Chief Marketing Officer Program

Position Yourself as a Growth-Oriented Marketing Leader

Download Brochure

Get Your Brochure

Course Dates

STARTS ON

June 13, 2024

Course Duration

DURATION

9 to 12 Months
Online and In Person

Course Fee

PROGRAM FEE

US$28,000 and get US$1,400 off with a referral US$200 application fee

Course Information Flexible payment available

Early Registration Benefit

Apply now to secure your place at US$25,000 by . Connect with a learning advisor for more information.

Marketing Strategies for the Modern World

The focus of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) has shifted and expanded well beyond advertising and communications. The role of the CMO today includes a broad range of responsibilities across the organization — from technology and digitalization to business development and data protection. Recognizing this paradigm shift, today’s marketing leaders have a chance to make a significant impact in their own sphere, their organization, and the industry at large.

Columbia Business School Executive Education’s multimodal Chief Marketing Officer Program will help you adapt to these changing dynamics and excel in this diversified role. You will discover new strategies to strengthen customer relationships and take on a leadership position to achieve sustainable business growth.

This 9- to 12-month program includes core sessions and a choice of online, live online, and in-person electives. The program explores critical business concepts centered around innovation, disruption, and the application of data analytics to drive overall marketing strategies. During interactive sessions and fireside chats, you will discover the application of original solutions and thinking patterns that generate new and valuable ideas. You will learn to analyze data and implement a multichannel marketing plan for a seamless customer experience across digital and traditional touchpoints. Additionally, you will explore how to create and manage disruptions to upend outdated models.

90%

of organizations see CMOs as the connective tissue between different lines of business.

Source: Accenture Interactive

70%

of CMOs report their ability to lead organizational growth and change is now essential to their professional success.

Source: IBM Institute for Business Value

What You Will Learn

The Chief Marketing Officer Program will enable you to:

  • Leverage potential marketing opportunities to achieve sustainable competitive advantage
  • Learn the drivers and metrics of customer lifetime value (CLV) and customer acquisition cost (CAC) and their relationship to organizational health
  • Examine methods of creating and managing disruption by leveraging new technologies and finding innovative solutions
  • Develop multichannel marketing strategies and ensure a seamless, consistent customer experience across all digital and traditional customer touchpoints
  • Employ analytics to build a competitive brand
  • Apply the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) marketing model as a strategic approach

Program Highlights

Core Curriculum

Kick-start your program journey with 18 weeks of online learning, imparting essential skills for marketing management

Weekly Live Sessions

Experience live online sessions with success coaches as well as periodic guest lectures from faculty, industry leaders, and career advisors

World-Renowned Faculty

Learn from Columbia faculty who bring rich experience to the classroom

Image to accompany text - Peer Learning

Peer Learning

Interact with and learn from high-achieving peers from around the globe and build your network

Success Coach

Craft your learning journey in line with your career goals with a success coach assigned to your cohort

Practitioner Insights

Learn from industry experts during the program to gain actionable insights and implement learning into practice

Flexible Learning Journey

Customize your program experience by selecting from a range of topical electives and gain skill sets specific to your career goals

Networking Event

Interact with faculty, peers, and global industry leaders at an optional two-day on-campus networking event

CIBE Holder Benefits

Receive Certificate in Business Excellence benefits upon completion and become part of a distinguished global community

Case Studies

Drawing from the extensive research and expertise of Columbia’s esteemed faculty, you will examine analytical cases based on practical real-world marketing and business issues. Through experiential learning and exploratory discussions, you will share insights into and find innovative solutions for the overarching concerns and challenges you are confronted with every day.

Program case studies include:

Amazon

Through this case study, you will examine how traditional retailers can redefine their business models to stay competitive in today’s digital world. You will also prepare a positioning statement for the digital giant.

Image to accompany text - Starbucks

Starbucks

This case study will explore the coffee conglomerate’s success story by examining the impact of shifting consumer spends, investments in new products, and a return to core values.

The Economist

In compiling a positioning statement, you will examine The Economist’s value proposition, target customers, their business model, and how they have remained relevant and competitive in the age of digital media outlets.

