CMO Moves July Summary

Last year, only 12 CMOs were announced in the month of July. This year? That number has jumped to 28!

Among these new CMOs, 20 are women and 8 men. 6 are internal promotions, and 22 are hired externally. Notably, 10 new CMOs are stepping into the role for the first time.

The Software development industry led again with 5 CMO hires, while the remaining were spread across 18 industries, highlighting the growing importance of the CMO role across all sectors and business sizes.

Industry Breakdown:

• Software Development: 5

• Spectator Sports: 2

• Advertising Services: 2

• Computer and Network Security: 2

• Food and Beverage Manufacturing: 2

• Hospitality: 2

• Personal Care Product Manufacturing: 1

• Financial Services: 1

• Retail Apparel and Fashion: 1

• Food and Beverage Services: 1

• Mobile Gaming Apps: 1

• Technology, Information, and Internet: 1

• Restaurants: 1

• Computer Games: 1

• Education: 1

• Insurance: 1

• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution: 1

• Manufacturing: 1

• Hospitals and Health Care: 1

Geographically, Europe had a significant month, announcing a total of 8 CMOs, with 5 in the UK and one each in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. In the US, California led with 8 CMO announcements, followed by Texas, Tennessee, and Illinois with 2 each.

A common theme in the CMO announcements for July is customer-focus. Quotes that mention enhancing customer experiences or deepening customer engagement were common. This emphasizes the value placed on CMOs who can build strong customer relationships and loyalty.

Now, let’s zoom in on the most notable CMO moves announced over the last couple of weeks:

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Tennessee-based restaurant chain Cracker Barrel has appointed Sarah Moore as its new CMO.

Moore brings nearly 20 years of marketing experience from the hospitality industry, including 16 years with MGM Resorts International. Most recently, she was SVP of Marketing at MCM, where she led marketing for a portfolio of brands, including iconic resorts such as Bellagio, ARIA, and MGM Grand.

Founded in 1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee, Cracker Barrel operates approximately 660 locations in 44 states and employs over 75,000 people. The southern-themed roadside eatery has been losing customers for the past decade, with many of its senior clientele not returning after the pandemic. The challenge now is to attract a younger consumer base without alienating its traditional senior customers.

“We’re just not as relevant as we once were,” said new CEO Julie Felss Masino, who took the helm in July last year, during an investor call. To turn things around, Masino has rolled out a 3-year plan, which includes remodeling shops, revamping menus, and spending as much as $700 million on a brand overhaul.

Before joining Cracker Barrel, Masino worked at Taco Bell for nearly 6 years, leading teams to open nearly 800 restaurant locations across 32 countries. She also has experience from Mattel, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and Starbucks. Masino’s strong operational skills, combined with CMO Moore’s expertise in digital marketing, customer loyalty programs, and innovative strategies, will help Cracker Barrel reclaim its position as an industry leader.

Reading into the 273 comments on Sarah’s announcement accepting the post, lots of people want to see Cracker Barrel return to its old glory.

G2

Beloved by SaaS companies and buyers alike, B2B software review site G2 has named Sydney Sloan as their new Chief Marketing Officer.

Sloan brings decades of marketing experience driving growth for B2B technology businesses, including Drata, Salesloft, Alfresco, and Adobe. G2 is the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace, with more than 2 million trusted reviews, over 3,000 customers, $257M in funding, and a valuation of $1.1B.

Sydney recently published a lengthy post (which you should definitely read) on Linkedin to share experiences on her 8-month-long job search, which featured 109 interviews.

In September last year, the company hired Eric Gilpin from Upwork as Chief Revenue Officer. Gilpin led Upwork to a successful IPO in 2018, scaling the business to over $600 million in annual revenue by 2022. In November, Chad Gold joined from Salesloft as G2’s first CFO. Gold oversaw Salesloft’s Series D and E funding rounds and a majority stake investment by Vista Equity Partners, which increased the company’s valuation from $200 million to $2.3 billion.

The ambition is evident!

We are big fans of G2 as we are in the same business – connecting dots - and we wish Sydney all the success as she sits atop the CMO Ladder.

SAP

German software behemoth SAP announced on Tuesday that Executive Board members Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer Julia White and Chief Revenue Officer Scott Russell are leaving the company’s Executive Board, effective August 31st.

A search for Russell's successor is underway. CEO Christian Klein will assume the responsibility in the interim. White, on the other hand, will not be replaced.

SAP will merge the product marketing and product teams. And this shift “marks an appropriate juncture to dissolve the distinct Marketing & Solutions board area.” Marketing is taken off the Board.

SAP’s Executive Board will have seven heads instead of the previous eight and is very male-dominated: Chief People Officer Gina Vargiu-Breuer will be the only woman. Meanwhile, at Microsoft and Salesforce, women are represented about a third.

SAP is pivoting to AI. In January, the company announced a restructuring program to “further increase its focus on key strategic growth areas, in particular Business AI” and “transform its operational setup to capture organizational synergies, AI-driven efficiencies and to prepare the company for highly scalable future revenue growth”. Up to 10,000 jobs will be affected.

This program is in line with other large, established tech companies in a similar attempt to realign their teams and operations, to have the right experience and skills mix to grow in AI.

In January, the company promoted Head of Cross Product Engineering & Experience, Dr. Philipp Herzig, to the newly created role of Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), to oversee the new end-to-end growth area focused on Business AI.

In the financial results for Q2 24 announced last week, the company’s revenue is up 10%

Our POV on SAP is a little less optimistic.

SAP is struggling despite its proclamations about Business AI because it’s burdened by cumbersome legacy systems and slow cloud adoption, making it hard to pivot swiftly.

Customers are disillusioned with high costs and complex implementations, which have always been a hallmark of their systems, and SAP’s AI promises often feel more like marketing hype than practical solutions.

Meanwhile, nimble competitors like Workday are outpacing SAP with faster, more innovative offerings, highlighting the gap between SAP's AI rhetoric and the realities of its broader business challenges.

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