The CMO Council's Define & Align the CMO study, undertaken with the support of MarketBridge, aggressively explores the role, responsibilities, and future outlook of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). This thought leadership initiative encompasses qualitative interviews with CMOs and chief executive officers and quantitative surveys of search firm executives, company board members, and high-level marketers - nearly 1,500 study participants.

The Define & Align research underscores a strong link between the CMO's credibility and performance and the goals and expectations of the CEO. In fact, both Board members and marketers agree that a lack of credibility leads to no real clout in the company, which can be disastrous for the CMO. Further, our research indicates a link between involvement of the CMO in strategic corporate decisions and the level of marketing experience held by Board members.