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Summary: How
can a company have an effective marketing program when the average tenure of its
Chief Marketing Officer is less than two years? It can't...
CMOs,
You Have 23 Months to Live
EXCLUSIVE: No Respect From CEOs, Short-Term Thinking Depress Tenure
By Kate Macarthur
Published: June 19, 2006
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- If you're a new chief marketing officer, you probably
don't have time to read this.
The alarmingly brief average tenure of a CMO has shrunk even further, according
to a new survey from Spencer Stuart, down from a sobering 23.6 months in 2004
and 23.5 months last year to an even tighter 23.2 months this year. The result
took aback even Greg Welch, CMO practice leader at the recruiter.
The job of CMO has become one of highest-stressed, shortest-tenured in American
industry. Current CMOs can expect to remain in their positions only 23.2 months,
according to the latest study. | ALSO: Comment on this article in the 'Your
Opinion' box below.
'A bit surprised'
"The 23.6 we saw in year one [of the study], we thought that was going to
be a fluke," he said. "This year we were a bit surprised to see it take a dip."
There's no easy answer to why the window of opportunity slams so fast for the
CMO. But marketing executives believe that while the pressure to perform is
exacerbated by the short-term demands of Wall Street, they are also hindered by
lack of access to CEOs. Moreover, the small pool of the best and the brightest
who are sagely navigating the changing media environment are in demand and prime
for poaching.
"The shorter tenure is in part a reflection of the change from failing
traditional-marketing approaches to less-defined and more dynamic approaches,"
said Jeff Bell, who jumped from Chrysler Group to become corporate VP-global
marketing of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business this month. "Clearly
the skill set of CMOs is changing from 'TV, TV and more TV' to interactive
media. ... As the world of marketing completes this transition, the tenure will
stabilize."
Revolving door executive suite
Whatever the reason, the short leash is not just worrisome for the job
holder, but also for brands suffering a revolving door of top marketers. Ian
Beavis, VP-marketing at Kia Motors America, said, "Marketing's job is to
generate revenue for companies. In mature organizations you need professional
managers responsible for short-term and long-term decisions and have the tenure
to take responsibility for them. Without that, there's a lack of accountability
in the organization."
And cautious brand stewards aren't necessarily the best brand stewards. "If
you're a CMO and you know chances are you won't be there long," he said, "you
are not going to make the right decisions for the company long term."
In Spencer Stuart's original 2004 study, 41% of CMOs were appointed in the prior
12 months and only 14% of marketing heads had been with their firms for more
than three years. Today, 53% of the executives have been in their jobs for less
than a year. But the good news is that nearly a quarter have hung on for three
or more, indicating that a corporate form of natural selection may be in play.
Beating the odds
Two years ago Burger King's Russ Klein was a poster child for the CMO hot
seat, along with Starbucks' Anne Saunders. Today, not only are they still the
marketing chiefs at their companies, but Mr. Klein and Ms. Saunders have added
new titles to reflect added global responsibilities. Mr. Klein was promoted to
president-global marketing innovation and Ms. Saunders to senior VP-global brand
strategy.
"There was a bull's-eye on me. Look where the brand is now," said Mr. Klein,
recalling the May 3, 2004, Advertising Age cover story that declared "CMOs Under
Fire."
So how does one beat the odds to become a so-called Super CMO?
"We believe the new super CMO and examples on this list were true general
managers before they took the CMO role," said Mr. Welch. "The complexity of this
job, the ability to be board-savvy and work cross-functionally effectively are
the attributes of new CMO," he said. "That may be the new model of CMO that can
make it last and make it work."
At least a dozen of the executives in the sample were general managers prior to
their CMO posts and 20% had been a general manager at some point in their
earlier careers.
Adapting to change
Mike Fasulo, CMO at Sony Electronics for the past 14 months, said, "It's
about being able to adapt to change. ... How do I achieve the expectation and
deliverables that our executive board and shareholders are expecting and at the
same time have the freedom to innovate for our true marketing folks?"
"I've been here five years and I don't go to lunches and I don't go to dinners
and I don't play golf. My head is down," said Peter Weedfald, senior
VP-strategic marketing and new media for Samsung Electronics America, who said
that CMOs are "consistently marginalized" by CEOs. "I'm not saying I'm better
than anyone else ... [but] when I sit with the C-level executives, they work the
same way I work."
"C-level nomads are really a reflection of what's going on in professional life
universally," said Claude Singer, partner, Lippincott Mercer. "A couple of
generations ago you had more time to strike that balance between maintaining the
course and making course adjustments," he said, comparing today's executives to
sports cars. "You're highly visible and if you do well there's a great upside
and if you mishandle the machine or take it in a different direction you could
be in trouble."
Consider yourself warned.
 
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