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| Supply: Boathouse Group, Inc. |
Surveyed CEOs gave their CMO excessive marks for alignment with CEO and enterprise targets, effectiveness at constructing cross-functional relationships, and understanding firm financials. However, on the crucial enterprise problems with technique and development, the critiques had been extra combined.
That is the central message of “The Boathouse Fifth Annual CEO Examine” by Boathouse Group, Inc., a advertising and marketing company based mostly in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Concerning the Examine
Boathouse has been conducting this analysis since 2021. The fifth version (2026) of the research is predicated on a survey of 150 CEOs at U.S. corporations. Survey respondents led corporations having annual income that ranged from $250 million to greater than $1 billion.
Sixty-one % (61%) of the respondents had been with corporations having greater than 1,000 staff. Respondents had been affiliated with corporations working in 16 business verticals, with healthcare being the most important cohort (19% of all respondents).
The survey was carried out January 6 – 26, 2026.
The first purpose of this analysis was to seize the views of CEOs relating to their CMO and their firm’s advertising and marketing group. The 2026 survey additionally included questions on how CEOs form technique and about their funding in, adoption of, and targets for synthetic intelligence.
The Boathouse research has two apparent limitations. First, the research is predicated on a survey with a comparatively small variety of respondents. And second, Boathouse doesn’t declare that its survey panel is a consultant pattern of all CEOs. Subsequently, the quantitative survey findings can’t be “projected” to all CEOs.
The place CMOs are Performing Effectively
A lot of the CEOs surveyed by Boathouse had been constructive on a number of facets of their CMO’s efficiency. For instance:
- 79% of the survey respondents mentioned their CMO exhibits a powerful dedication to the CEO and Board of Administrators. That was up barely from 76% within the 2025 survey.
- 72% mentioned their CMO understands their firm’s financials, up considerably from 61% within the 2025 survey.
- 85% mentioned their CMO builds belief inside their firm, down solely barely from 87% within the 2025 survey.
As well as, 59% of the surveyed CEOs mentioned their CMO understands their firm’s enterprise targets, and 70% mentioned the metrics utilized by advertising and marketing are absolutely (12%) or principally (58%) aligned with their firm’s main enterprise metrics.
Combined Opinions on Technique
The CEOs collaborating within the Boathouse survey gave combined critiques to their CMO relating to technique.
First, the excellent news. Sixty-eight % (68%) of the survey respondents mentioned their CMO leads (8%) or actively contributes to (60%) the formulation of their firm’s technique. This discovering means that many CMOs have efficiently gained a seat on the technique desk.
Nevertheless, just below 20% of the surveyed CEOs gave their CMO a grade of “A” on technique. That was down from practically 35% within the 2025 version of the survey.
The survey report would not present an evidence for the declining proportion of “A” grades, however it might be because of rising expectations. As extra CEOs embody their CMO within the technique improvement course of, some could have excessive expectations for the standard of the CMO’s contribution.
The Good and Not-So-Good Information on Driving Development
The CEOs surveyed by Boathouse additionally gave combined critiques to their CMO (and their advertising and marketing group) on driving income development.
The survey findings clearly present that CEOs view development as a crucial enterprise situation. Thirty-two % (32%) of the survey respondents recognized “development efficiency” as the realm of their enterprise the place they really feel most personally uncovered or susceptible as CEO. The subsequent highest proportion (21%) was for “aggressive threats.”
CEOs additionally see development as the first mandate of their advertising and marketing group, with 65% of the survey respondents citing “drive gross sales development and/or develop market shares” as advertising and marketing’s prime precedence.
The excellent news is that 59% of the surveyed CEOs indicated they’re “assured” in advertising and marketing’s capacity to make a “significant” contribution to development.
The not-so-good information is that solely 13% of the survey respondents mentioned they’re “very assured” that their advertising and marketing group can display the incremental raise supplied by advertising and marketing investments.
Whereas a normal feeling of confidence is nice, it might not be enough to steer CEOs to prioritize advertising and marketing spending when tough capital allocation choices should be made. So, CMOs and different advertising and marketing leaders should preserve working to supply credible proof of the monetary impacts of their advertising and marketing actions and packages.
