As far as C-levels go, CMOs have some of the shorter tenure rates, with Fortune 500s listing it at 4.2 years.

In today’s day and age, however, 4.2 years on the job doesn’t seem all that short, and if we look more closely, it is only 0.2 years shorter than the average C-level tenure at Fortune 500 companies.

Here are some other interesting stats:

• Diversity is on the increase: 47% of Fortune 500 CMOs were women in 2022, up from 44% in 2021.
• 54% of CMOs were promoted from within their company, and for the rest who were hired from outside the company, 37% came from a different industry entirely.
• CEO tenures remain the longest, with an average of 6.7 years on the job.
• Chief inclusion and diversity officers have the shortest tenures, coming in at just 2.7 years.

Short tenure should not be conflated with poor performance. Whether 20 years on the job or more, or a short stint of less than a year, there are many factors at play when it comes to time spent in a particularly role.