Image to accompany text - Myanmar: The Case of Ooredoo

Myanmar: The Case of Ooredoo

By studying Ooredoo and Telenor’s marketing strategy in providing mobile financial services in Myanmar, you will determine which investment strategies are most effective to explore the drivers and metrics of CLV to improve customer acquisition and retention.

Chase Sapphire

This capstone case study will consider the reasons Chase Sapphire pursued the millennial customer for its successful reserve credit card offer, why customers signed up so readily, and whether its bonus point offer was a good investment strategy.

Becton Dickinson

In this case study, you will analyze Becton Dickinson’s negotiation and cost strategies as well as the long-term effects of drug regulation on the industry. You will then prepare a positioning statement explaining the company’s brand identity.

Program Curriculum

The Chief Marketing Officer Program’s multimodal learning journey is ideal for seasoned marketing executives who want to extend their reach and influence. The comprehensive curriculum combines live sessions conducted by a learning facilitator and Columbia Business School faculty — along with online guest lectures and fireside chats with industry practitioners. The flexible format allows for peer-to-peer engagement and exploration of “try it” activities as well as practical case studies. The program culminates in an optional two-day on-campus networking event where you can connect with global peers across diverse industries.

    The program's core modules will address critical issues facing marketing leaders today. Over 18 weeks, you will explore the importance of quantifying your organization’s return on marketing investment with respect to its digital proficiency and gain the necessary knowledge and frameworks to excel as a forward-thinking contemporary CMO.

    Customer Centricity and Analytics

    A CMO needs to have complete oversight on which customers are targeted, how they are targeted, the value they bring in, and how the brand is positioned. This module equips you with the skills to execute the right strategies for achieving these goals.

    • Moving from a Product-Centric Organization to a Customer-Centric Organization
    • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
    • Segmentation and Targeting in a Data-Driven World
    • Positioning in a Data-Driven World
    • Measuring Consumer Preferences
    • Measuring ROI on Marketing Investment


    Marketing Strategy

    A successful CMO needs to set up the right internal infrastructure for building a brand that reaches the correct audience through relevant channels. In this module, you will understand how to set your product up for success as you take it to the market.  

    • Building Successful Brands
    • Communicating the Brand
    • Going to Market
    • Product Strategy
    • Pricing Strategy
    • Pulling It All Together


    Agile Marketing and Execution

    As a CMO, you need to understand how markets evolve to innovate and stay ahead of the curve. This module will help you understand how you can integrate innovation into your marketing strategies to steer your organization toward continued success.

    • Foundation of Innovation
    • Systematic Approaches to Creativity
    • Digital Marketing
    • Leveraging Brands
    •  Decision Making in the C-Suite 
  • A relevant mix of two online electives will supplement the program's core modules, allowing you to broaden your experience and tailor your career trajectory. These two six-week sessions allow you to explore content that delves into on-trend marketing innovations, positive disruption strategies, and new ways to implement customer-focused initiatives. The choice of electives includes:

    • B2B Marketing Strategy: Deploy appropriate marketing, pricing, sales force, and go-to-market strategies for your organization
    • Customer Experience Strategy: Develop competitive differentiation by designing engaging customer experiences in the context of multichannel interactions
    • Digital Marketing: Gain practical skills and frameworks to strategically understand and influence your customers
    • Product Management Methodologies: Learn and apply product management strategies throughout the product life cycle and build a successful road map that drives business growth
    • Sales Team Management Strategies: Explore the latest sales management strategies and frameworks for designing, building, and managing an empowered, high performance sales team
  • With a focus on relevant specializations, a choice of one in-class open-enrollment topic will afford you a deep dive into some common as well as more complex issues of the day. Designed to provide you with concrete strategies and tools to support marketing decisions that are aligned with your organization’s business goals, the program’s takeaways will position you as a growth driver prepared to take advantage of new ways of doing business and facilitate long-term value creation. Some of the examples include:

    • Behavioral Science in Business
    • Developing and Leading High-Performance Teams
    • Driving Strategic Impact
    • Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Executive
    • Leading in a Data-Driven World: Developing Quantitative Intuition™
    • Persuasion Strategies

    Note: While Columbia Business School Executive Education will attempt to accommodate participant preference selections, we cannot guarantee that all preferences will be granted due to the high demand for our open-enrollment programs. Electives are subject to change.

