Marketing Has the CEO’s Ear but Not Their Confidence
There was a time when the defining question for marketing leaders was whether they had a seat at the table. That question is now outdated.
According to the latest Boathouse CEO Study, marketing is more embedded in the business than ever before. CMOs are aligned with leadership, trusted across the organization, and increasingly present in the rooms where decisions are made. Yet something is not translating.
Maurya Overall, Principal at Boathouse, explains the shift clearly:
“Everyone’s been focused on whether CMOs have a seat at the table. That’s no longer the issue. The data shows they’re deeply embedded in the business, with 79% of CEOs saying CMOs show strong commitment to the CEO and board and 85% saying they build trust across the organization. The real issue is that it’s not translating into belief in their impact. When only 15% of CMOs are getting top marks and more than half are still seen as execution-focused, it tells you something important. