The CMO, often confined to operational duties, struggles to establish themselves as a strategic player. Their legitimacy depends above all on their approach: speaking the language of business, collaborating internally, and demonstrating strong leadership.
More and more Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) now sit on executive committees. Yet, in many tech companies, marketing is still perceived as an operational function, responsible for supporting sales or promoting the product. Behind this paradox lies a genuine crisis of legitimacy: the CMO’s strategic standing depends not only on the organization but also on the stance they choose to adopt.
In many tech companies, the CMO operates in an environment that does not naturally accommodate their role. Senior management expects results, but does not always speak the language of marketing or provide the CMO with the means to influence key strategic levers. Sales teams sometimes view marketing as merely a support function tasked with generating leads. As for product or technical teams, they often remain convinced that if the technology is good, the market will follow, “without getting bogged down in marketing jargon.” In this context, the CMO finds themselves in a paradoxical position: responsible for growth… without always being able to influence the decisions that drive it.
The CMO’s Legitimacy Crisis
Added to this is the issue of legitimacy within the organization. CMO is one of the executive roles with the highest proportion of women, at 53% (Spencer Stuart survey, 2025), while only 17% of technical roles are held by women (Gender Scan Barometer 2023). However, 70% of women in tech report having to work harder than men to prove their legitimacy (McKinsey Women in Tech study, 2023). For many CMOs, and particularly for women, establishing themselves in these environments requires a twofold effort: on the one hand, demonstrating the strategic value of marketing internally, and on the other, asserting their place and their leadership as a marketing decision-maker.
The difficulty lies not only in the environment in which CMOs operate. It also stems from the stance they adopt. Too many still see themselves as campaign managers, marketing project leaders, or campaign coordinators. They oversee operational execution, when their role should be to drive growth.
A role to embrace
A CMO’s legitimacy does not stem from their title, but from the stance they choose to adopt. Internally, they can become the voice of a market-oriented culture. This responsibility is all the more strategic at a time when AI is shifting the value of many companies—particularly in the tech sector—toward better market knowledge and a more nuanced understanding of customer needs. To fully embody this role, three levers are essential.
The first is to speak the language of business. Too often, marketers remain locked into purely marketing metrics: impressions, click-through rates, engagement. Yet these metrics do not interest senior management. The CMO must link their actions to the metrics that truly matter to the company: pipeline, customer acquisition cost, recurring revenue, contribution to revenue… In other words, they must adopt the language of the executive committee.
The second lever is to avoid isolating oneself at all costs and to engage with other departments as often as possible. A strategic marketing leader takes an interest in sales, gets involved in sales processes, collaborates closely with the product team, and understands the challenges of customer success. It is when the voice of the market and the customer circulates beyond marketing that it can truly influence corporate strategy.
Finally, and this is undoubtedly the most crucial factor, the CMO must assume a true leadership role. This means taking a seat on the executive committee, challenging certain decisions, defending a vision, and asserting their convictions. This influence is also built outside the company: by speaking at events, participating in conferences or podcasts, and developing their personal brand to showcase their expertise.
Ultimately, a CMO’s legitimacy does not depend solely on the organizational chart. It depends on their ability to establish themselves as a strategic driver of growth. Because in tech, as elsewhere, marketing only becomes strategic when those who embody it fully embrace that role.
