs and 12% COOs or CFOs. None were a CMO before and only two…have spent any time in the marketing department.”

So, why is that most [B2C/D2C] CMOs don’t become CEOs – and how can they make it to the top? How can Maya’s fairy-tale rise become a guiding blueprint for the marketers of tomorrow?

The Reasons – 1

Let’s start with the basic question. Why do more CMOs not become CEOs?

A 2015 Spencer Stuart report discussed the route to the top for CMOs. I asked ChatGPT to summarise why CMOs don’t often become CEOs:

Ambition and Perception: Not all marketers aim for CEO roles, and marketing is sometimes not seen as part of the core general management group within companies.
Transition Challenges: Moving from CMO to CEO often involves leaving the marketing function and sometimes the current organisation, facing internal competition and skepticism.
Lack of Broad Experience: CMOs may not have the broad operational or P&L experience often seen in CEO backgrounds and might be viewed as too specialised.
Financial Expertise: A potential gap in deep financial understanding and management, which is critical for CEO roles.
Strategic Influence: While marketing’s role has grown, CMOs may still need to prove they can contribute beyond their domain to strategic decision-making at the highest levels.

The report quotes a few CEOs:

You can be siloed as a marketer and taking a broader view of the business can be quite difficult. You need to gain additional experience, either as a bolt-on or outside marketing.
A lack of P&L management experience and a lack of experience in making decisions beyond marketing, especially strategic decisions affecting distribution, purchasing and people.
Only commercial marketers will be able to become CEO. You need to be experienced in both marketing and sales.
If the projects you are working on are not of strategic importance to the CEO and the board, it is a waste of time — you will not progress.

Nick Reynolds wrote in a LinkedIn post:

HBR July-Aug 2017 has an interesting article on this entitled “The trouble with CMOs” by Professor Kimberley White from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business. Her summary is that the top marketing job in the company is a minefield where many executives fail. Why is it so risky? She maintains there is often a mismatch between CEO expectations and CMO authority. We need to address this and eliminate the shortfall. What happens is often the CMO role is considered important in helping to lead the company’s efforts for growing revenue and profit, but the overall scope is limited to ‘traditional marketing’ areas like events, communications, advertising, and social media. When the CMO is not in control of product launches, pricing, store openings, channel strategy and website e-commerce – they are disempowered and not as effective as they could be.

Interestingly, the HBR data from Professor White reinforces this, as she cites that 57% of CMOs will spend three years in the role, and 40% will spend just two years or less. There seems like a missed opportunity for businesses here. This lack of tenure will severely limit the opportunity for CMOs to be considered for the CEO position when boards look to promote from within an executive team.

Here are some quotes from a Raconteur article entitled “What’s stopping marketers getting the CEO role?”:

The experience that I’ve had is that a CMO has to try a bit harder to show real interest in the metrics that matter to an organisation, to lean into the CFO and the CFO’s language, to not rely on marketing jargon and expect everyone else to understand it.”
Marketers don’t spend enough time communicating with people in smaller groups and we don’t spend enough time understanding the different personalities, drivers, pressures and benefit barriers of people in the rest of the C-suite.
[Marketers are] talking about metrics, numbers, outcomes and what we’re driving. It has to come back to the language that business partners speak.

The Reasons – 2

Joellyn Ferguson listed a few reasons in her LinkedIn post:

Marketing is hard to measure. Unlike more tangible roles, the top-line impact of marketing is harder to quantify. While a simple operational change might quickly net thousands – if not millions – of dollars in corporate savings, a shift in marketing can take months to pay off. On top of that, many of the metrics marketer use to gauge success are still soft measures, like brand awareness or customer engagement.
CMO influence is transparent. CMOs often lead external teams. While their counterparts in IT, Sales and Customer Support may have significant headcount, CMO’s frequently lead a relatively small in-house marketing team supported by legions of agency folks. As a result, their influence and interactions may be largely outside the company walls, beyond the purview of the CEO and the Board of Directors.
Lack of fiscal knowledge and P&L experience. …For the most part, chief marketing officers are not accountable for the bottom line. Without a strong CMO demonstrating clear ROI, the CFO, CEO and the Board are prone to view marketing as cost center rather than a strategic investment.
Marketing is often a creative sport. While I’ll be the first to tell you that marketing is a mix of art and science, from the outside looking in many people see it as creative more than anything else. Many top marketers still enjoy this aspect of their role… To advance in the organization, CMOs must transform creative concepts into tangible results.

