Julia Vander Ploeg, an experienced board member and former digital and marketing executive for major brands including McDonald’s and Volvo, shares why a CMO perspective in the boardroom isn’t just valuable — it’s indispensable.
We all know that AI is disrupting long-held norms in business. And, in this AI era, if your corporate board doesn’t have an experienced marketing voice, you could quickly create a blind spot in the enterprise strategy discussion, potentially impacting the company’s future.
The boardroom is typically dominated by experienced CEOs, finance, and operations chiefs. While invaluable, this traditional mix can be strengthened by considering what experiences best contribute to the AI strategy conversation. In an age defined by hyperinformed customers, the chief marketing officer isn’t just a nice-to-have board addition; they’re one of the most important voices you can bring into your board governance.
The CMO is one of the most important voices you can bring into your board governance.
Think about it: The very essence of modern business success hinges on understanding and engaging your customer. Who typically owns that understanding and narrative? The CMO.
The uncomfortable truth: Your board might be out of touch
Many boards are grappling with the complexities of AI, digital transformation, and shifting consumer behavior. Yet a significant portion of board members lack deep expertise in these areas. You’re trying to steer a Formula One car through a high-stakes race, but the map you’re using to navigate toward your customer is missing.
Research from the Darden School of Business provides powerful data on what this means in terms of upside. Companies with at least one marketing-experienced director see their annual revenues jump by nearly 6 percentage points. Here’s the downside: Only 16% of boards have a director with high-level marketing experience. A separate survey reveals that only 4% of board members believe that expertise is important. Further, of the boards with a marketing director, 90% have only one. The researchers from Darden found that less than 1% of boards had more than two marketers.
Companies with at least one marketing-experienced director see their annual revenues jump by nearly 6 percentage points.
How do marketing leaders strengthen the positive impact of the boardroom?
- Marketers bring the “outside-in” perspective. While many executives are focused on internal machinery, marketers are relentlessly tuned into market dynamics, customer behaviors, and competitive pressures. And their domain has been hugely impacted by AI already, so they’re well attuned to the strategic shifts happening in this space.
- They speak the language of growth. Marketing isn’t a cost center; it’s a revenue engine. CMOs connect a company’s strategy directly to financial objectives and shareholder value. They know how to build demand profitably, and can identify the key moves that trigger growth in market share.
- Marketers are at the center of the personalization-driven economy. Does your board have someone who knows what questions to ask around your first-party data strategy and how it’s leveraged for revenue optimization and growth? Strong marketing leaders understand the “art of the possible” in marketing technology, which is now a requirement for any company.
Marketing isn’t a cost center; it’s a revenue engine.
Why this matters even more in the era of AI
According to the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, boards are scrambling to understand AI’s implications. The CMO is uniquely positioned in a number of ways to understand and think through the most complex and strategic issues that AI raises.
AI will revolutionize how customers interact with your brand, whether it’s B2C or B2B. From hyperpersonalized experiences to predictive services, a strong CMO will understand how to harness AI to drive real results.
And, because the marketing function is at the forefront of AI adoption in many industries right now, CMOs understand how AI will reshape creative teams, demand new skills, and impact corporate culture. They can advise the board on how to plan and prepare your workforce for this seismic shift, ensuring you attract and retain the talent needed to thrive.
In the AI era, this perspective isn’t just valuable. It’s indispensable.
The board skills matrix and the rise of marketing and technology expertise
Including marketers in the boardroom is a trend that started taking hold a few years ago. Of all new directors appointed to S&P 500 boards, 17.2% brought marketing experience, making it one of the most prominent nontraditional backgrounds added to boards. The importance of the marketer’s skill set is amplified by the proliferation of AI. With a clear and current skills matrix, boards can easily take action to bring this experience into their ranks. It’s essential that they do so, as it can further strengthen the company’s governance at a time when that expertise is needed more than ever.
