When it comes to the top chief marketing officers of 2022, there are a few names that stand out.
These individuals have been incredibly effective in their roles and have inspired others in the marketing community.
Whether they are using new and innovative strategies or pushing the envelope with their creativity, these CMOs are redefining what it means to be a successful marketer.
This post will look at some of the most impressive leaders in this field.
But first, it’s important to cover the basics of what a CMO job entails.
What is a Chief Marketing Officer?
The CMO is responsible for a wide range of marketing tasks.
Therefore, outlining a detailed job description can be complicated between companies.
From one day to the next, a CMO could analyze market data, work with a graphics team to create marketing assets, coordinate with other departments to align goals, and work on action plans to achieve those goals.
As the role of the CMO evolves, the people in these roles have to work on further developing their skills in new directions.
The CMO ends up having their influence present in nearly every business department, participating in every stage of the marketing process.
Read More: What is a CMO?
Top Chief Marketing Officers of Today’s Leading Businesses
To get a better understanding of what it means to be a Chief Marketing Officer, here are the strategy and leadership gurus paving the way.
1. Carla Liuni – Pandora CMO
Pandora Jewelry welcomed Carla Liuni as the new CMO in 2020.
She is a graduate of the Ipsoa Institute and is a turning point in breaking the male domination of the corporate ladder.
Influence and Experience
Carla Liuni brings to the table decades of experience working mass-market branding and luxury goods, while her resume proves dedication and innovation where others have previously failed.
She is familiar with bringing elegance and power to a brand while holding to that brand’s voice and message.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Pandora Jewelry experienced a significant drop in sales and a 13% reduction in shares in 2019.
The company failed to innovate and overstretched its resources to remain relevant to consumers.
Carla Liuni was brought into the team to pump new creativity and vision into their turnaround strategy.
She aims to work with other executives to refocus the brand on its strengths and find relevance in the next generation of consumers.
2. Leslie Berland – Twitter CMO
Leslie Berland joined the Twitter team in 2016, after 11 years with American Express.
In 2017, she expanded her role to include Chief People Officer.
Her name is now associated with several awards, including D&AD.
Forbes, Adweek, and Business Insider have recognized her as an industry leader and influential executive.
Influence and Experience
While working under the American Express banner, Leslie Berland coordinated advertising, sponsorship, brand identity, content creation media, and digital partnerships of the brand.
Her Bachelor of Science from Boston University’s College of Communication opened doors, providing the foothold needed to launch a rewarding career.
She shares her passion and creativity with the world.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Leslie Berland understands the foundational core of the ever-evolving conversations on Twitter, allowing her to step back and look at the brand’s spirit.
She ensures that the brand’s creative approach still matches the original mission.
Successful marketing is to embrace the soul of the brand and help the world thrive in it.
She and her team recognize the fluidity and evolution of the brand and flow with it.
3. Carla Hassan – JP Morgan Chase CMO
Carla Hassan started her career with JP Morgan Chase in the fall of 2021, after spending three years at Citigroup Inc, a direct Wall Street competitor.
Her experience in the banking industry led her to master working creatively within the box of industry regulations.
Influence and Experience
During her time with Citi, she was on the team behind the Citi Custom Cash Card project.
She led the charge in their campaigns to improve diversity and inclusion in their programs and promote the industry’s involvement in environmental, social, and government regulatory actions.
She also has experience in non-banking executive roles with Kelloggs and Pepsi.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
As the world emerges from the pandemic and the dust settles on the new industry landscape, Carla Hassan brings a level of creative innovation needed to adapt to the evolving media and marketing challenges that the COVID shutdowns brought forefront.
Carla Hassan earns her place among the top chief marketing officers through her enthusiasm and aggressive growth strategies.
4. William White – Walmart CMO
William White is a Duke University – Fuqua School of Business graduate with drive and dedication to building solid and talented teams to work on innovative and impressive projects.
He strives to promote inclusion and diversity in marketing and community-building projects, regardless of the company.