I asked ChatGPT the top reasons why CMOs do not become CEOs:

Narrow Functional Focus: CMOs typically have deep expertise in marketing but may lack experience in broader business functions like operations, finance, or strategy, which are critical for a CEO role.
Perception of Marketing as a Cost Center: Marketing departments are often viewed as cost centers rather than direct revenue generators, which can impact the perceived value of marketing leadership in driving overall business success.
Limited P&L Responsibility: Not all CMO roles come with profit and loss responsibility, a crucial aspect of most CEO positions, which requires a thorough understanding of the company’s financial health and the ability to make decisions that impact the bottom line.
Strategic Influence: While CMOs play a key role in shaping brand strategy and customer engagement, they might not always be involved in company-wide strategic decision-making or have the opportunity to influence the broader business direction at the same level as other executives.
Boardroom Language and Dynamics: CMOs may not have as much experience with board governance or the dynamics of boardroom discussions as other senior executives, such as Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) or Chief Operating Officers (COOs), who often have more regular interaction with the board.

Transitioning from CMO to CEO presents notable challenges, a reality echoed in numerous discussions I’ve had with marketers over recent years.

CMO-Speak

Over the past four years, I have had numerous conversations with marketers as I have discussed Netcore’s martech solutions and my marketing ideas with them. There are five insights which have stood out in these discussions.

“My focus is growth, not profits”: CMOs almost exclusively focus on growth, spending, and the size of their budget. The responsibility for profits in their mind is with the CEO and CFO. They emphasise the importance of growing the customer base (“land grab”), even at the expense of short-term profits, highlighting a strategy focused on long-term market dominance. The metrics that get measured are website traffic or app downloads, rather than those that show customer value or long-term engagement.

“Growth needs constant acquisition of new customers”: To deliver growth, the route is to spend on the adtech platform for continuous inflow of new customers, underlining the importance of expansive marketing strategies. While they view customer retention as important, their primary emphasis is often on attracting and converting new prospects through various marketing channels and tactics – because that is the expectation from the CEO and the board/investors.

“Martech/retention is hard and not as easy as adtech/acquisition”: While CMOs recognise the importance of retention and generating more from their existing customers, they find it hard to overcome the problem of attention recession and funnel frictions. In contrast to the complexities of martech platforms and the need for day-to-day management of customer journeys, segments, analytics, campaigns, content, optimisations, and loyalty programs, adtech is so much easier: call up an agency, give a budget, approve creatives, track cost per click, and relax!

“The IT team has no time for building the ideas I come up with”: Another hurdle that comes up is that CMOs do not have control over the tech team, which means any new software needed becomes an IT project under a different leader. Tech and marketing don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye, and creating alignment is not easy because the IT teams may be stretched thin or prioritise other projects over marketing initiatives.

“To grow, I need to move to a bigger company with a larger budget”: Faced with these challenges, CMOs spend a few years in a company and tend to get frustrated when they are held to account for outcomes they see beyond their control. Their solution for growth and impact: move laterally to a similar role in a larger company with more resources.

Here are my typical replies when I get these inputs:

Marketers must think profitable growth, not just growth at all costs. This is the only way they can escape the “CAC Trap” where acquisition costs grow faster than revenues and AdWaste eats up half of the marketing budget.
Sustainable profitable growth only comes from ensuring existing customers keep returning and bring their family and friends (referrals) – maximising CLV (customer lifetime value) which in turn helps reduce CAC (customer acquisition costs).
Marketers need to think of a “unified tech stack” rather than point solutions, and creating single view of customers to simplify marketing. Directionally, they need to move towards creating a digital twin of every customer and an AI Assistant to improve conversion optimisation.
While low-code and no-code martech platforms along with AI-ML are reducing the need for IT involvement, CMOs must build better working relationships with CIOs and CTOs, essentially creating a joined-at-the-hip Chief Digital Officer.
CMOs need to think long and aim high to aim for the CEO position. With an entrepreneurial mindset, an “I-am-the-Chief-Profits-Officer” attitude, and a hunger for learning new skills, CMOs can position themselves to rise in their current organisation rather than exit for newer but similar pastures.

It is through these conversations that I started thinking about the larger problem: What if CMOs thought themselves as CEOs-in-waiting? Would they think differently? Today, CMOs don’t see an easy path to becoming CEOs, but what if they could? What would a Maya-like CMO-to-CEO playbook look like?

