For CMOs and CCOs, Joining a Board Has Clearly More Appeal than Becoming CEO
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CMO+CCO Meter

A recurring tracker of marketing and communications leaders’ sentiment as to the impact they are having on their businesses and the value they are creating.

Chief marketing officers (CMOs) and chief communications officers (CCOs) aspire to board roles over CEO positions, the latter of which is a dream for only one in ten marketing and comms executives, according to the September/October 2024 CMO+CCO Meter survey. This article describes CMOs’ and CCOs’ career aspirations, laying out where starting one’s own company and becoming a professor or thought leader rank among career options.

For CMOs and CCOs, Joining a Board Has Clearly More Appeal than Becoming CEO

February 27, 2025

Chief marketing officers (CMOs) and chief communications officers (CCOs) aspire to board roles over CEO positions, the latter of which is a dream for only one in ten marketing and comms executives, according to the September/October 2024 CMO+CCO Meter survey. This article describes CMOs’ and CCOs’ career aspirations, laying out where starting one’s own company and becoming a professor or thought leader rank among career options.

Key Insights

  • Among career aspirations, becoming a board member is most on CMOs’ and CCOs’ minds—ranking ahead of switching companies, the desire to stay put, or other exit options such as becoming CEO, starting one’s own company, or becoming a professor or thought leader.
  • Recognition helps retain experienced employees, keeping their expertise, institutional knowledge, and relationships within the organization.
  • Marketing and communications leaders dissatisfied with their work are most likely to change companies, start their own business, or become board members.
 

Both CMOs and CCOs Are Interested in a Board Position

When it comes to CMOs’ and CCOs’ career aspirations, becoming a board member leads (Figure 1). One in four marketing and one in five comms leaders cite becoming a board member as a personal ca

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