As Global Head of Research & Leadership Advisory at JRG Partners, I want to lay out what actually works here, because the gap between common practice and best practice on this topic is wide. A new CMO faces pressure to make bold marketing moves fast, and the ones who deliver quick wins before the big bets fare best. A new CMO should secure early credibility through quick wins while building toward the larger strategic changes marketing needs, and sequencing the two is what a function-specific first-100-days roadmap gets right.
Key Takeaways
- A new CMO faces pressure to make bold moves fast; sequencing matters.
- Quick wins build early credibility before the bigger strategic bets.
- Understanding the brand, the funnel, and what is working comes first.
- Assessing the marketing team and the data is essential early.
- Delivering quick wins first, then big bets, is the effective sequence.
Understand Before Acting
A new CMO often arrives with ideas for bold marketing changes, but should understand before acting: the brand’s real position, what is actually working and not in the marketing and funnel, the data and its reliability, and the reasons behind current approaches. Marketing is full of moves that look bold but fail because they were made without understanding the real situation. The new CMO who first understands the brand, the funnel, and the data can make changes that work, while one who acts on assumptions risks costly, visible mistakes.
Assess the Team and the Data
Early, the new CMO assesses two critical things: the marketing team (capabilities, gaps, strengths) and the data and measurement (what is tracked, how reliable it is, what it reveals). The team determines execution capability, and the data determines whether the CMO can make evidence-based decisions, so understanding both early is essential. Weak data is a common finding that must be addressed, since a CMO cannot make sound marketing decisions on unreliable measurement. Assessing team and data grounds the CMO’s subsequent moves.
Secure Quick Wins
A new CMO benefits from early quick wins that build credibility and momentum: visible marketing improvements that demonstrate value without requiring the larger strategic changes. Quick wins, often improvements the CMO can identify through their early understanding, establish the CMO’s capability and earn the credibility and latitude for the bigger bets ahead. Securing quick wins first, before the major strategic changes, converts the skepticism and pressure a new CMO faces into confidence and support, smoothing the path for what follows.
Build Toward the Big Bets
While delivering quick wins, the CMO builds toward the larger strategic changes marketing needs, repositioning, a new go-to-market approach, major campaigns, or capability building, that require more understanding, preparation, and credibility to execute well. These big bets are higher-risk and higher-reward, and they benefit from the understanding and credibility the CMO builds first. Sequencing quick wins before big bets means the CMO earns the standing to make bold moves and grounds those moves in real understanding, rather than betting big before either is in place.
Set the Marketing Strategy
By the end of the first 100 days, the new CMO should have understood the situation, assessed team and data, delivered quick wins, and be ready to set the marketing strategy: the direction and the big bets, grounded in understanding and backed by early credibility. This strategy guides the CMO’s tenure and the larger changes to come. The first 100 days, understanding, quick wins, and strategy, position the CMO to drive the marketing transformation the role requires from a foundation of knowledge and credibility.
What This Looks Like in Practice
In practice, a new CMO spends the first 100 days understanding the brand, funnel, and data, assessing the marketing team and measurement, and securing quick wins that build credibility, while preparing the larger strategic bets, repositioning, go-to-market changes, capability building, that need more understanding and standing to execute. By day 100 they set a marketing strategy grounded in understanding and backed by early credibility. This sequence, understand, quick wins, then big bets, is what makes a new CMO’s start effective and their bolder moves succeed.
The Mistake Employers Keep Making
The mistake is a new CMO making bold strategic bets immediately, before understanding the brand, funnel, and data or building the credibility to execute them, producing visible failures that damage their standing. The pressure to make bold moves fast pushes CMOs to bet big before they should. The fix is the function-specific sequence, understand first, secure quick wins to build credibility, then make the big strategic bets from a foundation of knowledge and standing.
The Bottom Line
A new CMO should understand the brand, funnel, and data, assess the team and measurement, and secure quick wins that build credibility before making the larger strategic bets, sequencing quick wins before big bets so the bold moves are grounded in understanding and backed by earned standing. Do this well and the results compound: better hires, stronger reputation in the market, and a leadership team that raises the ceiling on everything else the company attempts.
Related Reading
For employers going deeper, see The Listening Tour, CMO vs CRO vs Chief Growth Officer, The First 90 Days.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What are a new CMO’s first-100-days priorities?
- A: Understanding the brand, funnel, and data, assessing the team and measurement, securing quick wins, and building toward the larger strategic bets.
- Q: Why should a new CMO secure quick wins first?
- A: Because quick wins build the early credibility and latitude needed to make the bigger, higher-risk strategic bets successfully.
- Q: What should a new CMO understand first?
- A: The brand’s real position, what is working in the marketing and funnel, and the data and its reliability, before making bold moves.
- Q: Why assess the data early?
- A: Because a CMO cannot make sound, evidence-based marketing decisions on unreliable measurement, and weak data is a common finding to address.
- Q: What is the right sequence for a new CMO?
- A: Understand the situation, deliver quick wins to build credibility, then make the larger strategic bets, grounded in understanding and backed by standing.
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Tanya Gallardo
Managing Director, Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy
Tanya Gallardo is the Managing Director of Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy at JRG Partners, leading C-suite and Board engagements across key growth sectors including Technology, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.
With over 18 years of experience specializing in disruptive technology leadership, Tanya is recognized as a leading authority on talent architecture for future-focused executive roles, such as the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Her expertise lies in accurately assessing the cultural fit and technical depth required to ensure a high return on investment (ROI) for critical leadership appointments.
Prior to her role at JRG Partners, Tanya held senior roles directing global talent acquisition strategies at a major publicly-traded technology firm, advising on organizational design and succession planning for emerging executive functions. She is a recognized speaker and contributor to industry events, sharing data-driven insights on executive compensation, leadership development, and the measurable business impact of C-suite talent.