Advice – 1

There has been much written about how CMOs can aspire to become CEOs. I will summarise some of the advice that’s out there. After that, I will present my roadmap for what CMOs need to do in the coming omnichannel world where AI is becoming front and centre.

m&a Executive Search writes: “The path to CEO is typically borne through a different C-suite position. These companies want someone in the role who’s not only capable of leading the organization with poise; they also want someone who knows the business, the industry and the culture. Hiring from within is a natural opportunity, and that means looking at other executives who have already proven themselves. When it comes to internal promotion into the C-suite, consider the “core four:” The Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), a Divisional CEO or a Business Unit Director. These are positions that might be considered the 1B to the 1A of a CEO—executives who can step in when the CEO isn’t able to act as the primary decision-maker. They’re the most natural place to begin the search for a new CEO because they’re effectively primed for the duties and expectations that accompany the title.”

Spencer Stuart lists the ways CMOs can prepare for a CEO role:

Broaden your skill set at every opportunity
Gain experience in general management or at least one non-marketing role
Get involved in mission-critical, cross-functional projects
Build commercial credibility by developing financial expertise
Develop close working relationships with other functions
Position marketing as a creator and driver of value for your business
Play the role of integrator — it’s a great CEO training ground
Learn to speak the language of the board
Be comfortable making tough decisions
Find a mentor who is already a CEO or in a general management position

Marketing Society (Jonathan Harper and Frank Birkel) lists ten ways to prepare for a CEO role:

Take on a general management role in an emerging market.
Broaden your skill set at every opportunity.
Gain experience in at least one non-marketing role.
Get involved in mission-critical, non-marketing projects as you can.
Demonstrate your credibility and track record as commercial leader.
Develop close working relationships with other functions,
Work with the CFO to value the company’s brand assets.
Hone your communication skills.
Learn to make the tough decisions.
Find a mentor who is already a CEO or in a general management position.

Suggestions from CMOs quoted in Raconteur:

Have lots of great intent, but if you don’t have the culture right and aligned across all functions, then it won’t work. Getting the culture right is the most important thing.
Be very open and invite people in. As marketers, we can sometimes be quite closed because we feel people are going to criticise or have an opinion. We need to do exactly the opposite: be very open, invite people in and make sure we are part of the conversation. If you have a situation where it’s ‘this is marketing and this is the business’ it’s never going to work.
Be the connectors.

Advice – 2

Nick Reynolds writes about the changes required from both the CMO and company boards

CMOs need to broaden their skills outside of marketing into sales, operations, product, and strategy. ‘Pure marketing’ experienced CMOs need to move beyond marketing to be considered as a potential CEO.
Corporate boards need to ensure that CEOs have strong digital skills and be able to navigate new online opportunities. This is especially important as AI, voice recognition and automation impacts the customer interaction and sales experience.
To bring a growth mindset to life, boards should look to CMOs as being most capable to navigate digital disruption and capture growth through new online business models. This means hiring progressive CEOs, not traditionally styled CEOs. Traditional business models no longer ensure success.
Marketing needs to change its image from the ‘MADMEN’ stereotype of marketing as a discrete function, into a broad capability empowered to widely act and create impact across the entire business, responsible for all customer touch-points in the customer journey online and offline.

Marketing Week has these recommendations:

Own your customer: “Without seizing ownership of the end-to-end consumer experience and customer journey, a marketer’s ability to get on boards is limited, says …Andreas Athanassopoulos. “Many marketers make a mistake. They talk too much, too frequently and for too long with advertising agencies. And then they think, act and behave as if they were the long hand of the advertising agency within the company,” [he] argues.
Build a holistic view of the business: [Athanassopoulos says,] “Successful marketing nowadays is not vertical marketing, it is horizontal marketing. [Vertical] marketing will never generate CEOs. Horizontal marketing generates CEOs.”
Learn how to lead: ““Really the theme of this is that you build the capability around you, you really build strong teams…Being a leader is setting the vision and setting the direction, but doing it through others,” says [Katherine] Tulpa.
Turn a crisis into an opportunity: ““If you want to position yourself for the future, participate in difficult projects. Now that there is crisis, there will be difficult and risky projects. Often people are risk averse for various reasons, but if you are risk averse at the moment of truth for your company, don’t expect to be first in line when promotions come forward,” says Athanassopoulos.”

