CMO Moves Mid-May Update

In the first half of May, 27 CMOs have been announced globally. Among them, 12 are women and 15 men - a rather unusual turn of events, given that female CMOs have consistently outpaced their male counterparts for quite some time. In fact, the last time we saw more men in these top marketing roles was way back in March 2024.

Of these newly appointed CMOs, 6 were promoted from within, while 21 came from outside hires. 9 of these leaders are stepping into the C-suite for the first time, including 2 intriguing cases we like to call "industry travelers" - those hired from entirely unrelated sectors.

U.S. continued to lead the way, with 23 CMO appointments spread across 14 states. California took the crown with 6 new CMOs, while New York followed closely with 3, and Colorado and Texas immediately after with 2 each. On the international front, India saw the appointment of 2 CMOs, while Pakistan and Australia each welcomed one.

Tech remains the industry leader, boasting 11 new CMO hires. Trailing behind are Professional Services with 5, Media, Sports & Entertainment with 4, and then Retail and Manufacturing with 3 each. Financial Services rounds off the list with one CMO hired.

It’s a dynamic start to the month, and proof that the marketing world never sits still.

MEDTRONIC DIABETES

One of the strongest brand minds in health just joined one of medtech’s most complex categories.

Kate Cronin spent the last few years making Moderna make sense. She joined in 2021 as the company’s first brand chief, right as the COVID vaccine became a household topic, and a political one. She had to build trust fast, in a space where most people didn’t know what mRNA was, let alone why it mattered. She gave Moderna a tone. You can feel her agency discipline in the way the brand showed up; crisp and clear. No surprise, really. She ran Ogilvy Health before going client-side. That kind of training leaves a mark.

Cronin figured out how to educate at scale without losing people. She was the one pushing campaigns into concerts, sports partnerships, and QR-code wristbands.

She got that early that brand in healthcare needs to stretch beyond just “trust” to identity.

So, when she left Moderna in March, I paid attention. And not just because we reported on the new CMO Amy Mahery hired mid-February.

So from Moderna to Medtronic Diabetes? That may sound like a smaller move, but it’s not. This is one of the biggest diabetes device players globally, and the team behind the MiniMed insulin pumps and Simplera CGM. If you’re diabetic, you know the name. If you’re not, you probably don’t. And that’s part of the problem because the brands that win are the ones patients ask for by name. Medtronic isn’t there yet.

The tech is solid. The growth is real. I read their 2025 market statements, and they delivered five straight quarters of double-digit gains. But the story is lagging. Competitors like Dexcom and Abbott have figured out how to talk to people. Medtronic still sounds like it’s selling to hospital systems. That’s the gap.

Cronin’s strength is in building relevance. She knows how to work within regulatory guardrails without sounding like a disclaimer. At Moderna, she turned a science platform into something people could feel connected to. At Medtronic, she’ll need to make diabetes care feel more personal.

I don’t think this will be easy. But I do think it’s a smart match. And I’ll be watching how she moves.

AMAZON (PROJECT KUIPER)

When Clint Patterson posted about his first week as CMO of Project Kuiper, I paused. It wasn’t down to some obsession with tracking every space tech exec shuffle (honestly, who’s got the time?), but rather because I’d seen him in action - dragging T-Mobile from telecom punchline to industry wrecking ball. Now he’s resurfaced at Amazon, steering marketing for one of its boldest bets: a satellite internet constellation meant to rival Starlink.

Here’s what caught my attention.

First, the timing. Patterson joined just as Kuiper’s first full-scale satellites launched. Talk about ignition! Amazon’s been building Kuiper in stealth. The moment they hire a marketer like this, it means they’re ready to talk.

Second, the Starlink proximity. Patterson was part of the senior team at T-Mobile when it cut that splashy deal with Elon to text from anywhere via satellite. I remember the hype, including the Super Bowl ad campaign that promised “no more dead zones.” Hikers. Mountains. Elon to the rescue. It looked big. But early users got something less cinematic: 10-minute SMS delays, device limitations, and a beta that felt more like theatre than telecom.

Now Patterson’s on the other side of the table, at a company that waits to launch until the tech actually works.

One other thing I noticed: his chair at T-Mobile is still empty. Q1 was strong: Record postpaid growth, record cash flow, a new flex around “T-Satellite” capabilities. But they haven’t named a successor. That’s an empty seat in one of the biggest marketing orgs in telecom. Either they’re grooming someone behind the curtains, or searching for new blood. Either way, it’s a strategic gap worth watching, and I bet IPG’s Initiative are watching too. They handle the ad-buying for this $1 bn+ marketing machine, and Interpublic can’t withstand another loss to the media arm after losing Amazon, IMO.

Meanwhile, Kuiper has real momentum. And with Patterson in place, the brand now has a voice; one that understands how to sell complex tech to real people.

Also on my radar: AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS). While Kuiper builds infrastructure and Starlink eats spectrum, ASTS is testing 5G straight to unmodified smartphones. No dishes. No modems. 200+ Mobile Network Operator Agreements. 3000+ Patents. They recently made the first video calls work in Japan and Europe. If that scales, data will have no limits, and Bezos will have competition.

So yes, Kuiper hired a CMO. And I’m watching. Because in space, the product alone won’t cut it. Someone has to own the story. And now we know who that is.

FASTLY

I caught this one late, it was buried in a Business Wire release with the usual boilerplate. But underneath it was something interesting: Fastly just promoted Albert Thong to Chief Marketing Officer.

There wasn’t a grand reveal or a flashy presentation. And honestly, if you’re familiar with Fastly (and Albert!), that’s pretty much on brand. He hasn’t even bothered to mention his promotion on LinkedIn - he’s too busy sharing updates about Fastly’s AI Accelerator and partnerships with Google.

Fastly has subtle technology. The type of company most people don’t see but use every day. They help brands like Reddit, Neiman Marcus, and Universal Music deliver faster, safer online experiences. Edge compute, CDN, app security – all core internet infrastructure that only makes news when it fails. Which makes it quite tricky to market. You have to make it feel valuable before anything breaks.

That’s the context Albert walks into. He’s already been inside, leading growth marketing and working across product and revenue. Promoting someone from within sends a clear signal: Fastly is focused on execution.

From what I’ve seen, Albert isn’t one to put himself in the spotlight. You won’t catch him on YouTube panels or weaving storytelling threads on LinkedIn. Instead, he’s a pragmatic, numbers-driven leader who played a key role in refining Fastly’s GTM from within. Now they’re giving him the top job at a time when the company needs more traction: enterprise adoption, retention, revenue.

They’re also pushing harder on ROI. Q1 came with a “235% return” claim for their app security suite, which sounds engineered for CFOs. Pair that with a no-drama CMO appointment, and the message is clear: Fastly’s moving from narrative to numbers.

Will it work? That depends! But I respect the choice. Sometimes, the right answer isn’t a brand reboot. It’s just putting the person who already gets it in charge.

No drumroll. Just direction.

Will we see more CMO promotions this year? So many of our conversations are with good talent who are getting passed over in favour of the shiny thing from outside…

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