CMO Moves April 2025
April saw 39 new CMOs step into the spotlight across the globe, with women maintaining a slight lead - 21 versus 18 men. Out of the total, only 7 were internal promotions, while a whopping 32 were brought in from outside. And 4 of those hires came from entirely different industries - a gutsy move that earns them the unofficial title of “Industry Travelers.” As for career milestones, 17 of these appointments mark the execs’ first-ever swing at the C-level bat. Not too shabby.
The United States continued its unrelenting dominance in CMO hiring, accounting for 28 of the new appointments. California, unsurprisingly, came out on top with 6 hires. Texas followed with 3, and then came a pack of states - Connecticut, Florida, New York, Georgia, and Pennsylvania - each contributing 2 new CMOs to the ranks.
Across the pond, the UK kept the momentum going with 3 new CMO announcements, while other countries joining the action included China, India, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, and Sweden. It's clear the marketing world is spinning on a very global axis.
Tech, true to form, continued to lead the industry tally with 11 new CMOs appointed across Software Development, Telecoms, and Cybersecurity. Retail came in next with 7, while Financial Services brought on 4 new marketing chiefs. Professional Services and Manufacturing sectors each welcomed 3 CMOs into the fold.
CMO Appointments by Sector/Industry Group
- Tech: 11
- Retail: 7
- Financial Services: 4
- Professional Services: 3
- Manufacturing: 3
- BioTech, Pharma, Healthcare: 2
- Restaurants: 2
- Hotel and Travel: 2
- Media, Sports & Entertainment: 2
- CPG: 2
- Automotive: 1
Spotlight on Recent Appointments:
- Notion: Lena Waters joins Notion as CMO, bringing her experience from Grammarly and Docusign to steer the brand through the launch of Notion Mail, positioning it as a unified workspace while maintaining its signature simplicity amid growing enterprise demands.
- Brioni: Flavio Cerbone steps in as CMO at Brioni, leveraging his luxury communication expertise from the Prada Group to modernize the brand’s image without losing its timeless, understated appeal in a shifting luxury market.
- Burger King (U.S. & Canada): Joel Yashinsky, known for revitalizing Applebee’s with culturally resonant campaigns, takes on the role of CMO at Burger King to solidify the “Reclaim the Flame” strategy by transforming operational improvements into consumer excitement.
- Zoom: Kimberly Storin joins Zoom as CMO, tasked with reshaping the brand’s narrative from being just a video conferencing tool to an AI-first collaboration platform amid a highly competitive market and shifting business needs.
- Snap Inc: Grace Kao has been promoted from VP to CMO at Snap Inc., making her one of the few internal hires among April's CMO appointments, as she takes on the challenge of reframing Snap's brand as a reliable growth engine amidst leadership restructuring.
- PepsiCo (International Foods): Jonnie Cahill steps in as CMO of PepsiCo’s International Foods division, tasked with stabilizing brand perception and navigating regulatory challenges as the company faces declining revenue and market cap amid rising tariffs and economic pressures.
- Deltek: Dan Barnhardt joins Deltek as CMO to fine-tune the company’s global brand strategy, leveraging his B2B expertise to align marketing efforts with revenue growth without disrupting the trusted legacy built over decades.
Click on the links below to find out more about these CMOs and their new mandates:
