Though chief marketing officers are traditionally overlooked to fill openings on corporate boards, their singular consumer-centric expertise makes them an invaluable asset to any board, The Wall Street Journal reports.
"I've never heard anybody in a nominating committee say, 'Please bring me a list of CMOs,'" Shelly Lazarus, chair emeritus of Ogilvy, said at WSJ's CMO Network Annual Meeting this week. Increasingly, however, "Boards realize that there is nobody on the board who understands consumer behavior," Ms. Lazarus added.
To ensure boards understand the benefits they bring to the table, marketing chiefs should demonstrate how their departments generate financial gains beyond ad campaigns and corporate communications.
"There is always something that a CMO could be presenting that is relevant to the company's agenda," Caren Fleit, managing director at executive search firm Korn Ferry, said at the meeting, WSJ reports.
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