Our fourth annual study explores insights from 150 CEOs of top U.S. companies, revealing trends in growth, strategy, and marketing’s role. This year, we examine shifting CEO expectations of CMOs—where they see value, gaps, and marketing’s place in the business agenda.

CEO focus has moved from being stakeholder dominant to shareholder dominant, with significant changes occurring with the issues that influence decision-making compared to last year’s data.

Despite CMO tenure being at its lowest levels in over a decade, there are several macro and micro signals for optimism in the marketing ecosystem.

2021 provided ample evidence of the impact narratives have on each and every tier of social, business, and political hierarchies.

CMO tenure is the lowest it has been in over 10 years, and while new data suggests that 86% of CEOs believe CMOs have the power to influence key decisions of the C-suite.