428: Are CMO’s Stuck in a Revolving Door? Trends and Predictions from the CMO Tenure Report with Richard Sanderson of Spencer Stuart

Marketing Today with Alan Hart

Richard Sanderson started his executive search career as a summer intern at Russell Reynolds Associates in London, then transitioned it into a full-time position as a research consultant with them, which brought him to the States. After five years in that role, he left the world of executive search and went to business school. He then worked at a management consulting firm until 2010, when he rejoined Russell Reynolds Associates. He then moved over to Spencer Stuart in 2018, where he leads their Marketing, Sales, and Communications Officer Practice.

For the past 22 years, Spencer Stuart has created an annual CMO Tenure Report to better understand the average tenure of marketing leaders with the goal of determining if there is truth in the perception that marketing leadership roles have high turnover rates, if so, why, and how CMO tenure compares to other leadership roles.

On the show today, Alan and Richard talk about the methodology of the study, key takeaways, and what he predicts for the future of the CMO role. Richard tells us how the current average CMO tenure compares to the past average, where it ranks among the rest of the C-suit, and what that means for new hires and internal promotions. They also discuss what may lead to misrepresentations and misunderstandings around the CMO role, as well as how the percentage of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups has changed in recent years.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The goal of the CMO Tenure Study and key takeaways from the newest report
• How CMO tenure compares to the rest of the C-Suite and what it tells us
• Predictions for the evolution of the CMO role

Key Highlights:

• [02:00] The second “Stag Do”
• [04:05] Richard’s career path
• [07:40] What is the CMO Tenure Report?
• [09:10] Changing up the methodology: From the Top 100 advertising spend to the Fortune 500
• [11:15] The average CMO tenure and how it compares
• [13:20] Is a longer tenure always better?
• [17:10] External hires vs. internal promotions
• [20:55] Succession data across industries
• [24:55] Marketing in the technical sector
• [25:43] Everyone has a CMO, right?
• [26:50] Women in the CMO ranks
• [28:20] Underrepresented groups in the CMO ranks
• [29:40] The future evolution of the CMO role
• [35:25] Different names for the same jobs
• [38:45] Structural changes cause collateral damage.
• [40:45] Lessons from immigration
• [42:30] Advice to his younger self
• [45:50] Marketers are asked to do it all.
• [47:20] The ongoing politicization of brands

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