The Evolving Role of the Chief Marketing Officer in 2025: From CMO to “Chief Growth Officer”
The Rise of the “Chief Growth Officer”
In 2025, more CEOs and boards are swapping the CMO title for Chief Growth Officer (CGO). On the surface, this looks like a big shiftsignaling that marketing leaders are now responsible for driving measurable revenue and growth.
But here’s the truth: CMOs have always owned growth.
From brand awareness to demand generation, customer experience, retention, and revenue performance, the entire growth channel has historically sat under the CMO’s leadership.
The problem isn’t the role itself it’s the lack of recognition.
Why the Title Change is Happening
So why are CEOs making the switch?
Perception of Accountability – “Marketing” is often dismissed as fluffy, while “growth” feels measurable.
Board-Level Language – Investors and boards respond more directly to growth metrics than marketing KPIs.
Cross-Functional Expansion – Growth titles sometimes pull in sales, product, and customer success, not just marketing.
The Leadership Gap
What this really highlights is a gap in leadership acknowledgement.
Too often, CMOs are seen as campaign managers, not strategic business architects. The title “Chief Growth Officer” attempts to fix this by putting growth front and center yet the scope of responsibility hasn’t fundamentally changed.
The shift is less about function and more about respect and alignment.
What CMOs Must Do in 2025
If you’re a marketing leader watching this shift, here’s what to focus on:
Own the growth narrative: Don’t just present marketing metrics. Speak in revenue, pipeline, and profitability.
Partner with the CFO: Prove marketing’s financial impact through CAC, LTV, ROAS, and attribution models.
Lead across silos: Growth is cross-functional—bring product, sales, and customer success into your strategy.
Position yourself as CGO, with or without the title: Don’t wait for a rebrand to claim the role you already play.
Final Word
The rise of the Chief Growth Officer is not the death of the CMO. It’s a reminder that marketing has always been about growth—and it’s time executives and boards recognize the strategic weight CMOs bring to the table.
Whether your business calls it CMO or CGO, the leaders who win in 2025 will be the ones who bridge brand, revenue, and strategy into one growth engine.
