Is there a natural progression from CMO to CEO? Are there any unique skill sets or jobs that a CMO should have in order to become CEO? As a CMO, you’re deep into sales, marketing, customer success and work extensively with B2B. Our guest, Jenn Steele, shows us what it takes to transition from CMO to CEO, even when the path isn’t linear.
During Jenn’s business school years, one of her professors described her as “often unexpected; never boring.” Her passions include bringing products to market, growing people and companies, telling stories (both with and without data), and furthering women in business.
Jenn and I tackle several topics in this episode, including what it takes to move from CMO to CEO, as well as who owns go-to-market strategy and how the CEO points the way, while the marketing executive should see further.
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Highlights from my conversation with Jenn Steele:
- Jenn’s background (2:27)
- What makes a good marketing strategy (6:45)
- The top issues to think about going into 2023 (7:58)
- Go-to-market strategy from a CEO’s perspective (10:55)
- Skills a CMO needs to get to the CEO level (15:38)
- Who is responsible for the go-to-market strategy (20:44)
- The most important part of Jen’s journey from CMO to CEO (28:36)
- Three critical components teams need to know (29:09)
- Different people and experiences in a go-to-market strategy (34:53)
- Here are Jenn’s takeaways (42:57)
- Jenn’s current inspirations (45:43)
Although we focused a lot on the journey from CMO to CEO, we also discussed Jenn’s take on go-to-market strategies. Selecting a strategy or a subset of strategies and getting everyone on board is essential. Do you know your go-to-market strategy if you chose it based on who your customer is, what your product benefits and values are, and your team’s expertise? Send us a DM on Instagram to let us know.