Influence and Experience
Before joining Walmart in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, William was the Senior VP of Marketing at Target.
Before his start at Target in 2017, he held leadership and executive roles at Coca-Cola and Starcom MediaVest Group.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
William White joined Walmart in the early days of pandemic panic.
The demands for products shifted rapidly from day to day, and White needed to focus the marketing efforts on stabilizing the “tactical things.”
He threw himself and his team into coordinating with advertising and product management teams to ensure ads weren’t being run for things that were out of stock and adjusting the company’s marketing funds for new circumstances.
His direction led to the drive-in movies in parking lots across the country to bring a sense of community in a time of isolation.
5. Melissa Selcher – Linkedin CMCO
Melissa Selcher graduated from the Haas School of Business at Berkeley and Princeton University.
She has been named one of PR News Top Women in Public Relations and currently holds the position of Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at LinkedIn.
Influence and Experience
As CMCO, Melissa works with a talented team of marketers to coordinate the marketing, social/global impact, and communications work for LinkedIn.
Before accepting this role, she was the VP of Brand Marketing and Corporate Communications and Social Impact for LinkedIn.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
As LinkedIn is about marketing people and skills rather than products and services, Melissa believes in recognizing people and their skills.
She encourages consumers and users of the LinkedIn platform to take the time to discover their strengths and build their careers around what they’re already good at.
In the new pandemic-affected world, finding ways to promote yourself and your business in an economically sound way is difficult.
6. Greg “Joz” Joswiak – Apple Senior VP Worldwide Marketing
Joz has been with Apple for his entire career
After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1986 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, he joined the Apple team working with Mac’s community of third-party developers in the early days of the Macintosh computer line.
Influence and Experience
As an Apple Lifer, Joz hasn’t gained the experience and perspective of other marketing professions.
However, he brings to the table knowledge of a company’s growth from the ground floor to the stars.
He has been directly involved in the launch and marketing process of every iPod, iPhone, and Apple accessory since he became the Apple Powerbook marketing lead in 1997.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Joz serves as the critical bridge between the engineers, the programmers, and the consumers of Apple products.
By hearing the customers’ needs and the engineers’ needs on Apple products, Joz and his team bring everyone to the same page.
Joz serves as the people’s voice during meetings with research and development, bringing a marking point of view into the conversation.
7. Cara Sylvester – Target CMO
Cara Sylvester has been working in leadership roles with Target for over 15 years.
As Target’s first female CMO, she has stepped up from her previous role as the Senior VP of Merchandising for Home Products.
Her education includes an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelors in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Influence and Experience
Before joining the Target team in 2007, Cara was a manager at Deloitte Consulting of Chicago.
When she stepped into the leadership team at Target, she worked in several departments leaving her mark and growing with the company every day.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Cara is leading the company to revitalize their digital marketing plans and create a customer experience worthy of the Target Red Circle.
Her work coordinating the customer loyalty program and the general marketing campaigns of the company have proven her forward-thinking and creative drive.
8. Bozoma Saint John – Netflix CMO
Beyond being one of the very few Black executives in high-profile corporate positions, Bozoma Saint John is a Civil Rights Activist and vocal advocate for POC equality in corporate America.
Riding on the tails of her appointment to this position, Netflix announced its plan to donate 2% of its financial holdings to benefit organizations that support African-American communities.
Influence and Experience
Her previous experience includes her role as the Head of Marketing with Endeavour, a talent agency, and Apple and Uber Technologies.
Bozoma’s out-of-the-box thinking leads her team to step out of the data analysis rat race and follow new ideas.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Bozoma’s intuition and confidence lead her and her team to liberate Netflix from the bounds of data paralysis.
She has stated that too much data dependence leaves us in a state of stasis and doesn’t allow us to break out into the future.
This unusual take on decision-making or marketing shakes up the industry during a point of prolonged stagnation.
9. Chris Capossela – Microsoft CMO
Chris Caposella is a computer science and economics graduate of Harvard University.