Lena Petersen writes:

Embrace growth: Marketers must embrace their ability to affect the bottom line vocally and tout this power throughout their organizations, for it’s not just theoretical.
Take responsibility: CMOs should optimize holistically across every consumer touchpoint, especially those they do not directly control. This might include websites or apps, customer service, and merchant/trade partnerships, building a 360 vision to measure the impact of activities and offset costs appropriately vs. focusing on the ownership remit.
Be the customer – and tout the value of the customer: CMOs need to think about how they can leverage the voice of the customer – through data and insights – in every meeting and conversation with the CEO and the board. Even when delivering news they may not want to hear.
Speak CFO and CEO: [Modern CMOs] may not necessarily be experts in EBITDA, but the more they speak the same language as their CFO and CEO, the more they can position marketing as a growth driver.

Joellyn Ferguson writes:

Become an ally to your CFO
Increase your visibility, inside and outside the company.
Think like the chairman (or woman)
Take on non-marketing leadership roles

Advice – 3

Thomas Barta writes in an article on Forbes about how to fix C-suite alignment for CMOs:

Being the company’s best analyst. Before alignment comes understanding. In publicly traded companies, the CEO agenda is partly out in the open. Getting ahold of analyst reports is a good way to understand what matters at the top. When no external reports exist, getting hold of the CEO agenda may involve more lunches with C-suite executives. By adding further internal insights every CMO should quickly be able to grasp the full top-agenda.
Making the case for customers—not for marketing. There’s more to alignment than the big picture. Subtleties matter. When should a project go on the agenda? When is the right time to stop asking for more funds (or even to return them)? Which agenda should be pushed during a board meeting? Which battle is not worth fighting? Fully aligned CMO get these subtleties right.

An article in Wall Street Journal discusses how CMOs can get on boards and become CEOs.

[Marketers’] ability to build brands, understand customers’ needs and get digital operations rolling in the teeth of societal crosscurrents can offer deep value to a board, [said Ayana Parsons.] Those interested are advised to take part in board-readiness programs, and make more appearances in front of their own boards. But they should also spend as much time networking with directors to understand how recruitment works and what it takes, Ms. Parsons said.

…Chief marketers also need to show they are respected within their own industry, particularly by other CMOs, said Lynne Biggar…“That doesn’t mean winning loads of awards,” she said. “It means, are you showing up as a person that’s trying to make the practice better? Are you contributing to industry panels and trade groups? Do you have that legacy of service, can you think broader than your current role?”

… Chief marketing officers are also well-positioned to take on the top job of chief executive—provided they understand the marketing role is to demonstrably make the company more money. That’s according to Kristin Lemkau.

“Don’t accept that CMO is your ceiling,” Ms. Lemkau said. “Raise your hand, ask for the next thing, and say, ‘Why not me?’”

A good working relationship with the CEO can also make a big difference. McKinsey writes about how to build the CEO-CMO relationship to drive outsize growth: “We found that the relationship between CEOs and CMOs, particularly how they jointly defined marketing’s role and remit to shape growth strategy, was highly correlated to their companies’ performance. CEOs who place marketing at the core of their growth strategy are twice as likely to have greater than 5 percent annual growth compared with their peers… By developing a clearly defined C-level growth role that has marketing at its center, building conviction in modern marketing methodologies, and measuring what matters, CEOs can reinvigorate their relationships with marketers.”

Finally, here is ChatGPT:

Demonstrate Financial Acumen: CMOs should show they can connect marketing initiatives directly to the company’s bottom line, highlighting measurable outcomes and ROI improvements.
Broaden Business Expertise: Gain experience beyond marketing, understanding operations, finance, and strategy to offer a well-rounded leadership perspective.
Build Industry Respect: Establish yourself as a thought leader, contributing to industry panels and groups, showcasing a commitment to advancing the marketing field.
Network Strategically: Engage with board members and executives to understand board dynamics and the recruitment process, emphasizing the unique value marketing brings.
Seek Mentorship and Opportunities: Don’t view the CMO role as the peak; actively pursue growth opportunities and seek guidance from mentors to navigate the path to CEO.

Next, I will offer my action plan for CMOs wanting to make the leap to CEO.

Advice – 4

Before we go to my roadmap for CMOs, let’s summarise the advice that was aggregated so far. I asked Claude to do so.

