How to Succeed in a New CMO Role: Lessons from Top Health Care Marketing Leaders
Notching some early wins builds relationships and trust.
// By Wendy Margolin //
With all the ways marketing and health care have changed in recent years, the chief marketing officer (CMO) title might as well be called “chief magic officer.” CMOs today face massive demands. It’s no surprise that the average tenure for health care CMOs is 4.1 years, according to Harvard Business Review.
What a new CMO accomplishes in the first three months on the job can make or break their legacy. CEOs, marketing communications staff, and board members watch closely, and internal dynamics are complex.
Three seasoned CMOs joined a panel at the 2025 Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit (HMPS) to share how they started in their roles and what really works when stepping into the top marketing job.
Read insights below from Suzanne Hendery, Renown Health; Andrew Chang, UChicago Medicine; and Kathy Smith, Roper St. Francis Healthcare. Camille Strickland, SVP Health at BVK, moderated the discussion.