CMO Moves October 2025
October was a busy one, with 51 CMO appointments globally: 31 women + 20 men. Internal promotions remain rare (11 in total), with the vast majority (40) hired from outside. Interestingly, 26 are stepping into the CMO role for the first time. Although only 3 made the leap across industries, earning the “industry traveler” badge and reflecting a highly conservative market that favors deep sector expertise.
In the U.S., 38 new CMOs were appointed across 20 states. California and New York led with 7 each, followed by Illinois with 3. Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, and North Carolina each added 2. Europe saw a smaller wave: England welcomed 2 CMOs, and France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, one each. India added 3, Australia 2, and New Zealand one.
On the industry front, Tech led with 13 new CMOs. Financial and Professional Services each added 8, while Biotech, Pharma, Healthcare & Wellness, and Manufacturing came in tied with 5 apiece.
CMO Appointments by Sector
- Tech: 13
- Financial Services: 8
- Professional Services: 8
- BioTech, Pharma, Healthcare & Wellness: 5
- Manufacturing: 5
- Retail: 4
- Restaurants: 2
- Media, Sports & Entertainment: 2
- CPG: 2
- Construction: 1
- Automotive: 1
There’s plenty of momentum heading into year-end.
Spotlight on Recent Appointments:
- Mastercard is handing the reins from longtime brand-builder Raja Rajamannar to Accenture veteran Jill Kramer, signaling a pivot toward data-, tech-, and B2B-led growth. Kramer’s mandate is to use AI and transaction-scale insights to modernize marketing while translating “Priceless”-level brand equity into enterprise platform expansion.
- General Motors tapped comms-and-tech veteran Lin-Hua Wu as CMO while she keeps her communications post, betting that narrative mastery is central to its reinvention from automaker to tech-forward mobility company. Her appointment replaces a traditional marketing setup with a stakeholder-wide storytelling engine built for EV, software, and autonomy-era credibility.
- Shannon Sullivan Duffy steps in to tighten marketing’s link to business outcomes and elevate Okta’s identity narrative as the backbone of digital trust in the AI era. Known for operational rigor and KPI transparency, she’s expected to scale brand and demand together across complex enterprise and regulatory audiences.
- After a long search, GEICO hired former Goldman Sachs Chief Brand Officer Arianna Orpello Lewko to steady and modernize one of America’s most visible ad portfolios amid slipping share. She’s positioned to evolve the brand beyond humor-plus-price into a clearer customer-value story with measurable impact.
- Kenvue’s hire of Mondelēz digital-commerce leader Jonathan Halvorson is a “rescue CMO” move aimed at rebuilding brand trust and upgrading data/media infrastructure during a volatile post-spinoff period. With a CGO alongside him, Halvorson is set to run brand defense and digital execution like an operating system for credibility and growth.
- SeatGeek brought in AI/search-and-personalization expert Matthew Herman to future-proof its product-led growth and challenge Ticketmaster’s dominance. His focus is to make discovery and the fan experience radically more personalized, while pairing with a strengthened brand/comms lead to scale trust and partnerships.
- Iterable named Priya Gill - an engineer-turned-growth leader and former power user of the product- to translate its AI CX capabilities into a credible, human-feeling global growth story. Announced alongside a new CPO, her role is built for tight product-marketing integration so what Iterable builds and sells stays perfectly aligned.
Read more about each CMO and the scope of their new mandates via the links below:
