HOW CEOS VIEW CMOS

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

A survey of 150 US CEOs found that the CEO-CMO relationship is stronger than ever, but performance expectations are outpacing delivery. 60% of CEOs now classify marketing as a cost center, nearly double last year's 35%, and top CMO ratings declined from the previous 2 years. The core tension is that CEOs want revenue impact and financial accountability while many CMOs still report in marketing terms rather than business outcomes. CMOs also face a unique pressure point around AI, being held 4x more accountable for AI ROI than any other C-suite executive.