Video: Tomorrow’s CEOs Could Be Today’s Top Marketers

Some large corporations, such as McDonalds, have put their futures in the hands of a former CMO or other senior marketing executive. And many more will come. That makes marketing the best place to be for professionals who have their eyes on an eventual chief executive seat.

The most competitive modern businesses are data-driven and customer-oriented—traits that marketers have been prioritizing for years. Yet, not long ago, the marketing discipline was often viewed simply as the “make-things-pretty department.”

Now it’s the first place the rest of the organization turns to for big-picture digital strategy, customer insights, and analytical decision making. That makes experienced marketing leaders uniquely and ideally poised to take the reins at the head of the business and lead it to sustained growth.

Some large corporations, such as McDonalds, have already caught on to this and have put their futures in the hands of a former CMO or other senior marketing executive. And many more will come. That makes marketing the best place to be for professionals who have their eyes on an eventual chief executive seat.

In the following video, I explain the trends that have led to this situation for marketers, and what they can do to position themselves for a future CEO title.