CMO Pay Is Rising. Who Makes the Most Money?

Median compensation for the nation’s top marketing executives jumped 24 percent in the five years ending in 2016 to $1,261,755, according to a new study by Equilar, a corporate executive data provider whose specialties include executive compensation. The highest-paid marketing executive on the list is Jonathan Hargis, Executive VP and CMO at cable TV operator Charter Communications, who pulled in $15,027,148 in total compensation last year. The rankings are not comprehensive because they only include executives who made the list of highest-paid executives on corporate proxy statements; some CMOs at big multinational companies don’t make this cut, but could potentially make more money than the execs ranked by Equilar. Highest Paid Marketing Executives Company Executive Name Title Total Compensation Charter Communications, Inc. Hargis, Jonathan Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer $15,027,148 Dell Technologies Inc. Burton, Jeremy Executive Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Development $13,355,747 Palo Alto Networks Inc. Bonvanie, Rene Chief Marketing Officer $13,114,413 Coca-Cola Co. De Quinto, Marcos* Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer $7,635,055 Time Warner Inc. Ginsberg, Gary Executive Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications $6,862,983 Electronic Arts Inc. Bruzzo, Christopher Chief Marketing Officer $5,728,077 Marriott International Inc. Linnartz, Stephanie Global Chief Commercial Officer $5,183,745 Autodesk Inc. Anagnost, Andrew** Senior Vice President, Industry Strategy and Marketing $5,034,940 Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Crumpacker, Mark Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Development Officer $4,900,736 CSX Corp. Eliasson, Fredrik Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer $4,696,311 *Retired in 2017 **Anagnost was promoted to president and CEO in June 2017 Methodology: Total compensation includes salary, bonus, stock and options awards at grant date fair value, and “other compensation” such as benefits and perks as disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table (SCT) of annual company proxy statements. A CMO at a leading consumer brand spends an average of 42 months in the role, down 13 percent from 2014, according to consulting firm Spencer Stuart. Nearly 200 top marketing executives are among the top five highest-paid employees at their respective companies, according to proxy statements examined by Equilar. Still, despite their fewer numbers, female marketing execs on average made more money than men last year among the positions analyzed by Equilar. But only one woman cracked the list of 10-highest-paid marketing execs. Also, “larger, more publicly visible companies tend to be more progressive when it comes to diversity in top executive roles.” Notable CMOs cracking the top 10-compensated list include Marcos de Quinto, who was Coca-Cola Co.’s global CMO until he left earlier this year. $3,463,171: Silvia Lagnado, McDonald’s Corp., Corporate Exec VP and Global Chief Marketing Officer 31.