The average tenure of chief marketing officers at large corporations has stabilized and is now in line with other C-suite executives, according to recent research from Spencer Stuart.
The report was based on an analysis of the tenures and backgrounds of CMOs from the 100 companies included in the Ad Age Leading National Advertisers list in 2023 and the 357 named CMOs on the Fortune 500 companies list in 2023.
The average tenure of Fortune 500 CMOs in 2023 was 4.2 years (the same as the year before), compared with an average tenure of 4.6 years for all C-suite leaders.
In the past, CMOs tended to have significantly shorter average tenures compared with other executives.
CMOs for B2B Fortune 500 companies have a longer average tenure (4.5 years) compared with B2C Fortune 500 CMOs (4 years).
Some 71% of Fortune 500 CMOs are serving in their first CMO role, and 74% of CMOs at the top 100 advertisers are serving in their first CMO role.
Some 58% of Fortune 500 CMOs were promoted to the role from within their companies.
Half of Fortune 500 CMOs are women, and 12% are from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
About the research: The report was based on an analysis of the tenures and backgrounds of CMOs from the 100 companies included in the Ad Age Leading National Advertisers list in 2023 and the 357 named CMOs on the Fortune 500 companies list in 2023.
