CMO Moves Mid-March Update

We’re barely two weeks into the month, and already, 28 CMOs have been announced: 19 women plus 9 men. Among them, only 4 were internal promotions, meaning 24 were poached. And for 11 of them? It’s their first-ever C-suite role.

Tech is leading the charge, as usual, with 10 new CMOs spread across Software Development, Network Security, and Telecom. The hiring spree in Financial Services continues with 5 fresh hires, while the Hotel & Travel industry has brought on 3.

Geographically, California is setting the pace in the US, boasting 6 new CMOs, followed by New York with 3 and Texas with 2. In total, 16 CMOs with a global remit have been announced in the US across 8 states.

The real action this month is happening beyond American borders.

England has welcomed 5 new CMOs, while Canada is right behind with 3. Germany, Sweden, the Philippines, and India have also joined the hiring spree.

So why the sudden international CMO boom?

Wagamama - the UK-based restaurant chain that recently took full control of their 8 US locations and are now talking openly about “building brand momentum” both in the UK and internationally. In other words, they’re going hard on the US market and need marketing firepower to make it happen.

Then there’s Commify, a Nottingham-based messaging tech company (from my old stomping ground, no less) that just hired a CMO. The timing is hardly coincidental - they acquired Text Request, a US company, late last year.

Meanwhile, two Canadian tech firms, Syntax and Cority, have both just hired US-based CMOs to lead their next phase of expansion.

So European and Canadian companies are setting their sights on the US. For senior marketers with deep US market expertise, this is an interesting moment. While competition for top roles in the US is still fierce, foreign companies expanding stateside need leaders who understand the American landscape inside and out. It might be time to think beyond home turf.

Political and regulatory uncertainty aside, the US remains the world’s biggest and most lucrative market, especially for B2B brands. With domestic consumption softening in many other regions, doubling down on the US makes perfect sense.

For those looking for their next big move, keeping an eye on international companies with recent US acquisitions or aggressive North American expansion plans could be a game-changer. They might just be searching for someone exactly like you to lead the charge.

Now, let’s get back to home soil and take a closer look at the latest CMO shake-ups stateside…

AMERICAN AIRLINES

People are worried about air travel. Not because of errant germs and the need to mask up, but because there have been more fatalities this year and some highly publicized incidents amidst DOGE-driven FAA layoffs and President Trump's call for “geniuses” to take on the jobs governing safety in the sky. 🥹 

Meanwhile, American Airlines has just named Caroline Clayton as its new SVP of Comms & CMO, promoting her from VP of Comms & Marketing.

Clayton, who joined AA in 2014, will now oversee global marketing, corporate communications, and digital strategy as the airline prepares for its 100th anniversary. She reports to Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, and will play a key role in revenue initiatives.

Safety aside, airlines, in general, are in the middle of an identity crisis. Yet, they’re raking in record revenue, surpassing $1 trillion for the first time last year, and charging fees for everything but breathing.

On the other hand, customer satisfaction is at a low point, and travelers are more cynical than ever. American Airlines has been caught in this - cutting customer service perks while claiming “customer-first” messaging. And they are still #3 in customer satisfaction [source JD Power] in the competitive premium economy space, behind Delta and Alaska.

So what’s the move here? Promoting Clayton, a PR and communications pro, instead of an external growth marketer is telling. Expect AA to lean into reputation management and double down on loyalty marketing as travel demand fluctuates. The real question is: Can you brand your way out of a bad customer experience? Clayton will soon find out.

MCAFEE

McAfee has been around forever, but when was the last time you thought about them?

For me, I don’t. The last time I thought about them, it was the peak drama around the original founder’s journey, John McAfee, during the pandemic. If you don’t know the story, after making millions in cybersecurity, he spiraled into a wild, controversial existence involving drugs, weapons, and conspiracy theories. He ran for US president twice, was arrested for tax evasion, and was found dead in a Spanish prison in 2021.

