Like professional athletes at the mercy of team owners always looking for the next superstar, chief marketing officers appear to have the shortest tenure of any member of the C-suite. The median life span in the role was 28 months in 2018, dropping from the 31-month median tenure a year earlier, according to Spencer Stuart. While some departing CMOs are tapped for internal roles beyond marketing, such as general manager, more often than not they are shown the door and move on to their next gig.

Part of the reason for this costly turnover: CMOs face substantial pressure from CEOs and boards to quickly shift massive organizations to new types of marketing. With consumers migrating to digital channels, new digital tools and platforms popping up every month, and customers bombarded by a cacophony of marketing messages, it's a tough environment to understand, let alone master.

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