Anyone lamenting that the importance of chief marketing officers has ebbed should consider this: Last year saw a 45.5% leap in the number of global CMO appointments among companies with at least 200 employees, according to the 2024 CMO Moves Report from executive recruitment firm Taligence. The study reported 310 global CMO appointments in 2024, up from 213 the previous year.

A Surprise: The Popularity of MBAs

This “substantial uptick” was somewhat unexpected, says Taligence managing partner Michael Wright. He was even more surprised, however, by how many of the 310 CMOs held an MBA: 38.4%, compared with 32.4% for 2023’s hires. For most of Wright’s clients seeking to hire CMOs, an MBA is a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. Nonetheless, “there is a value in it,” he says.

An MBA all but ensures that the holder can speak the language of business—important when dealing with CFOs and other partners. “Another thing that’s interesting is the network,” Wright adds. “Marketers have to achieve success through partnerships; they need to know people. If you’ve done an MBA, you have a network.”

While the percentage of CMOs with an MBA increased, the portion who were newcomers to the C-suite decreased. Only 39.4% of the global CMOs appointed last year were first-timer chief officers, down nearly 7% from 2023. There were even fewer internal hires: 16.1%. Then again, that is up slightly from 12.7% the previous year.

Of the nearly 84% of 2024’s CMO hires who were externally recruited, only five came directly from an agency. What’s more, a scant 6.8% had worked at an agency within the past decade. One reason, Wright suggests, is that “agencies have gotten extremely specialist and focused on executing ‘the thing.’ They tend to be just media or just performance or just creative. The 360-degree agency seems to be long gone.”

Another reason, he contends, is an aversion to risk. Many businesses believe it’s safer to hire a CMO experienced in navigating the client side of the industry. This same logic explains why just 11.9% of the CMO hires were from unrelated industries: “Companies are inclined when the stakes are very high, which is all the time, to hire from competitors.”

Reducing Attrition and Looking Ahead

Those continual high stakes and the pressure that comes with them, Wright says, account for the high turnover among CMOs. Nearly one-fifth (18.8%) of 2023’s CMO hires left their posts before hitting the two-year mark. “The attrition rate reflects the intense pressure and some of the most unrealistic deadlines and expectations,” he says, citing in particular the demands on CMOs to adapt to rapid market changes, political shifts and the continuing evolution of AI.

Churn among CMOs adds more instability to an already-uncertain and unsteady business environment. While companies can’t control the contributing external factors, they can take steps to reduce CMO attrition and increase internal consistency.

“One simple suggestion: better succession planning,” Wright says. “There are statistics indicating that if you promote from within, you’re looking at a better retention path going forward.” In fact, creating a leadership pipeline and hiring from within can boost retention and performance not just among the marketing and management teams but also throughout the organization, as it shows employees that the company is willing to invest in them for the long term.

Just as important, organizations need to better understand and define the CMO role. “Businesses should arrive at a better understanding of what marketing is and what it isn’t and the gray area in between. It’s important that the C-suite understand what they’re hiring for,” Wright says.

As for what findings might make the 2025 report, Wright predicts “we’ll continue to see the rise of the fractional hustle,” due to the flexibility it offers organizations and marketers alike. That goes hand in hand with another forecast: more layoffs, especially for senior marketers, due in large part to consolidation among holding companies. And though “we’ve been very demand-generation and performance-marketing focused,” Wright says, “I think companies are becoming aware once again of the importance of brand marketing.”