Let your CMO lead and watch your business grow

The role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is undergoing a transformation. Once seen as brand guardians or campaign leads, today’s CMOs are expected to be commercial leaders, customer champions and strategic partners to the CEO and CFO. Yet many organisations are still structured in ways that prevent CMOs from delivering on that promise.

For businesses hiring senior marketing talent, this shift presents an opportunity. The CMO is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a central figure in driving sustainable, customer-centric growth. The challenge is identifying and empowering the right kind of marketing leader – one who can bridge creativity with commercial impact.

The growth gap: when marketing and business outcomes diverge

Despite advances in marketing technology and data, many organisations still experience a disconnect between marketing activity and business performance. CMOs may report strong brand metrics and campaign engagement, while CFOs see flat revenue and shrinking margins. The result is frustration at board level and a lack of confidence in marketing’s commercial impact.

This misalignment is often structural. McKinsey research shows that companies with fragmented customer ownership across multiple roles – such as Chief Growth Officers, Chief Digital Officers And Chief Revenue Officers – struggle to deliver consistent growth. In contrast, organisations with a single, clearly defined customer-growth leader in the C-suite grow up to 2.3 times faster than their peers.

The problem is not marketing itself but how it’s positioned within the business. When marketing is siloed, underfunded or disconnected from commercial strategy, it can’t deliver the outcomes the business expects. The solution is not to add more roles but to clarify ownership and align leadership.

The case for unified leadership

The most successful organisations empower the CMO to lead customer growth across the full journey from brand to demand to loyalty. These CMOs are not just creative thinkers but commercially minded leaders who work closely with finance, sales and product to align marketing with business strategy.

McKinsey research suggests that when the CEO, CFO and CMO are aligned, companies are more likely to outperform on growth. This alignment requires shared goals, integrated planning and a common language around performance and value creation. It also requires trust. CMOs must be given the mandate and authority to lead, not just execute.

This shift is particularly urgent in B2B organisations, where buying journeys are longer, decision-making units are more complex and customer expectations are rising fast. Marketing shouldn’t be an afterthought – it must be embedded in every stage of the customer experience.

What B2B winners do differently

McKinsey’s 2024 B2B Pulse survey identified five key behaviours that set high-growth companies apart. These insights are essential for understanding what modern CMOs must deliver and what hiring teams should look for.

1. Omnichannel is essential: B2B buyers now use an average of ten channels in their purchasing journey – double the number from 2016. More than half say they would switch suppliers after a poor omnichannel experience. CMOs must be able to design and manage seamless journeys across digital, remote and in-person touchpoints.
2. E-commerce is the top revenue driver: For companies offering e-commerce, it has overtaken in-person sales as the leading revenue channel. Buyers are increasingly comfortable making high-value purchases online, including deals over $500,000. CMOs must understand how to optimise digital channels for conversion, not just awareness.
3. The ‘rule of thirds’ defines engagement: At every stage of the buying journey, one-third of customers prefer in-person interaction, one-third prefer remote and one-third prefer digital self-serve. Flexibility is now a baseline expectation. CMOs must be able to orchestrate hybrid engagement strategies that meet customers where they are.
4. Hybrid work supports growth: Companies with hybrid workforces are more likely to achieve 10%+ revenue growth than those with rigid, single-location models. CMOs must be able to lead distributed teams, manage remote collaboration and adapt to changing work environments.
5. AI and personalisation are growth accelerators: Organisations that combine generative AI with personalised experiences are 1.7 times more likely to grow market share. Nearly one in five B2B companies have already fully implemented gen AI use cases. CMOs must be fluent in data, comfortable with experimentation and able to translate AI capabilities into customer value.

What this means for hiring marketing leaders

The modern CMO must be more than a storyteller. They must be a strategist, a technologist and a commercial operator. This means rethinking what ‘great’ looks like in your marketing leadership.

Look for candidates who:

• Bridge the C-suite: CMOs who have worked closely with CFOs and CEOs to align marketing with business goals. They should be able to speak the language of finance and contribute to strategic planning.
• Own the customer journey: Leaders who can orchestrate seamless omnichannel experiences across digital, remote and in-person touchpoints. They should understand customer behaviour and be able to design journeys that drive engagement and conversion.
• Embrace data and AI: Candidates who are fluent in analytics and understand how to use AI to drive personalisation and performance. They should be comfortable with experimentation and able to lead data-driven teams.
• Deliver commercial outcomes: Marketers who are accountable for revenue, not just reach. They should have a track record of driving growth, improving margins and influencing business strategy.
• Lead with agility: CMOs who can adapt to hybrid teams, shifting buyer behaviour and evolving tech stacks. They should be resilient, collaborative and able to lead through change.

The CMO’s comeback is a leadership challenge

Companies that want to grow must empower their CMOs with the mandate, resources and cross-functional authority to lead, and they must hire accordingly.

This means rethinking how marketing is positioned within the business and aligning the CMO with the CEO and CFO, not just the creative or digital teams. And it means recognising that customer growth isn’t a department but a company-wide priority.

The businesses that get this right will grow faster and build stronger, more resilient customer relationships in the process.

Get in touch today to discuss your leadership and hiring needs.