CMO Moves December Summary

December brought a snowstorm of CMO appointments, with 41 announced across the globe = 23 women + 18 men. Only 6 were promoted from within, while 35 were brought in from the outside. Internal succession? Still very much the exception, not the rule.

Interestingly, 21 of these new CMOs are first-timers at the C-suite party, suggesting CEOs are increasingly willing to roll the dice on fresh leadership. Still, sector loyalty remains strong - only 3 new hires came from outside their industry, making “category experience” a non-negotiable for most companies.

Geographically, the U.S. continues to hoard the lion’s share of CMO action, accounting for 28 hires across 14 states. California led with 8, followed by New York with 5. Florida, Massachusetts, and Texas each made 2 appointments.

Beyond U.S. borders, India had a standout month with 6 new CMOs, while Europe saw activity in Germany (2), England (1), and France (1). Elsewhere, Australia, Singapore, and Chile each added one to the tally.

As for sectors, Tech continues to lead the pack with 10 hires. Media, Sports & Entertainment followed with 6, while both CPG and Financial Services added 5 each. Professional Services and Restaurants saw 2 apiece.

• Tech: 10

• Media, Sports & Entertainment: 6

• CPG: 5

• Financial Services: 5

• Professional Services: 4

• Restaurants: 4

• Hotel and Travel: 2

• Manufacturing: 2

• Government: 1

• BioTech, Pharma, Healthcare & Wellness: 1

• Retail: 1

In short: plenty of movement, a preference for outside hires, and a strong lean towards staying within one's industry lane.

UNILEVER

Finally, a win for the home team. In a year when companies seemed almost allergic to promoting from within… outsourcing ambition to external hires a staggering 84% of the time -- Unilever has bucked the trend in a fine style.

Leandro Barreto, a 20-year UL veteran who previously led the Beauty & Wellbeing division, is stepping into the global CMO seat as Esi Eggleston Bracey prepares to depart after eight years.

Marketing can fix or improve a lot here - brand distinctiveness, fewer slogans, more receipts, and making sustainability feel personal -- but it can’t rewrite macroeconomics. Palm oil prices, supply chain shocks, and logistics costs are outside its control. Marketing can explain price moves, but it can’t change them.

What it can do is reinvent behavior. And Barreto has already proven that formula.

His “Vaseline Verified” campaign was one of 2025’s standouts. Instead of ignoring the chaotic, (often questionable) TikTok “hacks” (slugging, mixing it with foundation, etc.), his team invited R&D scientists to test and validate them in the lab. They turned internet noise into scientific proof points -- winning a Titanium Lion at Cannes and driving double-digit sales growth for a 150-year-old jar of jelly.

Barreto calls this the “blueprint” for the future of Unilever marketing -- a shift away from corporate slogans toward forensic creativity: using science to validate community behavior.

Then comes the “Math before Metaphor” kicker that shows why he got the big chair: the Beauty AI Studio.

Barreto won’t count on lucky lightning strikes; he’s built a machine to systematize them. His proprietary AI engine now generates assets in a fraction of the time and optimizes them once they go live -- doubling video completion and click-through rates across power brands like Dove and POND’S.

CEO Fernando Fernandez has been clear: he wants a “marketing and sales machine.” Barreto has handed him the keys to one. By combining the forensic creativity of Vaseline Verified with the operational velocity of Beauty AI Studio, Barreto may prove that the only thing more dangerous than a legacy brand…is a legacy brand that moves at the speed of a startup.

INTEL

Intel is facing an existential crisis that marketing can actually fix: the risk of losing its "default" status in the collective psyche. If the market starts believing "Intel Inside" is code for "Yesterday’s Performance," the flywheel stops, OEMs hedge, and developers drift.

To rewrite this narrative, they’ve gone outside the semiconductor echo chamber to hire Annie Shea Weckesser. This is a classic "Industry Traveler" move, but her stint at Uniphore gives away the strategy. There, she didn't just run comms; she turned the leadership team into a broadcast engine. Intel needs that exact volume of storytelling to drown out the operational noise.

Weckesser walks into a company effectively de-risked by the U.S. government - bolstered by a $5.7 billion cash injection in Q3 alone. Her mandate is to position Intel as the undisputed crown jewel of American tech sovereignty. That is a brutal brief when "Brand America" itself is in freefall, with trust scores dropping 20 points globally since the start of the year (IPSOS)

And sovereignty doesn't sell chips to CIOs; performance does. She has to take the "Foundry" narrative -- currently a $2.3 billion quarterly money pit -- and reframe it as the necessary price of national security. Simultaneously, she must translate "sovereignty" into legibility for buyers, tying the brand to real workloads like AI PCs and the edge, rather than abstract specs.

The stakes remain terrifying. Weckesser must use this "National Champion" halo (or horns) to buy time until the 18A node delivers. Marketing cannot fix yield rates, but perception is currently the only thing bridging the gap between a messy P&L and a "too big to fail" valuation. Her job is to ensure the market buys the "American Comeback" story before the government money (or global goodwill!) runs out.

MOZILLA

Mozilla suffers from a paradox that kills brands: it is universally respected but increasingly unused. with Firefox’s global share now hovering in the low single digits; about 2 - 3%, and new, AI-native browser entries piling in, the company risks becoming a newsletter rather than a platform - a mission people donate to but don’t actually browse with.