He has spent more than 25 years at Microsoft overseeing marketing projects.
He is the board chair for the nonprofit Worldreader and co-chairs for United Way of King County.
He and his family live in Seattle, Washington.
Influence and Experience
Chris joined Microsoft as a marketing manager in 1991, working with the Windows Seminar Team.
Since then, he has overseen the creation and implementation of many innovations and business opportunities.
His teams have guided the transition from Microsoft Office to the Office 365 systems used in many homes and offices.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Chris and his team have been pivotal in driving sales and connecting people to resources to help them achieve more.
In recent years, Microsoft has taken on a new mission to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”
Through his team’s marketing efforts, Microsoft has remained relevant and grown with the people it serves.
10. Tesa Aragones – Discord CMO
Tesa Aragones currently stands with her name on 12 Nike patents.
She’s also been named one of Ad Age’s Top 40 Marketers Under 40 and Brand Innovators Top 100 Women to Watch.
Her passion for marketing and pushing young people to challenge the ideas of those who came before led her to outstanding achievements.
Influence and Experience
In addition to her accolades and career accomplishments, Tesa also takes an active role in education in the arts.
Further, her resume boasts impressive projects with Nike, VSCO, Volkswagen, Kia, and Universal Studios.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Tesa is the brain and the heart behind the Discord rebrand in 2020, and her efforts and marketing prowess attracted people outside the gaming community that Discord was previously known for.
The newest “Imagine a Place” campaign brought together actors, entertainers, and influential individuals from across the industry to create a short film to highlight what Discord could offer.
The movie combined live action, claymation, sock puppet performances, and more.
11. Bill Melo – Toshiba CMO
Bill Melo is a graduate of the NYU Stern School of Business, Montclair State University, and The Aspen Institute.
He holds several patents and has worked in the imaging solutions industry since 1998, joining Toshiba America in 2002.
Influence and Experience
Bill’s experience before joining Toshiba includes VP and Worldwide Marketing for Hitachi Koki Imaging solutions and the program manager at Ricoh Corporation.
His digital signage and print software expertise make him the perfect VP of Marketing and Strategic Business Development.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Bill has been involved in the development and marketing processes for the Encompass Managed Print Services program at the Toshiba Managed Business Services organization.
12. Allison Johnson – PayPal CMO
Allison Johnson is a graduate of the University of Florida and has worked for more than two decades in marketing.
Just as PayPal disrupted the payment processing industry in the early days of eCommerce, Allison’s forward-thinking sets her up for success in the PayPal team.
Influence and Experience
Allison’s experience in the industry bridges several well known companies, such as Apple, HP, and the marketing and venture capital company called West.
During her tenure at West, her involvement led to startups’ success, including SquareUp, Twitter, Better Mortgage, and Impossible Foods.
Notable Marketing Initiatives
Allison has transitioned to CMO in stride, leading the marketing teams for PayPalwell-known and their partnering companies and hitting the ground running.
In 2019, Allison’s appointment to the newly created position put her on track to spearhead several projects in PayPal’s next growth phase.
Who is the World’s Most Influential CMO?
According to Forbes, Bozoma Saint John takes the title of 2021’s Most Influential CMO.
Between her work with Netflix and her activism for equality, she makes more than waves in the marketing and entertainment industries.
The landscape of corporate America is changing.
Statistics suggest that over 40% of all CMOS active in leading businesses are women, and Bozoma Saint John is a most vocal advocate for bringing more women of color into the higher ranks.
She is just one of many top chief marketing officers to watch in 2022.
Wrapping Up
It’s no secret that the CMO has become one of the most important positions for any company, and the names listed above are no exception.
The 12 featured in this article are all making waves and driving growth at their respective companies, but they’re not alone.
If you’re looking for someone who can lead your marketing team toward success, then hire a CMO from yorCMO!
Our experienced staff is eager to help you grow your business with innovative strategies like the ones mentioned above.
We also offer a free consultation so we can get to know each other better before committing to anything official – just mention “CMO” when you contact us today!
