An Alarmingly High Rate Of Chief Marketing Officer Departures According To Spencer Stuart Study

Spencer Stuart, a leading executive recruiting firm of C-level marketers, tracks CMO position changes (defined as departures and hirings) across U.S. companies. Based on their experience, they found that 2018 experienced a high number of CMO changes, despite the average tenure of the 100 most-advertised brand CMOs remaining relatively flat versus 2017 at 43 months. The report doesn’t specify what is driving the high number of changes. One obvious reason is that CEOs may be dissatisfied with the CMO and fire them. However, there are a number of other potential drivers. The economy has been strong with an abundance of CMO job opportunities and some marketing leaders may want to move “up”–into a bigger role or a more respected company or into a position that they deem will increase their likelihood of success or into a more challenging role. Their stock positions are strong, so mobility easier. Read more at Forbes.