To solve this, they have hired John Solomon, a brand heavyweight with a resume that screams "cool factor" (Beats by Dre, Apple) and "category creation" (Therabody) – take it from me as a war-worn CMO headhunter that’s a tough and usually expensive combo to find.

Mozilla hired a cultural operator. At Therabody, Solomon’s obsession was "Distinctive Assets" -- specifically, ensuring that even if consumers forgot the name, they asked for "the triangle one". Perhaps he needs to find that "Triangle" for Firefox or their VPN offering -- a tangible, sticky hook that makes privacy feel more urgent, more important at a time when many of us accept our browsing data has already been stolen, repackaged, sold and resold a gazillion times over.

His playbook is straightforward: move from "niche" to "necessary." At Therabody, he pivoted the brand from serving only elite athletes like Ronaldo to serving everyone (moms, travelers, beauty buyers) by focusing on solutions over specs. He stopped talking about "torque" and started talking about "sleep" and "pain relief." He made it human and he made it matter.

At Mozilla, his mandate is identical: stop selling "open web protocols" and start selling "digital peace of mind." He needs to package the mission into a simple "switch for me" bundle that appeals to specific tribes -- parents, journalists, developers, maybe the growing anti-AI cohort…. rather than trying to out-shout Chrome to the masses.

While Firefox is the flagship, Mozilla has quietly built a sprawling ecosystem of privacy and productivity tools that most people don't even know exist. Solomon is a great bet to make it happen.

VANGUARD

This is a big move in Malvern with everyone’s second-favorite ETF maker. Vanguard has (quietly, no PR as yet) hired Kathryn Condon as its new Global Chief Marketing Officer, replacing Colin Kelton, a company lifer who is retiring after a staggering 36-year run (write to me if you know of a CMO who beat this [email protected])

While Kelton was the "insider’s insider" - having served as CEO of Vanguard Australia before becoming the firm's first-ever global CMO - Condon is a decisive bet on external expertise. Specifically, she is a Category Veteran arriving from arch-rival Fidelity Investments, where she spent over a decade rising to SVP of Marketing and Advertising Channels.

Like a lot of CMO moves we’ve seen this year - this one reunites Condon with a former co-worker with influence - Joanna Rotenberg, a Fidelity alum who joined Vanguard a year ago to stand up a new Advice & Wealth Management division. The strategy is becoming clear: Vanguard, historically known for its "set it and forget it" passive investing ethos, is importing the "marketing machine" DNA from Fidelity to modernize how it connects with individual investors.

Condon’s reputation is built on digital transformation and channel sophistication - she was reportedly very early into digital and it has shown up through her past achievements. Her mandate is to take Vanguard’s massive footprint (50 million investors) and turn marketing into a "true engine for the business," rather than just a brand steward for low-cost index funds.

She’s got a big job ahead of her - Vanguard risks becoming “the utility brand” in a world that increasingly buys finance through vibes, creators, and sleek apps like Robinhood, WeBull and TastyTrade. If younger investors think “Vanguard is my dad’s sensible option,” it loses mindshare at the exact moment habits are forming.

This move at Vanguard signals to us that the firm is done relying solely on its low-fee reputation to drive growth. They are building a modern, active marketing layer to compete for share of wallet in an era where "passive" doesn't have to mean "silent."

CMO EMPTY SEATS

• Danone North America
  Linda Bethea is exiting her role as CMO at Danone North America amid a sweeping regional leadership restructure that’s seen marketing folded into a broader executive team. Her departure follows 6 years at the company and comes as part of Danone’s push for a “simpler” global setup under its Renew Danone initiative.

• Loewe
  After 7 years at luxury fashion house Loewe, Charlie Smith is swapping couture for consumer tech, leaving his post as CMO to become chief brand officer at buzzy London startup Nothing. Known for turning Loewe into a Gen Z darling, Smith now aims to bring that cultural magic to smartphones and speakers.

• The a2 Milk Company
  Edith Bailey will step down as CMO of The a2 Milk Company by February 2026, having played a key role in revamping the brand and elevating its science-led positioning. The company is already on the hunt for her successor to keep the momentum brewing in the niche dairy space.

• Nomad Foods
  After three decades with Birds Eye and seven iterations of Captain Birds Eye himself, Steve Challouma is calling time on his CMO tenure at Nomad Foods. In a heartfelt farewell, he reflected on a career that’s seen frozen peas and fish fingers through ownership changes, brand revamps, and a whole lot of nostalgia.

• Heritage Auctions
  Michael Plummer, esteemed CMO of Heritage Auctions and a luminary in the global art world, has passed away after a brief illness. With a storied career spanning Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and co-founding Artvest, Plummer leaves behind a remarkable legacy at the intersection of art, finance, and cultural stewardship.

CMO ASCEND

• Hinge
  Jackie Jantos has been promoted from President and CMO to CEO of Hinge, stepping into the top job as founder Justin McLeod exits to launch a new AI venture. Known for blending creativity with cultural insight, Jantos has shaped Hinge’s rise with bold campaigns and global growth - now she’s tasked with leading the app into its next era of meaningful matchmaking.

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