  • *Meet your cohort peers and faculty in person on the Columbia Business School campus in New York City during an optional two-day networking event. This event provides you an opportunity to network with your peers as well as professionals from other cohorts to create a lifelong community of global executives.

Capstone Project

The capstone project enables you to apply what you have learned in the program. At the end of each module, you will work towards overcoming a strategic challenge based on what you have learned in that module. To conclude the capstone, you will revisit one of the decisions you took in a previous module, analyze it in the context of what you have learned since, and answer some questions. Alternatively, you could also opt to create an action plan and address a challenge within your organization. By the end of the capstone project, you will be able to:

  • Assess the efficacy of an organization’s decision making
  • Identify roadblocks and challenges to the decision-making process and apply strategic frameworks and techniques to resolve them
  • Assess an organization's attitude for change and risk
  • Create an action plan for organization-level decision making
  • Outline the steps necessary for executing a decision

Meet the Faculty

Profile picture of professor Oded Netzer

Oded Netzer

Arthur J. Samberg Professor of Business, Columbia Business School

Oded Netzer's expertise centers on one of the major business challenges of the data-rich environment: developing quantitative methods that leverage data to gain a deeper understanding of customer behavior and guide firms' decisions. He focuses primarily on building statistical and econometric models to measure consumer preferences and understand how customer choices change over time and across contexts. Most notably, Netzer has developed a framework for managing firms' customer bases through dynamic segmentation. More recently, his research has been focusing on leveraging text-mining techniques for business applications.

Profile picture of professor Silvia Belleza

Silvia Belleza

Gantcher Associate Professor of Business, Columbia Business School

Profile picture of professor Melanie Brucks

Melanie Brucks

Assistant Professor of Business, Marketing, Columbia Business School

Profile picture of professor Jennifer Fernandez

Jennifer Fernandez

Lecturer of Marketing, Columbia University School of Professional Studies

Profile picture of professor Christopher J. Frank

Christopher J. Frank

Adjunct Professor of Marketing, Columbia Business School

Profile picture of professor Kinshuk Jerath

Kinshuk Jerath

Professor of Business, Marketing, Columbia Business School

Profile picture of professor Mark Sarvary

Mark Sarvary

Former CEO of Tempur-Sealy

Profile picture of professor Miklos Sarvary

Miklos Sarvary

Carson Family Professor of Business; Co-Faculty Director, Media and Technology Program; Columbia Business School

Profile picture of professor Rom Schrift

Rom Schrift

Associate Professor of Marketing, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business

Certificate in Business Excellence

Example image of certificate that will be awarded after successful completion of this program

Certificate in Business Excellence

Upon completion of the Chief Marketing Officer Program, participants are awarded the Certificate in Business Excellence from Columbia Business School Executive Education. The certificate is a recognition of their achievement and the investment they and their organization have made in their education and development.

As a Certificate in Business Excellence holder, you will receive a 25 percent tuition benefit for full-price Executive Education in-person programs lasting three and four days and all full-price online programs. Exclusions apply **

Certificate holders will also be awarded select Columbia Business School Alumni benefits.

Download Brochure

Your digitally verified certificate will be issued in your legal name and emailed to you, at no additional cost, upon completion of the program, including all modules of the program (online, in person, or live online, inter-module). All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of Columbia Business School Executive Education.