Broaden Expertise Beyond Marketing: Gain experience in areas such as operations, finance, strategy, and general management to develop a well-rounded business acumen and leadership perspective.
Develop Financial Acumen: Strengthen financial skills, such as budgeting, financial analysis, and understanding of financial statements, to demonstrate the ability to drive and measure business results.
Build Cross-Functional Leadership: Take on cross-functional projects and roles that allow you to work closely with other departments, develop relationships, and showcase your ability to lead across the organization.
Cultivate Industry Respect and Thought Leadership: Contribute to industry panels, trade groups, and forums to establish yourself as a respected thought leader in marketing and business.
Foster Strategic Alignment and Commercial Mindset: Align marketing initiatives with the company’s overall business objectives, demonstrating a strategic and commercial mindset focused on driving growth and profitability.
Seek Mentorship and Networking Opportunities: Find mentors who are CEOs or in general management roles, and actively network with board members and executives to understand board dynamics and the recruitment process.
Embrace a Growth Mindset and Customer-Centric Approach: Advocate for a customer-centric approach across the organization, showcasing the ability to drive growth through understanding customer needs and leveraging data and insights.

My Advice

Here is a structured 4-year, 7-point plan for a CMO wanting to be CEO. The initial focus should be on delivering outstanding results in the CMO role to drive profitable growth. Then, the CEO-aspirant should try and spend two years managing a mini-business P&L, to widen one’s own horizons and demonstrate leadership potential. The aspiring CEO should also create a forward-looking strategy for the business. Here is my 7-point action plan:

Become Chief Profits Officer: Think not as CMO, but as CPO. Take ownership for profitable growth.
Create Profits Flywheel: Focus on the formula for success: (Hi CLV + Lo CAC)ⁿ = Profipoly.
Pioneer Market Innovations: Focus on the unsolved problems in marketing and use “first-in-class” breakthroughs to get results and recognition.
Cultivate Entrepreneurial Mindset: Encourage experimentation and risk-taking, with a safety net.
Expand Expertise: Develop a deeper understanding of allied business functions and soft skills, from finance to operations, from technology to HR, from story-telling to negotiations.
Build Ecosystem Connects: Actively interface with peers, partners, and suppliers to foster growth, stay ahead of industry trends and understand what others are doing to drive continuous improvement.
Prepare Future Agenda: Imagine tomorrow’s world and opportunities which disruptions will bring.

The first three, which I term as the “Maya Method” are for the CMO role to lay the foundation. The next three, which I call “Crossing the Chasm” are for the mini-CEO position to serve as a bridge to the corner office. Finally, the “Next Chapter” is in readiness for the top position. Let’s discuss each of these.

Maya Method

The first three points for the CMO to CEO playbook are:

Become Chef Profits Officer: Think not as CMO, but as CPO. Take ownership for profitable growth.
Create Profits Flywheel: Focus on the formula for success: (Hi CLV + Lo CAC)ⁿ = Profipoly.
Pioneer Market Innovations: Focus on the unsolved problems in marketing and use “first-in-class” breakthroughs to get results and recognition.

Let’s first listen to Maya (as she spoke in The Profipoly Quest: Maya’s Story):

Historically, marketing has undergone three significant evolutions—branding, adtech, and martech—all with a laser focus on growth. However, the oversight has been a lack of emphasis on profitable growth, often relegating financial health to the realms of the CEO and CFO. It’s time for a paradigm shift. Envision ‘profipoly’ as the fourth wave in marketing, a strategic pivot that aims to make marketing the rainmaker for profits. We will amplify our profit margins by over 1000 basis points. We will do this by growing our revenues by 50% and transitioning from a state of breakeven (profitless) to one of robust profitability (profitable) and, ultimately, to achieving a monopolistic share of profits in our sector (profipoly).

… Remember these words by Fred Reichheld: “There is only one way to grow a business profitably. You make sure your customers are treated so well that they come back for more and bring their friends.”

… As of today, my role as the Chief Marketing Officer…comes to an end. From this moment forward, consider me the Chief Profits Officer.

These are words all CMO needs to tell their respective teams. Marketing should not just be about growth, but profitable growth. This presents a great opportunity for CMOs because there is no one in the organisation who has a laser-like focus on profits. A CEO has too many tasks to worry about, while for a CFO, profits equate to cost-cutting. Marketing is thus the only function which can blend the best of both worlds: growth with profits. Positioning as the “Chief Profits Officer” for the business is the “blue ocean” opportunity for CMOs – there will be no internal competition!

The next step needs to work on creating a profits flywheel. Today’s reality is very different. As I wrote in The Profipoly Quest: “Marketers find themselves trapped between the business objective of rapid growth and the reality of attention recession and funnel frictions with existing customers. The only logical solution: open the spigot even wider for new acquisitions. Result: a vicious cycle of higher CAC, lower CLV, and elusive profits.”

