The role of the CMO is changing from “head of marketing” to “corporate executive,” but only when stars align in two ways. The first is when the CMO is a general manager with marketing expertise.  The second is when the CEO declares marketing and the brand experience to be corporate objectives rather than execution against. In either case, the CMO recruited to this task must drive change across the organization, connecting the dots to achieve a coherent brand experience regardless of the point at which the customer interacts with the company.

Mary Beth Kemp has written about this in her report, “Marketing Mandate: Connect the Dots” (Forrester clients, click here to read the report) and I have written a piece on Forbes’ CMO Network on the topic.

Do you agree that the CMO should lead beyond Marketing? Which CMOs do you see doing the best job at this?