Dive Brief:
- Dana Anderson has been named CMO of media consultancy MediaLink, according to a joint company news release with Ascential, which recently acquired the firm. At MediaLink, Anderson will be based in its Chicago office and will report to chairman and CEO Michael Kassan.
- Until recently, Anderson served as senior vice president and CMO of the consumer packaged goods giant Mondelez International, a role which she held starting in 2014. Ad Age reported that Anderson's departure could indicate more changes at Mondelez as the company intends to evolve the CMO role to focus on "power brands" like Oreo, Belvita, Milka, Cadbury and Trident.
- At Medialink, Anderson will be focused on helping Fortune 500 marketers adjust to digital disruption and transformation, an area which she is known for specializing in, per the release.
Dive Insight:
The CMO space continues to see big shakeups as major consumer brands rethink their approach to strategy and overall marketing structures, especially in the face of digital headwinds. Anderson's split, like many of late, is interesting considering she's noted for being finely attuned to the challenges digital presents marketers, yet retained a relatively short tenure of just three years at Mondelez.
"One of the more commanding and engaging voices in the marketing space right now, [Dana] has guided multiple organizations successfully through periods of disruption and transformation, and now MediaLink clients will have a tremendous new resource to help them navigate a global marketplace that is in a state of perpetual churn," MediaLink's Kassan said in a statement.
Forrester Research, in a report from last year, forecast at least 30% of CMOs would be ousted in 2017 stemming from a failure to achieve proper digital transformation for their businesses. Separate findings from the consultancy Spencer Stuart noted that the average CMO tenure declined in 2016 for the second year in a row to a 42-month average — with stability far below other roles in the C-suite.
Earlier this month, McDonald's U.S. CMO Deborah Wahl departed the fast food giant amid a series of management changes that also included the brand's head of U.S. digital leaving. And, in March, Coca-Cola announced Global CMO Marcos de Quinto would be retiring from the company as it aims to consolidate marketing, customer and commercial leadership and strategy into one combined operation.
Other recent executive departures from Mondelez include its chief media and e-commerce officer, global head of content and media monetization, VP-head of global media and digital and last week its executive VP and president of North American business, Roberto Marques, per Ad Age.