What did Maya do? She distilled the profit killers into three buckets: marketing waste, funnel friction, and poor data. As she explained, “These issues have been eroding our CLV while unnecessarily elevating our Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC), directly impacting our bottom line.” CMOs need to unlearn and learn – the way Maya did. New frameworks and vocabulary need to underpin the new martech ideas. The big insight: “To solve CAC, [Maya and her team] needed to think about CLV – this itself was big shift in the frame of reference. Maya then introduced the three breakthroughs: Martech 2.0 Unistack, Channels 2.0, and Progency Partnership.”

Maya added: “The BR (Best and Rest customers) team has embraced the Martech 2.0 Unistack, transforming our engagement methods and redefining personalisation. The TL (Test and Left customers) team, you’ve reimagined Email 2.0 as a reactivation tool, shifting the paradigm from acquisition to meaningful re-engagement. And the NG (Next and Guest customers) team, your strategies to leverage zero-party data and first-touch hotlines have set the stage for a new era of customer interaction.”

Maya’s methodology needs to be replicated by every CMO in their quest to become a profipoly. This is table stakes in the CMO’s own journey to becoming a CEO. These are the results that a CMO needs to deliver over a span of two years:

With this performance, the CMO is ready to ask for more responsibility – complete responsibility for a P&L.

Crossing the Chasm

The next three points for the CMO to CEO ascent are:

Cultivate Entrepreneurial Mindset: Encourage experimentation and risk-taking, with a safety net.
Expand Expertise: Develop a deeper understanding of allied business functions and soft skills, from finance to operations, from technology to HR, from story-telling to negotiations.
Build Ecosystem Connects: Actively interface with peers, partners, and suppliers to foster growth, stay ahead of industry trends and understand what others are doing to drive continuous improvement.

The reference to “Crossing the Chasm” comes from a book by Geoffrey Moore. The book explores the challenges high-tech companies face when marketing products to mainstream consumers after initially appealing to early adopters. Moore presents a gap or “chasm” between these two segments and offers strategies to successfully bridge this gap. Key to this transition is focusing on a specific target market, understanding its needs, and tailoring products to serve these needs effectively, thereby facilitating the move from early adopters to a broader mainstream audience.

In our discussion, the chasm is between the two roles of CMO and CEO. As we have seen, few CMOs make the leap to becoming to CEO. So, what can they do?

The first step is, obviously, to deliver a stellar performance as CMO, taking ownership for profitable growth. The next step is for the CMO to ask the CEO and the company board for a larger responsibility: end-to-end control of a business P&L so the CMO can demonstrate leadership capabilities and readiness for the top job.

Cultivate Entrepreneurial Mindset: Running a P&L business requires an entrepreneurial mindset, where the CMO must encourage experimentation and calculated risk-taking within a safe environment. This means empowering team members to explore new ideas, test hypotheses, and learn from failures without fear of repercussions. By fostering an innovation-friendly culture, the CMO can drive agility, creativity, and a growth-oriented mindset throughout the organization. Additionally, the CMO should adopt a test-and-learn approach, continuously iterating and refining strategies based on data-driven insights. This mindset not only promotes a culture of continuous improvement but also demonstrates the CMO’s ability to pivot and adapt to changing market conditions – a vital skill for any successful CEO. [I have discussed many ideas about entrepreneurship both for founders and managers in my book, “Startup to Proficorn.” These two slides point to key ideas in the book.

Expand Expertise: Managing a P&L business requires a holistic understanding of various business functions beyond marketing. The CMO must actively seek opportunities to develop a deeper comprehension of areas such as finance, operations, technology, and human resources. For instance, by working closely with the finance team, the CMO can gain invaluable insights into budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis – skills that are essential for effective decision-making and resource allocation at the CEO level. Similarly, collaborating with the operations and technology teams can provide the CMO with a better grasp of supply chain management, process optimisation, and the role of technology in driving operational efficiencies. Furthermore, the CMO should hone soft skills such as storytelling, negotiation, and conflict resolution, which are crucial for effective leadership and stakeholder management. Here are some books which can be guides for CMOs in their upward journey:

Build Ecosystem Connects: In today’s interconnected business landscape, success often hinges on the ability to foster strategic partnerships and collaborate with various stakeholders. As a mini-CEO, the CMO should actively interface with peers, partners, and suppliers to understand industry trends and identify growth opportunities. Attending and speaking at events can be a very good learning experience. By engaging with external entities, the CMO can gain valuable insights into best practices, emerging technologies, and innovative approaches adopted by other organisations. This exposure not only broadens the CMO’s perspective but also equips them with the knowledge and networks necessary to navigate complex business ecosystems effectively. Moreover, cultivating strong relationships with internal stakeholders, such as cross-functional teams and executive leadership, is equally crucial. The CMO should position themselves as a unifying force, fostering collaboration and breaking down silos to align the organisation towards a common goal.

