CMO Moves Mid-June Update

The first half of June saw 22 new CMOs step into the spotlight: 10 women, 12 men. That modest imbalance continues the shift we noted last month, with men pulling slightly ahead.

Internal promotions remain rare (just 2 this time - so much for succession planning!) while an overwhelming 20 CMOs were hired from outside their companies. 9 are first-timers in the C-suite, though only 3 were brought in from entirely different industries. In short, companies are open to fresh leadership, but still cautious when it comes to cross-industry bets, which we feel is a big shame. Marketing discipline chops are transferable and category experts and insiders sometimes have a lot of baggage.

In a first, New York edged out California to become the leading state for CMO hires, with 6 new appointments. Massachusetts, Texas, and Utah followed with 2 each. Across the U.S., 17 CMOs were appointed in 9 states. Internationally, Canada led with 2 hires, while England, Australia, and India each saw one.

As for industries, no surprises here - tech continued to lead the pack with 8 CMO hires spanning software, online education, and cybersecurity. Professional services followed with 5, then media, sports, and entertainment with 3. The remaining roles were spread across finance, manufacturing, hospitality, and healthcare.

So far, June’s numbers suggest more evolution than revolution: a few geographic surprises, steady industry favorites, and a continued preference for familiar experience over bold moves.

PELOTON

Peloton has hired its fourth CMO in five years. Even as ardent CMO-hunters and trackers, we’re getting muscle cramps tracking this one! Megan Imbres joins on July 7, stepping into a role that’s seen more turnover than a HIIT class. I think this one might finally stick, but not because the job is easier now. It’s harder.

Imbres brings heavyweight credentials: Apple Marcom LA, Netflix Originals, Amazon Ads. She’s launched cultural moments and scaled global subscriptions. She’s also a competitive triathlete who just qualified for Kona. That last bit sounds cosmetic, but it’s not - this is a brand built on authenticity, and Peloton needs someone who believes again (+ with edurance!)

The backdrop is pretty bleak. Revenue has dropped four years in a row. Stock is down 95% from its peak. Subscription numbers are slipping. Equipment sales, once 78% of revenue, now make up just 33%. Perhaps unsurprising, given that the entry-level bike is a cool $1499, and the American consumer is missing confidence amidst an uncertain economic outlook.

And yet, there’s a pulse: they’ve clawed into EBITDA-positive territory (non-GAAP), and new CEO Peter Stern is ex-Apple Fitness+.

Lauren Weinberg, her predecessor, ran some good plays, Watt brothers campaign, NBA tie-ins, a push to win more male subscribers. And it worked, a little. Men made up 42% of new fitness subs last quarter. But the shift we’re seeing now is from brand repair to growth execution. Weinberg stays on as an advisor, which reads as both gracious and strategic.

What I noticed reading between the lines of Weinberg’s posts and the Forbes piece: she was a stabilizer. A connector. Her LinkedIn is full of gratitude, team-first energy, and cultural repair. Imbres is being brought in to do something different, turn connection into conversion.

Also notable: Peloton promoted Francis Shanahan to CTO at the same time, with a brief that includes AI and personalisation. That’s the real game here, tightening the feedback loop between what people want, what they’re served, and what keeps them paying. Marketing alone can’t fix Peloton. But smart, integrated marketing might.

Imbres inherits a brand that still matters to a lot of people, but is losing momentum if it can’t translate that meaning into money.

 Let’s see if she can make the bike sweat again.

AIRBNB

I knew Brian Chesky had a bold plan when Rebecca Van Dyck showed up as an “advisor.” Now she is Airbnb’s Chief Marketing Officer, and Hiroki Asai moves into the new post of Chief Experience Officer. Van Dyck brings lessons from Apple, Nike, Levi’s, and Meta. She starts as Airbnb adds Services, a larger Experiences catalogue, and an app that sells food tours and concert passes besides spare rooms.

Guests already praise Airbnb for unique stays, yet the story still leans on pretty house photos. Van Dyck is famous for short messages, “Shot on iPhone” and “Live in Levi’s” are both just three simple words that work seamlessly to inflate an idea. She will shift the focus from rooms to people so travellers see Airbnb as the place where a whole trip begins and ends.

Anti-American feeling is a risk for any U.S. tech brand, but Airbnb’s hit is small. Many bookings come through local hosts outside the United States, so guests feel they pay neighbours, not a far-off office. City housing rules also matter more than broad politics. A host-first story may soften any nationalist shock.

If Van Dyck sharpens that story (and Asai perfects every touchpoint), Airbnb can move from “a place to stay” to “the way to travel.” Done well, the brand will feel local everywhere, no matter which flag flies overhead.

