CMO Moves Mid-Jan Update

What does it take to land a CMO gig?

That’s exactly what we set out to uncover in our freshly released CMO Moves report. We dissected 310 global CMO appointments from 2024, stacked them up against 2023, and—spoiler alert—some fascinating trends emerged. Let’s dive in:

• Tech Still Reigns, But Retail’s in Trouble

  Nearly 1 in 3 new CMOs were snapped up by tech companies. Industries seeing the biggest year-over-year hiring surge? Hotels & Travel, Manufacturing, Media, Sports & Entertainment, and Automotive. The one glaring exception? Retail, where CMO hires actually shrank by 16%. Ouch.

• Location, Location, Location

  California dominated with 66 CMO hires, trailed by New York (36) and Texas (25). And here’s an eyebrow-raiser: Blue states hired twice as many CMOs as red states. Food for thought.

• Remote Work? On Life Support

  The era of the remote CMO is fast fading—down from 22.5% in 2023 to just 12.9% in 2024. And in industries like Automotive, Restaurants, Retail, Government, and Construction? Zero remote hires. If you want the top job, better be prepared to show up in person.

• DEI? Companies Are Backtracking

  While women continue to dominate CMO hires, diversity elsewhere has taken a nosedive. The percentage of CMOs from ethnically diverse or LGBTQ+ backgrounds plunged from 21.6% in 2023 to just 13.9% in 2024. A stark reversal of previous trends punctuated by mask-off toxic masculinity at some large social platforms.

• Experience Matters—But Some Industries Prefer Fresh Faces

  It’s okay to be #openlygray! The average years of experience for newly hired CMOs ticked up slightly to 24.7 years (from 24.5 years in 2023). But if you’re looking to break into the top job sooner, consider Media, Sports & Entertainment (21.7 years), CPG (23.6 years), and Restaurants (23.7 years)—these industries skew slightly younger.

• External Hires Win—By a Landslide

  If you’re gunning for a CMO role, don’t bank on an internal promotion. A whopping 83.9% of CMOs were hired externally, leaving only 16.1% as internal step-ups. Translation? Network like your career depends on it. (Because it does.) This contrasts with other CxO positions like COO, where 80% of hires are internal promotions. What’s going on here? - if you have any thoughts to share – please write to us.

This is just the tip of the iceberg—our CMO Moves report is packed with even more juicy insights. Go on, give it a read, and share it to help support future research.

Now back to January. The month started slow, but this week? A flurry of CMO announcements rolled in. Looks like hiring season is officially in full swing.

In just the first two weeks, 22 new CMOs were announced - 18 women and 4 men stepping into the role. Of these, only 2 were internal promotions, while 20 were external hires. 9 are making their C-suite debut.

In the U.S., CMO appointments spanned 14 states, with California leading the pack with 3 hires, followed by New Jersey, Illinois, and Massachusetts, each with 2.

On the global stage, Australia, Germany, and England each welcomed a new CMO.

Industry-wise, Software Development takes the lead with 9 new hires, followed by Financial Services and Healthcare with 2 each. In total, the new CMOs are spread across 12 industries.

LinkedIn

Jessica Jensen, Indeed’s Chief Marketing Officer since 2021, has been tapped as LinkedIn’s new Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer. Starting January 21, she’ll report to COO Dan Shapero, steering the ship on global marketing, branding, and corporate strategy.

Jensen takes over from Melissa Selcher, who departed in May after climbing the LinkedIn ladder since 2016. It seems LinkedIn has been rather busy playing executive musical chairs lately:

• June: Friend of Taligence Jim Habig, who was reporting directly to the CMCO left after a strong 2.5 year run where he set the bar for B2B marketing excellence and drove continued growth for the ads business. He’s now at Apple running Ads Product Marketing.

• July: Nicole Leverich got a promotion to Senior VP & Chief Communications Officer after Selcher’s exit.

• September: Lea Kissner (ex-Google, Apple, Twitter) joined as Chief Information Security Officer.

• December: Another Twitter alum Matthew Derella hopped on as VP of LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, managing a $5B+ marketing empire.

This flurry of C-suite moves comes as LinkedIn continues to evolve. In 2024, the platform rolled out AI innovations at pace—think Hiring Assistant, AI campaign builder Accelerate, and features like Sponsored Newsletters, now home to over 220,000 publications.

The company also leaned further into video content, launching TikTok-style carousels and a vertical video feed. These changes signal a clear push to align with modern content trends yet spark a chorus of groans from long-time users. LinkedIn's TikTok-lite feature is now crammed with influencers doling out "lessons" in leadership and marketing—often without much credibility. If you frequent Reddit’s “LinkedIn Lunatics,” you know the type: folks who turn engagement metrics into soap operas.

So, the journey hasn’t been entirely bump-free. LinkedIn faced scrutiny over ad metrics (settling a $6.6 million claim last year) and quietly switched on a feature that trains AI on user data—by default. And while there were layoffs late last year (1% of the workforce), the company posted a 10% revenue boost in FY25 Q1.

Now, back to Jensen, who has been described by an insider we know at Indeed as “such an asset and full of positive energy, she will definitely be missed”

She’s got the chops for the job, with a resume that spans Apple, Facebook, and OpenTable. She’s navigated both B2B and B2C terrain, making her a nice fit for LinkedIn’s mission to empower the global workforce.

With TikTok likely going dark this weekend in the U.S. and Meta shedding its fact-checking, could LinkedIn be the last safe haven for marketers wanting a controversy-lite ad platform? Watch this space.

Litera

Big moves in the legal tech world! Litera, the SaaS juggernaut for law firms has just appointed Cynthia Gumbert as its new Chief Marketing Officer. A seasoned marketing and business executive, Gumbert brings extensive experience driving growth at both Fortune 500 companies and fast-scaling tech firms. She will report directly to CEO Avaneesh Marwaha.

With a background that combines engineering expertise, business strategy, and creative vision, Gumbert is known for building brands that resonate with customers while delivering measurable results. In her new role, she will lead Litera’s global marketing efforts, focusing on growth, innovation, and unifying the company’s expanding suite of legal tech products under a strong, cohesive brand.

Gumbert’s track record speaks for itself. As CMO of SmartBear, she drove innovation, industry leadership, and a brand revamp that set the company up for serious market dominance. Before that? She held senior marketing roles at CA Technologies (now Broadcom), Dell, and a string of high-growth tech firms—including in legal tech, where she delivered double- and triple-digit growth. Oh, and she’s a fierce advocate for women in tech.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Chicago, Litera has become a key player in legal technology, offering solutions that enhance document productivity, streamline workflows, and improve law firm performance. The company secured $241 million in funding last year and saw an 8% headcount bump. While specific revenue figures remain undisclosed, with investor confidence high and the company expanding at pace, it’s clear Litera isn’t just playing the game—it’s redefining it.

Gumbert’s got quite the academic pedigree—an engineering degree from MIT, a master’s from Tufts, and an MBA from Harvard. Talk about credentials!

And speaking of MBAs… they’re back in fashion. Our CMO Moves analysis shows that in 2024, nearly 40% of newly hired CMOs have one - up from 32.4% in 2023. Thinking of skipping that MBA? Think again.

But an MBA isn’t the only thing that matters when landing a top marketing gig. Curious about what else gives candidates an edge? Our latest report has the details.

Oh, and for our paid subscribers—enjoy the full list of 22 new CMOs appointed this January, plus all 310 announced last year. Plenty of food for thought!

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