The changing role of the CMO—and what it means for growth

Chief marketing officers are vital to strategic decision-making, but increasingly, they’re being left out of the discussions that matter most—to the detriment of both customers and growth. “Kelsey and I are on a singular mission to bring CMOs back,” McKinsey Senior Partner Shelley Stewart III (mckinsey.com/our-people/shelley-stewart) said recently, referring to Senior Partner Kelsey Robinson (mckinsey.com/our-people/kelsey-robinson). In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast (mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast), Shelley and Kelsey join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on worsening disconnects in the C-suite, as well as how strengthening alignment between CMOs, CEOs, and CFOs can make a meaningful and sustainable difference in organizational performance. This conversation originally aired as a McKinsey Live webinar (mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-live/w…) following the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw
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