One extra note for every would-be CMO reading this: Rebecca Van Dyck’s jump from “outside adviser” to Chief Marketing Officer is part of a growing pattern.

Jonathan Mildenhall advised brands through TwentyFirstCenturyBrand before Rocket Companies made him its first CMO. Marisa Thalberg slid into JCPenney as a “consulting CMO,” a title that lets both sides test the fit before signing long-term papers. Tricia Gellman spent a stint mentoring SaaS founders, then Box fast-tracked him into its top marketing seat.

If you hope to follow that route, treat every advisory gig as a live audition: surface one painful insight the board hasn’t heard, show the early win you’d chase first, and keep a light calendar so you can say yes when the offer lands. It’s the lowest-risk way for a company to hire - and the highest-leverage way for you to step straight into the chair.

INDEED

James Whitemore left the B2B SaaS circuit and pinned the Indeed CMO badge on this month, filling the seat vacated by Jessica Jensen, who joined LinkedIn earlier this year as Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer. Whitemore has toggled between sales and marketing at IBM, Sun, NetApp and, most recently, Celigo; now he reports to CRO Maggie Hulce and takes custody of brand, lifecycle, field, comms and the data-rich Hiring Lab.

The canvas he inherits is anything but small. Indeed hosts 610 million job-seeker profiles, serves 3.3 million employers, and runs in 60 countries and 28 languages. (businesswire.com) Yet Recruit Holdings (Indeed’s parent) warns that U.S. job-post volumes could slide this year, especially among small and mid-sized businesses. Leadership’s answer is sharper monetization and - more interesting for a CMO - a full-tilt AI offensive. Career Scout (for seekers) and Talent Scout (for employers) are due for a broad rollout by September, promising chat-based search, résumé auto-fills and AI-run interviews.

Whitemore’s own playbook lines up neatly. In a 2020 interview, he called the classic “marketing-hands-off-to-sales” relay outdated, arguing for one shared data stream from first click to closed deal. That obsession with pipeline efficiency will matter as Indeed continues to shift gears from pure traffic to outcome pricing, charging more when an applicant truly fits. Recruit’s CEO hints that AI-powered screening and even pay-per-hire auctions are coming; someone has to translate that into a story employers can trust and job seekers can love.

And we know from the job seekers we talk to, that Job seeking very often stinks and rants aimed at the platforms are commonplace.

Culture is on his side. Indeed just pocketed a Newsweek 2025 America’s Greatest Workplaces nod, scoring high on leadership, integrity and work-life balance. Still, goodwill only lasts so long; for the customer, the platform has to prove its new AI cuts time-to-hire and curbs the résumé deluge big clients complain about.

Whitemore says he’ll “unlock the full value of Indeed” by fusing that data, AI and sister brands Glassdoor and Flex. If he turns free AI tools into a daily habit and shows employers fewer clicks per qualified hire, he could give the world’s largest job site something it hasn’t had in a while: a fresh, clear story about why hiring in 2025 can feel human again, even when the macro numbers say otherwise [except for senior marketing talent in the US – more on that in our mid-year report for Ladder readers coming soon].

CÎROC + LOBOS 1707

According to Industry Insiders, ex Tik-Tok CMO Nick Tran has been named President and CMO of the new joint venture between Diageo and Main Street Advisors,  though no formal press release has been issued as of June 2025. Tran confirmed the appointment himself on LinkedIn.

He now leads Cîroc Vodka (North America) and Lobos 1707 Tequila (global), following a major reshuffle by Diageo. After a messy exit from its Diddy-era partnership, and a 32% sales drop for Cîroc, Diageo handed U.S. rights to the joint venture in exchange for a bigger stake in the LeBron-backed tequila brand. Vodka is stagnating. Tequila is still on fire. I think this is Diageo hedging its bets with a cultural operator play.

Main Street Advisors helped build Lobos 1707 from boutique startup to buzzy brand through celebrity backing and culture-first executions. Now they’re applying that model to Cîroc.

Tran added in a joint statement with Diageo,

There’s also a product story to work with. Diageo has framed both brands as premium but artisanal; Cîroc distilled from French grapes and rooted in winemaking, Lobos 1707 aged in PX sherry casks. I think that matters less to Gen Z than to the trade, but it gives the JV an angle if they decide to go premium-craft rather than just celebrity-culture.

I believe Tran is the right operator for this kind of assignment. At TikTok, he made brands feel like users. At Taco Bell, he brought the brand back into cultural relevance without a full reboot. This job is harder: one brand in decline, one in lift. And no traditional playbook.

And if he wins in his first time President role, it’ll be because the brands became part of the culture.

Watch the first hires. That’ll show us what kind of machine Tran’s trying to build.

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