CMOs Keep Leaving at Higher Rates Than CFOs and CTOs
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Chief marketing officers don’t have a reputation for sticking around.
New figures from employment data provider Live Data Technologies show how often CMOs leave their companies compared with chief financial officers and chief technology officers.
Last year, for example, nearly 20 out of every 100 U.S. CMOs left their roles. Around 15 out of every 100 CFOs and CTOs, by contrast, did the same.
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"CMOs have been leaving their roles faster than their finance and technology peers every year since 2019, and the gap hasn't closed," said Alex Hamilton, head of insights at Live Data Technologies.
Preliminary numbers for 2026 show CMOs are once again on track to post higher exit rates than executives who occupy the other two C-suite positions.
The big question is why.
Several factors point to an explanation.
One is that being a top marketer is hard. Staying on top of changes in technology, politics, and culture is difficult. Anticipating what’s coming next — even more so.
Metrics are another challenge. Good marketing influences how consumers think and feel, but it’s not always easy to connect these thoughts and feelings with revenue.
Sometimes a CMO and CEO simply don’t agree on the best path forward. When this occurs, you can guess which one is out of a job.
Leaving a job, however, isn’t always a negative thing. Sometimes it’s because the person is moving up the career ladder. Their skills and experience are in demand.
Data from executive search and advisory firm Spencer Stuart shows that while S&P 500 CMOs tend to have a shorter tenure than other members of the C-suite, many marketing leaders leave for a better opportunity.
As the research puts it: “Of the 218 CMO exits between 2021 and 2025, nearly two-thirds (62%) were either promoted at their company or went on to a similar or bigger role at another company.”