McAfee is currently owned by private equity firms. In March 2022, an investor group led by Advent International and Permira completed the acquisition of McAfee in a deal valued at over $14 billion.

Cybersecurity is now a crowded, high-stakes industry, and McAfee isn’t just battling hackers but perception. They need to stop feeling like a relic and start acting like a market leader.

Enter Stephanie Fried—formerly at Fandom, Condé Nast, and Discovery. She’s a brand storyteller, not a B2B growth machine by background. Will her unique industry-traveler background inject more culture into cybersecurity marketing, steering McAfee toward consumer-friendly, lifestyle-adjacent positioning?

Per our report on 2024 CMO hires, only around 12% of new CMOs move from unrelated industries, and as we see it, cross-industry hiring is a welcome trend – many of the senior jobseekers we talk to express real frustration at being pigeonholed based on their sector experience. Maybe you have experienced this?

We love that Fried has a diverse background, and we wish her luck as McAfee’s new CMO.

GENESIS

No doubt – it’s an interesting time to be in the car business.

Genesis, the luxury division of Hyundai, has been expanding its EV lineup and presence in the premium market. In 2024, Genesis sold 6,403 EVs in the U.S., marking a 283% increase from the previous year and surpassing competitors like Lexus and Lucid. If that sounds impressive, it’s worth keeping in mind that Cadillac's Lyriq experienced a 499.2% increase in sales during the same period.

Genesis has a branding problem. The Hyundai-owned “luxury” car brand makes great vehicles, but every time someone says “Genesis,” the response is still “Oh, Hyundai?” Not ideal when you’re competing with BMW and Mercedes. And pricing? Well, there’s not much in it between premium models at the establishment and Genesis.

So, they’ve tapped Amy Marentic, a Ford alum and recent Googler with experience in premium segment marketing. Her job is to make Genesis feel like a status symbol.

Marentic has shaped some of the most iconic automotive brands. At Ford, she led strategy for the Mustang, Bronco, and Raptor, securing their cultural relevance. As President of Lincoln Asia-Pacific, she drove record growth, making Lincoln the fastest-growing luxury brand in China. Later, as CMO of Ford Autonomous Vehicle LLC, she positioned the company as a leader in self-driving tech. She also played a key role at Google, guiding top advertisers like Ford and GM in digital strategy. Marentic’s career blends engineering expertise with marketing leadership, consistently driving growth and innovation.

Expect a focus on experiential marketing, exclusivity tactics, and influencer-driven storytelling. In our view, Genesis will need huge paid media budgets to help raise their profile and perception among established lux autos like Beemers and Mercs, not just smart marketing.

Will Marentic make it happen as the new CMO, or is Genesis permanently stuck in the "great car, wrong badge" dilemma? The jury's still out.

OK, last up, given we talked about global appointments, let's cover a big one.

GLOBE TELECOM

Southeast Asia is a mobile-first, hyper-digital market, and Globe Telecom is one of the biggest players in the region – an equivalent to AT&T or Verizon. But telco today is about more than just phone plans—just like their US cousins, Globe is selling connectivity, fintech, and content.

That’s why Roche Vandenberghe’s appointment as CMO is particularly interesting. She comes from insurance, not telco, which signals something bigger: a potential financial services play.

Globe has already made moves into fintech with GCash, the Philippines’ leading e-wallet, which now offers payments, lending, and even investment products. 44% of the adult population in the Philippines remained unbanked, which removes their opportunity to do basic personal finance stuff that we take for granted. So, this is a major opportunity.

Now, with an insurance industry veteran in the top marketing seat, does this signal an even deeper push into financial products—maybe micro-insurance or embedded finance?

The big question: will Globe go full “super app” like Gojek and Grab, bundling everything from e-commerce to ride-hailing? Or is this more about modernizing its brand to compete with aggressive digital disruptors?

One thing for sure - this is worth watching.

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