“Can this person step in, figure it out quickly, and drive growth… without creating risk?”
“Can this person step in, figure it out quickly, and drive growth… without creating risk?”
That’s it.
They’re trying to answer:
Have they actually built and scaled revenue engines before?
Can they operate in messy, ambiguous environments?
Will they elevate the team…. not just manage it?
What happens when things don’t go to plan?
That’s where searches either get traction… or stall out.
It’s not “post the role and see what comes in.”
The strongest Growth Marketing leaders right now?
They’re heads down. They’re performing. They’re not applying.
Which is why so many internal searches drag on longer than expected.
What we’re seeing from clients right now:
A much higher bar on pattern recognition (have you done this before, at scale?)
Real scrutiny on revenue impact, not just activity
A need for leaders who can build + fix + scale, not just optimize one piece
If you’re hiring at the VP/SVP/CMO level, especially in growth or demand…
the approach has to match the stakes.
Happy to share what we’re seeing across the market if it’s helpful.
#ExecutiveSearch #GrowthMarketing #CMO #DemandGen
#PrivateEquity #MarketingLeadership #RetainedSearch