How Can CMOs Get Positions Serving on a Corporate Board?
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With the intense focus on how social media and digital technologies are affecting business, it stands to reason that CMOs with experience in these areas would be in demand on corporate boards looking to “get smart” on these important strategic priorities. But few marketing leaders serve as directors on Fortune 1000 company boards. Our research indicates that of the more than 9,800 board seats for those companies, only 38 are occupied by a CMO.
Why is this? Low director turnover on public company boards in the United States means few openings to fill. But more than that, when director positions do exist, boards tend to favor candidates with prior governance experience. In 2012, for example, S&P 500 companies added only 291 new directors, the smallest number since 2001. Of these, just 87 had no previous public-company board experience. Only boards seeking greater diversity consider adding a CMO.
Still, as advancements in digital technology, social media and smartphone applications change the way customers interact with brands, we expect to see rising demand for directors with experience in digital and social media, as well as mobile platforms and omni-channel retail. Most boards will acknowledge, if they are honest, that they have no one around the board table with the expertise to ask management the right questions, absorb the responses and understand the implications when it comes to digital strategies. The average age of independent S&P 500 company directors is over 62; this generation did not grow up with these technologies.
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