Chris Rowson, MD at Ecardshack, examines how CMOs from the world’s largest tech companies got to the top
In the marketing world, the chief marketing officer (CMO) is a title most graduates can only dream of holding one day, and it’s fair to say that it doesn’t get any better than being a CMO of a top tech company such as Apple or Microsoft.
A CMO is central to any large technology corporation’s success and they are unique in their offering to the business. Their deep domain expertise means they understand their ‘tech loving’ target market more than any other person in the company. They know how to engage with with their target audience, deliver technical intelligence and anticipate customer trends quickly in a way, which ultimately increases bottom line sales and profitability. According to the World Economics Global Marketing Index, CMOs also have some of the largest budgets to manage in the business world.
But, have you ever wondered what path the top tech CMOs took to get to the top?
While looking at the career paths of some of the CMOs at the top tech companies in the world, it’s fascinating to see how they reached the c-suite. Some of the world’s top tech CMOs have taken numerous positions across multiple companies such as Gary Briggs at Facebook. Others, like Jon Iwata at IBM, have stayed at one company and worked their way to the top over consecutive years. One thing is clear though, the top six tech CMOs all attended university. Education and knowledge is key to the tech CMOs’ career success, but will this be the case in the future?
In the infographic below, you can see how some of the world’s top tech CMOs got to their position, including the career moves they took and how long they stayed in each job.
By showing the route that each CMO took, we’re hoping to encourage the next generation of marketers to come successful CMOs.
By inspiring the next generation, we’re predicting that a new type of expert marketer will evolve: ‘the millennial chief marketing officer’. These are not only digital natives who transforms their departments into a teams who have their finger on the pulse when it comes to consumer habits and technology, they will also manage a lean, diverse, efficient and effective team that will engage and convert target audiences on a level that has never been seen before.
