In-demand Chief Marketing Officer jobs pivotal to company strategy
Before Unilever’s Conny Braams left her Chief Marketing Officer job earlier this year after a 33-year career with the global consumer products company, she was widely considered one of the most influential CMOs of a generation, fearlessly trumpeting the company’s DEI and sustainability strategies as the key method for brand building, developing customer loyalty, and generating value for employees and shareholders.
The proof was in the mayo not pudding. Sales of Unilever’s Hellman’s brand mayonnaise were up 11 percent from the year prior and Dove soap, another popular company brand, rose 8 percent. These moves represent tens of millions of units worldwide. There were examples across their multi-national product line with Braams crediting much of the success to messaging and equating their products to purpose and public good. “We (used) short videos to tell sustainable stories about our brands,” Braams told marketing industry website The Drum. “Then we reward consumers for engaging with it… (which) builds brand power and changes behavior.”
Braams led a dizzying array of more than 400 products used by more than 3 billion people each day. If you’re crazy for corporate strategy and love bringing products and services to market, then you have what it takes to pursue Chief Marketing Officer positions, especially if you’re seeking remote CMO jobs or CMO hospital jobs which are in hot demand as companies and talent pivot in our brave new work world. Consider the following for CMO jobs near you.
What are CMO jobs? Do all companies offer Chief Marketing Officer jobs?
Chief Marketing Officer positions belong among the executive suite of top positions at large companies, along with CEO, CFO, COO, CTO and similar positions. Companies that offer CMO jobs are typically $1 billion firms with multiple layers of senior executives, vice presidents, senior directors, among others.
The Chief Marketing Officer is responsible for developing and executing a company’s advertising, sales and positioning strategy, aligning campaigns with financial goals and distinction within an often crowded vertical marketplace or category. They oversee the budget and personnel to deliver the overarching marketing plan and are held to account for its success or failure based on sales and other metrics.
There are many paths to top Chief Marketing Officer jobs. In the case of Braams, she worked for Unilever for much of career in many capacities, including as Executive Vice President for Central Europe and EVP for Foodsolutions Asia, Africa and Middle East. In each case, though, it was her passion for Unilever’s products and the ability to extoll their benefits that made her exceptionally valuable to the company. CMOs are natural born sales professionals who exude warmth, energy and honest appeal for what they are marketing. It can be with same company, or progressive advancement with the sales and marketing industry, typically with the same genre or sector.
Nearly all will have earned at least a Bachelor’s Degree in marketing, business administration, communications or similar discipline, and more than 10 years of experience. The American Marketing Association reports that there are currently about 67,000 CMOs in the United States.
Are Chief Marketing Officer jobs in demand and what do they pay?
CMO jobs continue to be in high demand. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the tenure of CMOs at the top 100 advertisers in the United States was about 40 months, according to the data researcher firm Statistica. The latest data for 2023 has CMOs staying on the job for 39.6 months, or 3.3 years, which indicates some churn and more opportunities for new Chief Marketing Officer jobs.
Based on 800 CMO profiles on PayScale.com, the average base salary of a late-career Chief Marketing Officer ranges between $119,000-$297,000, with total compensation scaling up to $373,000. Of course, top-tier CMOs like Marcos de Quinto of Coca-Cola earned nearly $8 million annually at the time of his 2017 retirement, and Mark Crumpacker of Chipotle Mexican Grill earned $5 million.
So, marketers, you ready to make the leap and seek Chief Marketing Officer jobs? Contact a Forbes.jobs executive recruiter to explore exclusive career opportunities.