CIBE Holder Benefits

  • Access to Columbia Business School Alumni Career Services resources, including unique career content, a job board, an online networking platform, the alumni directory, and more
  • Invitations to alumni events and programs around the world
  • Eligibility to join Columbia Business School alumni clubs
  • Global networking opportunities
  • Lifetime Columbia Business School forwarding email address
  • Subscription to our alumni publication Columbia Business

Executive Peer Group and Networking Event

The enriching environment of the networking event provides participants with the invaluable opportunity to build a robust network with global executives who bring diverse experiences, cultures, and perspectives. Engaging in thoughtful discussions, they can exchange cutting-edge insights and knowledge that are integral in staying abreast of industry trends. The networking event showcases the vibrant community that participants of the Chief Marketing Officer Program become an invaluable part of.

Who Is It For?

The ideal candidate for the Chief Marketing Officer Program is someone ready to make significant changes in today’s fast-evolving marketing environment. Suitable for mid-career or high-potential professionals eager to broaden exposure beyond the marketing function, the program is perfect if you are looking to leverage marketing opportunities and drive process improvement. You will also benefit from the program if you are an entrepreneur, consultant, or someone in charge of sales or demand generation interested in refreshing your skill sets and discovering new frameworks to formulate your company’s future marketing road map.

Participants should have:

  • A minimum of ten years of work experience in marketing
  • Fluency in written and spoken English
  • International exposure (preferred)

Past Participant Profile

Past participants of the Chief Marketing Officer Program come from diverse backgrounds, industries, and experiences. The cohort’s diversity ensures that you interact with like-minded peers and gain new perspectives for your organization’s unique challenges.

Average years of work experience:

  • Less than 10 years: 2%
  • 10 to 15 years: 20%
  • 16 to 20 years: 28%
  • More than 20 years: 51%

Top industries:

  • Advertising/Marketing/PR
  • Banking
  • Consulting
  • Development/Real Estate
  • Financial Services
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacuring
  • Technology

Top functions:

  • Marketing
  • Business Development/Sales
  • General Management
  • Strategic Planning
  • Administration

Top countries:

  • United States
  • India
  • United Kingdom
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Mexico

Note: Data from across previous cohorts

Application Details

Round 1

Deadline: March 19, 2024
Application fee: US$200

Round 2

Deadline: April 16, 2024
Application fee: US$200

Round 3

Deadline: May 14, 2024
Application fee: US$200

Round 4

Deadline: June 05, 2024
Application fee: US$200

The program fee covers teaching fees, all academic material, and access to online coursework. The fee does not include accommodations for the two-day annual in-person reunion and networking event, travel expenses (domestic, international, visa fee, and more), and other expenses not specifically mentioned in the program fee.

FAQs

  • The Chief Marketing Officer Program has been designed with your busy schedule in mind. You will be required to commit no more than three to five hours per week, enabling you to benefit from this transformative program while fulfilling your day-to-day work responsibilities. The impactful program offers a blend of self-paced modules and live interactions.

  • The 9- to 12-month learning journey includes live online and video online sessions with renowned faculty, industry experts, and global peers. You can take advantage of weekly live sessions and the Slack channel to ask questions and discuss ideas with your cohort participants. Real-world examples and a debrief of the program learnings are delivered through a combination of recorded video and live online lectures. The program concludes with an optional two-day on-campus networking event on the Columbia Business School campus in New York City.

  • The program fee covers teaching fees, all academic materials, and access to online coursework. The fee does not include accommodation for the two-day in-person networking event, travel expenses (domestic, international, visa fee, etc.), or other expenses not specifically mentioned in the fees.

  • You can pay the full program fee up front or pay in easy installments. If you would like to approach your organization with a sponsorship request for this program, here is a customizable template that you can use.

  • Unfortunately, it is not possible to take any more electives than the specified number. The electives are designed to help you gain specialized skills in areas that are aligned with your career so that you can dedicate focused time for learning and honing those

  • Yes. There is closed captioning and transcripts for all prerecorded videos, and closed captioning for recordings of live sessions is also available.

Questions? Connect with a Learning Advisor.

Email: columbia_cmo@emeritus.org

Phone: +1 567 587 1669 (U.S.) / +44 1156 471398 (U.K.) / +971 80 00321209 (U.A.E.) / +52 55930 20507 (LATAM)

Apply Now

Early registrations are encouraged. Seats fill up quickly!

Flexible payment options available. Learn more.