CMOs (as CEO-aspirants) can thus use the experience of running a mini-business to showcase their ability to drive growth, navigate complexities, and lead with a comprehensive, strategic approach – essential attributes for any CEO. This is how they can cross the chasm.

Postscript: These essays (written for a course I teach within Netcore) are good additional readings:

Next Chapter

The final point for the leap from CMO to CEO is:

Prepare Future Agenda: Imagine tomorrow’s world and opportunities which disruptions will bring.

Envisioning the future and crafting a winning strategy in a competitive marketplace is one of the key responsibilities for a CEO. CMOs need to think beyond the quarter and the year to what technologies and disruptions can shape the future. Like a chess grandmaster, the CMO needs to start thinking several steps ahead. Let’s listen of what Maya may have said when she took over as CEO of A1Books.

As we prepare for the next chapter in A1Books, there are three big ideas that can shape our tomorrow: Digital Twins, AI Marketer, and MarCo.

Digital Twins: Imagine a virtual replica of every customer, which is a few steps ahead of the real customer. We can leverage the data and behaviour of customers, along with insights from similar “Best” customers and real-time event streams, to predict next actions and nudge customers along their buying journey, ensuring personalisation and a deeper understanding of their paths in the digital and physical worlds. This represents a groundbreaking approach in customer experience. We will call it A2D2: A2 representing the next evolution of A1Books, and D2 to signify the Digital Twin.

AI Marketer: No, we are not replacing our marketing team! We are creating “AI Assistants” for every one of you to take away the drudgery of daily, repetitive work. These AI tools are designed to handle the routine and time-consuming tasks that often bog you down, thereby freeing you to focus more on strategic thinking and deeper customer engagement. This shift allows you to leverage their unique human skills more effectively, fostering innovation and improving customer relationships by dedicating more time to understanding and anticipating customer needs. In future, I envision an AI Assistant tailored for each individual, streamlining their tasks for efficiency and quality, thereby elevating them to focus on more complex, value-added activities.

MarCo: A1Books will becoming a “market consolidator” – much like Constellation Software has done with niche software firms. By reinvesting our profits, we aim to undertake strategic acquisitions of smaller, specialised entities to enhance our market presence. This approach will not only expand our footprint but also diversify our product portfolio, enabling us to better meet the dynamic needs of our expanding customer base more effectively.

Articulating a compelling vision can significantly bolster a CMO’s candidacy in the eyes of a CEO search committee. When combined with a proven track record of performance and strong endorsements from references, this forward-thinking approach can effectively position CMOs as prime candidates for future CEO roles. It underscores their strategic acumen, ability to drive growth, and readiness to lead at the highest level, making them standout choices for succession.

To summarise: the 4-year, 7-point plan outlines a clear path for CMOs aiming to reach the CEO role. It focuses on achieving exceptional marketing results for two years, followed by two years leading a business unit. Throughout this journey, CMOs should actively articulate their vision for the company’s future. By demonstrating both marketing excellence and strong leadership across different business functions, CMOs can follow in Maya’s footsteps, overcoming the traditional barriers to emerge as prime candidates for the CEO position.

A Letter from Maya

Here is a letter Maya has written to those wanting to emulate her ascent.

Dear CMO-and-Aspiring-CEO,

By now, you would be familiar with my story and the 4-year, 7-point plan. In this letter, I want to share a few additional things which can help you as you craft your journey to the top. (They are inspired by these Life System notes.

Write Long Form: I cannot emphasise this enough. Writing provides a clarity that no amount of short, witty tweets or pithy LinkedIn posts can ever do. Write for yourself – without worrying about who will link, like, or repost. Since times immemorial, writing has provided the best way to learn and synthesise. It is like giving people a window into your mind. As you write, you enter a different zone, a flow – where your thoughts and subconscious coalesce together to create a magical river of ideas.

Teach Others: This works at three levels. First, it enables your N-1 and N-2 colleagues to get a peek into how you think. Second, the stories and wisdom enables them to fast-track their own journey. Third, their probing questions gives your feedback and makes you think further, thus leading to a refinement of your ideas. A good teacher can become an even better writer!

