Latest / The Marketing Career Podcast with Fexingo: Marketing Jobs, Skills, and Career Growth / How Brand Marketers Are Becoming Chief Growth Officers
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot on this show about the tension between brand marketing and growth marketing — the idea that they're two separate silos fighting for budget and influence. Luna: Yeah, we've had episodes on the unicorn who blends both, and why generalists are winning. But I think the trend is actually accelerating in a different direction now. Lucas: Exactly. In 2026, more and more companies are merging those functions under a single C-suite role: the Chief Growth Officer. And here's the interesting part — it's not the growth hackers who are getting that job. It's brand marketers. Luna: Wait, really? I would have guessed the data-obsessed growth folks would dominate that seat. They're the ones who can run A/B tests and optimize funnels. Lucas: That's what I thought too. But when you look at actual appointments over the last eighteen months, there's a clear pattern. Companies like Spotify, HubSpot, even a legacy player like Marriott — they've promoted brand leaders into the CGO role, not growth specialists. Luna: That's a big shift from even two years ago. What changed? Lucas: A couple of things. First, after the post-iOS14 privacy changes and the death of the third-party cookie, the pure-play growth marketer's toolkit got a lot weaker. You can't just retarget and optimize your way to 20 percent year-over-year growth anymore. The low-hanging fruit is gone. Luna: Right, so the advantage shifts back to someone who can build real brand equity, earn attention, create demand rather than just capture it. Lucas: Exactly. And second, the CGO role itself has evolved. It's no longer just about top-line revenue growth — it's about sustainable, profitable growth across the entire customer lifecycle. That means you need someone who understands brand positioning, product-market fit, customer experience, and long-term strategic planning, not just conversion rate optimization. Luna: So the CGO is like a mini ceo for growth, but with a marketing lens. Lucas: That's one way to put it. In practice, the CGO oversees marketing, sales, product, and sometimes even customer success. They're responsible for the full funnel — from awareness to retention to expansion. And brand marketers, at their best, have been doing that holistic thinking for decades. They just didn't always have the data chops to back it up. Luna: But now they're building those chops. Or at least, the successful ones are. Lucas: Right. So the question becomes: if you're a brand marketer today, what do you need to learn to become a credible CGO candidate? Let's break it down. Luna: I want to hear this. Because I think a lot of our listeners are brand marketers wondering if they have a shot at the C-suite. Lucas: First competency: full-funnel measurement. You don't need to be a data scientist, but you need to understand how to connect brand awareness metrics to downstream revenue. That means knowing things like media mix modeling, marketing attribution, and incrementality testing. Luna: That's a big leap from brand tracking studies and share of voice. Lucas: It is, but it's learnable. And frankly, it's the gap that most brand marketers have. The second competency is brand architecture — not just the creative side, but the strategic side. How do you position a portfolio of products or sub-brands so they don't cannibalize each other? How do you manage brand equity across different markets and channels? Luna: That's the classic brand manager skill set, but at a much higher level. I can see how that becomes critical when you're overseeing growth for a whole company. Lucas: Third: cross-functional leadership. The CGO doesn't have direct authority over product or sales in most orgs, but they need to influence those teams. That requires a different muscle than managing your own marketing team. Luna: Yeah, you're not just the brand guardian anymore. You're the growth orchestrator. Lucas: Exactly. And fourth — and maybe most important — you need a strong point of view on where the business should go. The CGO is often the person who challenges the CEO's assumptions about what's working and what's not. You need to be comfortable with strategic debate, not just execution. Luna: That's a big ask. But I think it's also why brand marketers are actually well-suited. They're trained to think about narrative and positioning — which is essentially what strategy is. Lucas: Right. So let's talk about a concrete example. Spotify's CGO was promoted from within the marketing org. She had a background in brand strategy and consumer insights. Under her, Spotify has leaned into brand partnerships, experiential marketing, and personalized data storytelling — not just performance ads. Luna: And they've grown subscribers steadily while keeping churn low. That's the kind of balanced growth the CGO role is designed to deliver. Lucas: Exactly. And at HubSpot, their CGO also came from a brand and product marketing background. She's known for pushing the idea that 'growth is a mindset, not a department.' That's a very brand-marketer way of thinking — it's about culture and narrative, not just tactics. Luna: So if I'm a brand marketer listening to this, what's my first step? Do I go get an MBA? Take a data analytics course? Ask for a new project? Lucas: I'd say the fastest path is to volunteer for a cross-functional growth initiative at your current company. Maybe that's a product launch where you work with product and sales from the start. Or a retention campaign where you have to measure lifetime value and churn. The goal is to build a track record of having impact beyond brand awareness. Luna: And you need to be able to tell that story in interviews. Not 'I ran a brand campaign' but 'I led a cross-functional effort that increased customer retention by 15 percent and contributed to a 10 percent revenue lift.' Lucas: Precisely. And if you can show that you understand the full funnel — from the top of funnel brand impression to the bottom-line revenue — you're already ahead of most candidates. Luna: Honestly, this feels like a really optimistic message for brand marketers. A lot of people in that field worry they're being eclipsed by data-driven growth folks. Lucas: I think the pendulum is swinging back. But it's not swinging all the way to the old brand-centric model. It's settling in the middle — and the person who can bridge both worlds is the one who gets the CGO seat. Luna: You know, if this conversation is sparking some ideas for your own career, maybe it's worth investing a little in yourself. A coffee, a book, a course — whatever helps you take that next step. If today's episode was that spark for you, we'd love it if you'd support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to keep these conversations ad-free and focused on what actually moves the needle. Lucas: And speaking of moving the needle — let's talk about one more skill I think is underrated for aspiring CGOs: the ability to kill a project. Not just start things, but have the judgment to wind down initiatives that aren't working. Luna: Oh, that's a good one. Because brand marketers often get attached to campaigns they've poured their heart into. Lucas: Right. But the CGO has to be ruthlessly objective about resource allocation. If a channel isn't delivering at a reasonable cost of acquisition, you need to cut it — even if it's your pet project. That discipline is what separates a brand manager from a growth leader. Luna: And it's also why CGOs are often brought in from outside. It's easier for an outsider to make those cuts without emotional baggage. Lucas: True. But there's a growing trend of internal promotions — companies are realizing that institutional knowledge about the brand and customer is really valuable. You just need to pair that with the analytical rigor and strategic courage. Luna: So if you're a brand marketer with five to ten years of experience, what's your timeline to become a CGO? Is that a five-year plan? Ten? Lucas: I think it depends on the company size and your current role. At a startup or scale-up, you could make that leap in three to five years if you deliberately build the right skills and take on cross-functional ownership. At a larger company, it might take longer because the org structure is more rigid. Luna: But the path is there. And it's getting clearer. Lucas: It is. And I think the most important takeaway is this: don't wait for a job title to start acting like a growth leader. Start thinking about the full business, not just the marketing funnel. Ask questions about unit economics, customer retention, and product strategy. That's how you get noticed. Luna: Well said. And if you're listening and you've started making that shift, we'd love to hear about it. You can find us at Fexingo Business podcast network. Lucas: Next episode, we're going to talk about why marketing operations is becoming the backbone of the modern marketing department — and why it's the most underrated career path in marketing right now. See you then.