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Kevin Warren, former UPS chief marketing officer, will leave the company at the end of 2023. Mireya Acerto—Getty Images
Last month, the chief marketing officer left the company in a fast and furious manner. First, United Parcel Service announced in early December that it would eliminate the CMO role. A week later, arts and crafts marketplace Etsy announced it would do something similar by consolidating CMO responsibilities under an operations chief. Just before the new year, it was Walgreens’ turn to say goodbye to his CMO role and distribute his duties to other senior executives.
What all three companies have in common is that they are all facing financial challenges and are under pressure to cut costs. UPS’s revenue fell 13% last quarter, and Etsy’s once strong growth engine stalled. Meanwhile, Walgreens is in the midst of major executive changes. But these companies have eliminated the independent CMO role, making them just the latest in a long line of large companies to make similar cuts in recent years. These include Loews, Hyatt Hotels, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, Uber, Lyft, and more.
This is not to say that CMOs are going the same way as the Dodo, but rather that their total share is shrinking. In fact, CMOs still exist in many companies. According to executive search firm Spencer Stewart, 71% of Fortune 500 companies have a marketing director, down from 74% in 2009.
With the rise of marketing technology or “martech,” the data collected from modern marketing and the many touch points with customers is far richer than businesses have ever seen. Historically, CMOs treated marketing and advertising in the same way they treated print and television. But technology has digitized the role, turning it into a more algorithmic, customer-insightful role that is so mission-critical that it also takes on the remit of other executives.
“Managers today need to be more generalists,” said Stephen Meyer, a business professor at Columbia Business School.
Take UPS as an example. Matt Guffey was the company’s head of global strategy and transformation. Following the departure of Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Warren last month, Guffey will become Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer, taking over marketing functions while overseeing global revenue, product management and overall growth strategy. supervised. Etsy now has COO Raina Moskowitz in charge of marketing, following the departure of former CMO Ryan Scott.
The decline in marketing prominence as an autonomous executive discipline may be partly the result of fewer CEOs today having marketing backgrounds. Only about 10% of Fortune 250 CEOs have marketing experience. Additionally, only 4% have previously held a role like a CMO. In contrast, more than 70% of Fortune 100 CEOs have operational or finance backgrounds, which are a surer path to the corner office. Additionally, his 41 Fortune 1000 companies are the only ones with marketers on their boards. Unsurprisingly, it’s primarily consumer-centric brands like Best Buy, Mattel, Nike, Estée Lauder, and Crocs that do so.
Still, Richard Sanderson, head of North American marketing, sales and communications at Spencer Stewart, says marketing is as necessary as ever, and perhaps the job is being absorbed into operational and growth-focused roles. As is clear from the above, we emphasize that this is increasingly necessary. “When people say, ‘Oh, the CMO role is becoming obsolete,’ that doesn’t mean marketing isn’t important. It’s just that companies need to structure it differently around that role. ,” he says.
Additionally, this role may still be a viable path to the corner office, especially in consumer-facing companies. Ulta Beauty’s David Kimbell and Vail Resorts’ Kirsten Lynch were marketing directors at their respective companies before taking on top jobs.
Some companies that previously abolished the CMO title have changed their minds. After McDonald’s eliminated the global CMO role in 2019, the burger company brought it back less than a year later. Not only that, but in early January, McDonald’s added a new business venture to current CMO Morgan Flatley’s portfolio. As it turns out, marketing executives can be essential.
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