Becoming a CMO isn’t about waiting for your turn. It’s about deliberately building the skills that set you apart from the crowd.

I’ve sat on both sides of the table - as the aspiring marketer trying to break through and as the CMO hiring for senior leadership roles. The truth is, your technical skills might get you noticed, but they won’t get you the top job. If you’re serious about moving from marketer to CMO, here are the five skills you need to fast-track your career.

1. Strategic Thinking

As a marketer, you might focus on campaigns and channels. As a CMO, you’re expected to connect the dots between marketing and the business as a whole. That means answering big questions:

How does marketing drive revenue and profitability?
Where should the company invest — brand or performance, local or global?
How do we measure impact at board level?

Strategic thinking requires you to step out of “marketing speak” and frame your ideas in terms the CEO and CFO care about: growth, margins, risk, and return.

Pro tip: Start reframing your reports. Don’t just talk about CTRs and impressions. Link them directly to revenue, pipeline, and business growth.

2. Commercial Acumen

You can’t lead the marketing function if you don’t understand the commercial engine of the business. The best CMOs are part-marketer, part-business strategist. They know how pricing, sales, finance, and operations all connect.

I often tell aspiring CMOs to learn to read a P&L. Get comfortable talking about CAC, LTV, and contribution margin. It’s not just finance’s job, it’s leadership’s job.

Pro tip: Ask your finance team to walk you through the company’s numbers. The more you understand how money flows through the business, the more credible you’ll be in the boardroom.

3. Leadership and Influence

Managing a team of five is one thing. Leading a global department of 100+ is another. As CMO, you’re no longer the smartest marketer in the room. You’re the leader who inspires, directs, and influences others.

That influence extends beyond your team. You’ll need to persuade sceptical CFOs, align product and sales leaders, and win over the board. Your ability to build trust and communicate with clarity will often determine your success more than your technical expertise.

Pro tip: Volunteer to lead cross-functional projects. It’s the best training ground for learning how to influence without direct authority.

4. Resilience and Balance

Here’s a lesson I learned the hard way: leadership is a marathon, not a sprint. The pressure, travel, and constant decision-making can take a toll on your health and your family life.

The CMOs who last, and thrive, are the ones who build resilience. That means protecting your energy, managing stress, and keeping perspective. For me, that transformation came through fitness and well-being. Stronger body, sharper mind.

Pro tip: Treat your physical health as seriously as your career. Without the stamina to perform at your best, the role will consume you.

5. Storytelling at Scale

Finally, never forget that great CMOs are great storytellers. You’re not just marketing products; you’re inspiring employees, investors, customers, and the media.

Your job is to take a complex business and make it simple, compelling, and unforgettable. Storytelling is what turns strategies into movements and brands into household names.

Pro tip: Practice telling the company story to different audiences — a junior hire, a customer, a journalist. If it lands with all three, you’re onto something.

Final Thoughts

The jump from marketer to CMO doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built deliberately, skill by skill, until you’re not just running campaigns but shaping the business.

Master these five skills — strategic thinking, commercial acumen, leadership, resilience, and storytelling — and you’ll not only fast-track your career, you’ll thrive when you get there.

From Marketer to CMO: The 5 Skills You Need to Fast-Track Your Career