Read Widely: As has been written, “Books have served me well through the years: which other product gives you a person’s lifetime of knowledge for a few hundred rupees? It is we who have to make an investment many times greater – with our time – to absorb and learn. And in today’s world of instant-everything and tweet-sized content, a book is a true joy to behold. Ploughing through the daily social media feeds may seem exciting but most are empty – like junk food. They can provide that instant gratification but they do not provide the depth needed to enhance our learning. That is something only good books do.” Carve out a few hours every week for deep reading.

Stay Healthy: Nothing impacts you negatively than poor health. Start early, build a routine, and stick to it. The work you are doing will demand your best at all times. Good health is entirely in your hands. Don’t leave it until it is too late.

Work-Life Harmony: And finally, don’t ever compromise on your family. No success is worth it without having loved ones to share it. Remember these words from “Startup to Proficorn”: “Create time and space for family. They are not just another ‘meeting’ to be scheduled in the calendar. They are the only ones who will also experience your highs and lows—perhaps even more than you. They are the ones whose unstinted support will push you to greater heights. Make sure you are always there for them.”

Focus on the journey, not just the destination. As Jerome Chouchan put it, “Right shooting always results in a hit.”

Wish you the very best!

Maya.

Summary and Critique

ChatGPT

Summary: The text delves into the challenges and pathways for Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) aspiring to become Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). It highlights the rarity of such transitions, underscoring the need for CMOs to broaden their skill sets beyond traditional marketing domains, including strategic decision-making and financial management. The narrative presents a structured plan for CMOs to demonstrate their capability to lead as CEOs, emphasizing entrepreneurial mindset, cross-functional leadership, and the ability to envision and adapt to future market disruptions.

Critique: The discussion presents valuable insights into the professional journey from CMO to CEO, yet it predominantly relies on anecdotal evidence and hypothetical scenarios, which may not capture the full spectrum of challenges or opportunities in this career transition. The emphasis on a singular pathway overlooks the diverse backgrounds from which successful CEOs can emerge and the varied nature of organizations and industries that might influence the feasibility of such a transition. Furthermore, the narrative could benefit from a more nuanced exploration of the role of organizational culture, mentorship, and external market factors in shaping the career trajectories of CMOs. Additionally, the portrayal of marketing functions might inadvertently reinforce stereotypes about the limitations of marketing professionals, potentially overlooking the strategic depth and impact that seasoned CMOs can bring to their organizations. A more balanced view would acknowledge the intrinsic value of marketing leadership and its potential to contribute to broader business strategies and success.

Claude

Summary

The document explores the reasons why Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) rarely ascend to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and provides advice on how CMOs can position themselves for the top leadership position. It begins by narrating a fictional story about a CMO named Maya who successfully became the CEO of a company called A1Books. The document then delves into the common challenges and perceptions that hinder CMOs from becoming CEOs, such as a lack of broader operational expertise, limited financial acumen, and the perception of marketing as a cost center rather than a revenue generator.

The document aggregates advice from various sources, including executive search firms, industry experts, and thought leaders, on how CMOs can overcome these barriers. The recommendations include broadening expertise beyond marketing, developing financial acumen, building cross-functional leadership, cultivating industry respect and thought leadership, fostering strategic alignment and a commercial mindset, seeking mentorship and networking opportunities, and embracing a growth mindset and customer-centric approach.

The document then presents a structured 4-year, 7-point action plan for CMOs aspiring to become CEOs. The first three points focus on excelling in the CMO role, such as becoming a “Chief Profits Officer,” creating a “Profits Flywheel,” and pioneering market innovations. The next three points involve leading a mini-business P&L to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, expand expertise across various business functions, and build ecosystem connections. The final point emphasizes preparing for the future by envisioning opportunities and disruptions.

The document also includes a letter from the fictional character Maya, offering additional advice on writing, teaching, reading widely, maintaining health, and achieving work-life harmony.

Critique:

The document provides a comprehensive and well-researched exploration of the challenges CMOs face in becoming CEOs and offers practical advice from various reputable sources. However, it could benefit from a more concise and focused structure, as some sections feel repetitive or tangential.

Additionally, while the fictional narrative of Maya adds a storytelling element, it might be more effective to integrate real-life examples of CMOs who have successfully transitioned to CEO roles. This would provide more tangible and relatable insights into the strategies and mindsets that enabled their ascent.

The advice and action plan presented are sound and actionable, but the document could benefit from a deeper dive into specific tactics and case studies to illustrate how CMOs can effectively implement these recommendations within their organizations.

Finally, while the letter from Maya offers valuable advice on personal growth and development, it feels somewhat disconnected from the main theme of the document. Integrating these insights more cohesively into the overall narrative and advice could strengthen the document’s overall impact.

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