Top CMOs: Think broader, last longer, go further
Marketers that want to last longer – and maybe get a shot at the CEO role – should think and talk more commercially, according to leading CMOs speaking at Cannes (Marketing Week).
Key points:
- “The only way of getting the tenure of CMOs higher is with CMOs becoming more commercial” - Verizon CMO, Diego Scotti
- “If most CMOs start looking at their roles as if they were the CEO of the company they would probably be [in a better position]. They need to start acting like that” - Diego Scotti
- “When you lead for the company – not for your own agenda, not for the marketing agenda, but for the company – it engenders trust around that board table” - Diageo CMO, Syl Saller
- Marketers must be vocal in “championing the customer agenda, being commercial and helping the rest of the C-suite understand the importance of investing in the customers” - O2 CMO, Nina Bibby
The CMO-to-CEO trip is about the bigger picture – provided you deliver results in the short term. And think business, not marketing alone. No mean feat, but the most successful CMOs – and those that have become CEOs – adeptly balance the two while positioning marketing as a driver of sales growth.
Becoming “more commercial” as Scotti puts it, means honing financial acumen – and its no surprise that within FTSE100 and Fortune 500 companies, around 50% more CEOs come from a finance background than marketing.
A series of interviews with CMOs that have made the transition to CEO conducted a few years ago by Spencer Stuart repeatedly references the need for marketers aiming to climb the corporate ladder to improve their financial skills.
“CMOs who don’t put the miles on the clock financially will not be deemed trustworthy to deliver the performance of the business,” said Gavin Patterson, who spent five years as CEO at BT.
Martin Glenn, outgoing CEO of the Football Association, and former United Biscuits CMO, advised marketers to “speak the language of the boardroom”, and gain a deeper understanding of the balance sheet, not just the P&L. “Many CMOs get this wrong. You have to make the business case for the rationale and budget for marketing; it has to be in sync with the broader business mission. You have to translate the marketing agenda into future cash flows, at the same time as making it real to the lives of hourly-paid workers.”
The Spencer Stuart report’s now four years old, but for any ambitious marketer, remains essential reading. Get it here.
