CMO Moves Mid-September Edition

In the first half of September, 11 global CMOs were appointed, with 6 women and 5 men stepping into the role. Out of these, 3 were internal promotions, while 8 were external hires. Notably, 3 of these new CMOs are entering this executive position for the first time.

Geographically, California led U.S. appointments with 2 CMOs, while the remaining hires were spread across 6 states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Tennessee, and Texas. On the international front, Europe welcomed 2 new CMOs, with 1 in London and 1 in Paris, while New Zealand also added a new CMO to its ranks.

Industry-wise, Software Development was the most active, appointing 3 CMOs, followed by Financial Services, which announced 2 new hires. Overall, the new CMOs were spread across 8 industries.

• Software Development 3

• Financial Services 2

• Retail Luxury Goods and Jewelry 1

• Civic and Social Organizations 1

• Security and Investigations 1

• Banking 1

• Consumer Services 1

• Internet Marketplace Platforms 1

Burberry

The onset of the fall season witnessed a fashion brand synonymous with keeping people warm and dry change up their CMO. Jonathan Kiman, who spent 12 years at Gucci, will join the brand as Chief Marketing Officer, succeeding Rod Manley. This leadership change is part of Burberry’s effort to revitalize its marketing strategy and improve its performance in the highly competitive luxury market. In this moment, Burberry also announced a new Americas President, Laura Dubin-Wander.

Rod Manley was the prior Burberry Global CMO who served a 6-year term under 3 different CEO’s. The peak year of Burberry's performance with Rod in the CMO seat was 2019, when the company reported strong sales growth, driven by its digital strategy and repositioning as a higher-end luxury brand.

This success was somewhat attributed to innovative marketing campaigns and the creative vision of Riccardo Tisci, Burberry's creative director at the time. They saw significant revenue increases in key markets like China, with a sharp focus on digital engagement and collaborations that captured attention worldwide.

The hiring of London-based Jonathan Kiman makes sense to us at the Ladder. During his tenure, Gucci saw a 42% increase in revenues in 2017, driven by strong growth in Asia and a well-executed digital transformation. Kiman's work for Gucci included innovative campaigns targeting younger, affluent consumers, blending heritage with modernity, which is likely a key reason Burberry sought his expertise.

And Jonathan is not the only high-level departure from Gucci. We reported in June that Selena Kalvaria, formerly SVP of Brand and Client Engagement, left them behind for a new gig in gaming at Fanatics.

Burberry, like many other British brands, might be facing challenges post-Brexit. The weakened standing of the UK on the global stage has certainly affected perceptions, with Britain losing some of its cultural cachet and prestige.

Jonathan Kiman is stepping into a storm at Burberry, where luxury sales are sinking fast. The company faces a 22% drop in retail revenue and has been unceremoniously booted from the FTSE 100; its share price is down more than 55% so far this year. To make things worse, the glory days of Chinese tourist spending are long gone, and younger consumers aren’t exactly flocking to buy a $3,750 raincoat. He’s up against a tricky mix of a sluggish global economy, consumer fatigue, and a brand that’s clinging to its heritage with an imperative to modernize.

With that being said, Jonathan is well known for his ability to execute digitally and partner well. We expect to see him driving alliances with the likes of Pinterest and Lyst as he steps into his new role.

Twitter (AKA “X”)

Where to even start with this one?!

Former Hyundai marketer and Chief Creative Officer Angela Zepeda has joined X as global head of marketing, the executive announced via a LinkedIn post. Prior to X, Angela was CMO of Hyundai Motor America for five years and, before that, held executive positions for some prominent Agencies, including TBWA.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino shared the news on Monday.

Like many other former Twitter users, I used to enjoy the immediacy and novelty of the platform. Now? It’s hot garbage, a home for far-right conspiracy theories, misinformation, and hate speech.

The former Twitter CMO, Leslie Berland, had long departed with most of the other executives. She moved to Peloton and, after a brief tenure there, took a position at Verizon, where she’s been CMO since January this year.

Per his LinkedIn, which shows an end date of September 2024, Twitter also lost their VP of Government Affairs in September, Nick Pickles, who was one of the few tenured execs left with the stomach to stick around after Twitter got ‘Musked’

Elon Musk's attitude toward marketing has always been unconventional, to say the least. At Tesla, for example, the company famously spent $0 on traditional advertising, relying instead on his own tweets and word-of-mouth to drive sales.

This approach, while unique, reflects his belief that great products should speak for themselves without the need for flashy ad campaigns or focus groups.

While word of mouth played a critical role in Tesla’s rise, it seems that unchecked negative chatter is now creating headwinds and impacting sales, as Tesla faces more serious competition and its once-captive audience becomes less forgiving of his rancid comments and full-throated support of Trump.

When it comes to the new platform incarnation of “X” as the “everything app,” his rebranding strategy was similarly abrupt, with little to no public communication beforehand. The shift from a globally recognized brand to "X" happened almost overnight, with minimal marketing fanfare—leaving many users and advertisers confused about the platform's new direction.

Musk has also publicly downplayed the importance of traditional marketing, once tweeting, “Tesla does not advertise or pay for endorsements. Instead, we use that money to make the product great.” His focus on product-led growth rather than strategic marketing shows a clear preference for engineering-driven approaches over conventional promotional efforts. His disdain for advertising was made clear when he issued a stark “Go F*** Yourself” comment in a live interview, referring to advertisers who were allegedly trying to “blackmail him”.

And, interestingly, this is not a CMO role in title. It’s Head of Marketing. This downgrading of the title is perhaps the most obvious tell that Elon is not a true believer in marketing or advertising.

I don’t have an MBA, but this is shaping up to be the best “what not to do” case study in marketing and advertising at B-schools that the world has ever seen. What do you think?

Will Angela be able to tackle the unique challenges presented to her at “X”? Pass the popcorn, we can’t wait to find out!

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