Springer Nature   |   MAY 2025

Reports suggest some concerns with chief marketing officer performance. We introduce CMO Role Design and theorize it is a critical factor impacting CMO performance outcomes. Employing a role theory lens, we develop a conceptual framework of CMO Role Design and provide an initial empirical examination of three characteristics from the broader model.

Harvard Business Review   |   DECEMBER 2024

In 2018 Nike took a large—and, it believed, calculated—risk by featuring Colin Kaepernick in an ad campaign. When he’d been the quarterback of the 49ers, he’d protested police brutality by kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” becoming a hero to liberals and a pariah to conservatives. Nike was gambling that an enthusiastic response from liberals would outweigh any backlash from conservatives.

ScienceDirect   |   JUNE 2024

Companies are increasingly expected to contribute, above and beyond a profit motive, to society. Leaders across industries have addressed the expectation by engaging in activism. While some upper echelons leaders initiate activism efforts in a way that strengthens their firms, others are struggling to do so without risking brand and business performance.

MIT Sloan Management Review   |   SEPTEMBER 2023

Determining the optimal design of a department or function is a key aspect of organization design and one of the most important decisions C-level executives make. Organization design establishes the essential infrastructure that enables or hinders companies’ effective deployment of strategic decisions, yet it is one of the least studied and understood by business leaders.

Harvard Business Review   |   FEBURARY 2023

Executive recruiters write lengthy job descriptions when filling C-suite roles. Candidates need to recognize that these are marketing documents, aimed at getting them excited about the job, and they aren’t necessarily accurate reflections of the responsibilities and performance measures they will encounter if they accept the position.

MIT Sloan Management Review   |   OCTOBER 2021

Why are brands risking market share and brand image erosion to weigh in on important but hot-button topics on which consumers, shareholders, and employees do not agree? Marketers have been told, “You must take a stand,” in reports, articles, and surveys. But what is driving this belief?

MIT Sloan Management Review   |   MAY 2021

Why is the average tenure of a C-suite executive a brief 5.3 years? And why do chief marketing and chief information officers last barely more than four years in the job, on average? The answer may lie between the lines of the job specifications shopped around by executive recruiters.

Harvard Business Review   |   MAY 2019

For decades, Western executives of multinational brands seeking to expand globally have operated under a simple premise: Marketing content and channel selection should be customized to local markets, but Western marketing principles are universal. Firms are particularly quick to export media and ad strategies to developing markets, where advertising and media are more recent developments.

FORBES   |   JANUARY 2019

Which firms have reputations for developing superior C-level marketing leaders? And which firms provide the best training that enables marketers to become CEOs? These are two common questions I get from marketers, executives, and students.

Harvard Business Review   |   JULY 2017

What can be done to end this dysfunctional pattern? Kimberly A. Whitler, a former CMO who’s now an assistant professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School, and Neil Morgan, a marketing professor at Indiana University, have done extensive research into the problem. They believe that its main cause is faulty role design.

FORBES   |   AUGUST 2016

Which firms have the best reputation for developing marketers that can reach the C-level? What makes them better than their peers? And how do some of the “hot,” newer firms in tech stack up against some of the more mature firms?

. . .