Uploaded byChristina O'Connor
LinkedIn B2B Forum, The CMO's A-Z
The document discusses the transition of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) to Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), emphasizing that CMOs can leverage their marketing expertise and skills—like strategic thinking and digital awareness—to excel in CEO roles. It highlights the necessity for CMOs to acquire additional experiences, especially in finance and operations, and to broaden their understanding of the business landscape. The text also features insights from various CEOs about the importance of stepping outside one's comfort zone and fostering cross-functional relationships.
LinkedIn B2B Forum, The CMO's A-Z
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- 2. Why make theleap from CMO to CEO? “ “Great marketers will also be great integrators, pulling together the different functions and sometimes acting as chief of staff, which makes marketing a great training ground for a CEO …”
- 3. Why marketing leadershave the potential to make great CEOs Role of marketing has become central to the success of the enterprise Greater influence in developing company strategy, harnessing the power of digital, and exploiting new tools and mechanisms for understanding shifts in consumer behaviour Senior marketers continue to be viable candidates for CEO roles and have outperformed their CEO peers
- 4. What are CEOsbackgrounds? M A R K E T I N G B A C K G R O U N D 21% 18% 24% F I N A N C E B A C K G R O U N D 32% 31% 19% O T H E R B A C K G R O U N D 47% 51% 57% FTSE 100 Fortune 500 Private Equity (UK)
- 5. What's the skillsgap? Insights from LinkedIn Which functions have CEOs on LinkedIn worked in during their career before becoming CEO? Operations 21% Marketing 17% IT 15% Sales 14% Entrepreneurs 11% HR & Legal 10% Finance 7% Other 5%
- 6. Today’s Skill Set Whatare the key skills/expertise CMOs are expected to possess today?* 12%Alalytical orientation Creativity Strategic mindset Digital expertise General management Innovation Customer insight Financial acumen Change leadership Global perspective Talent development Other 3% 14% 7%7% 7% 17%54% 7% 9%3% 11% 5%9% 7% 11%4% 12% 20%8% 9% 3%3% 5% 9%6% 12% 1%3% 3% 1% 4% 12% 1% 1 2 3 * Respondants were asked to rank their top 3 choices
- 7. Today’s Skill Set Whatare the key skills/expertise CMOs are expected to possess today?* What CEO skills are not highly ranked by CMOs? i.e. the 'skills gap' What does a CMO bring to the CEO role? i.e. CMO skills not in the CEO top 100 skills?
- 8. What additional skillsare needed? Develop financial expertise Acquire operational experience Think like a Board Director Hone communication skills
- 9. It's about morethan just skills… Develop close working relationships with other functions Find a mentor who is already a CEO or in a general management Build commercial credibility by developing financial expertise Be comfortable making tough decisions Get involved in mission-critical, cross-functional projects Learn to speak the language of the board Gain experience in general management or at least one non- marketing role Play the role of integrator — it’s a great CEO training ground Broaden your skill set at every opportunity Position marketing as a creator and driver of value for your business
- 10. W H AT ' S T H E R E A L I T Y O F M A K I N G T H I S C M O T O C E O T R A N S I T I O N ?
- 11. Kate Swann –CEO SSP Group “ “You can be siloed as a marketer and taking a broader view of the business can be quite difficult. You need to gain additional experience, either as a bolt-on or outside marketing.” Chief Executive Officer Roles Marketing Background
- 12. Martin Glenn –CEO The Football Association “ “It’s about having the courage to go into different situations — a different sector or different country — essentially, anything that gets you out of your comfort zone and puts you in front of problems that need to be sorted out, because that’s how you become a hero...” Chief Executive Officer Roles Marketing Background
- 13. Elio Leoni Sceti– Former CEO Iglo Group “ “Stretch yourself. Always learn something new. And learn how to influence at both line and matrix level: you may be good at command and control, but you also need to be good at influencing as a CEO.” Chief Executive Officer Roles Marketing Background
- 14. Andy Cosslett –Operating Partner, Leisure, Advent “ “There’s a misperception that leaders are all-powerful, but the higher up you go, the more influence you have – you have less power in the strict sense of the word. As a leader I don’t do it on my own; I do it with groups of people. We go on a mission together as a team.” Chief Executive Officer Roles Marketing Background
- 15. Thank you forlistening!