The CEO-CMO Relationship that Actually Works

The CEO-CMO relationship is the single most underrated piece of senior architecture inside a modern company.

What working looks like

The CMO sits on the same side of the revenue line as the CEO
Pricing, positioning, and demand are owned by the CMO with CEO support
Commercial reporting is unified, not parallel
Disagreement happens in private, alignment in public

What broken looks like

When the CMO is treated as a senior support function, the CEO ends up running marketing through their COO or CFO. The result is a marketing function with title but no power.

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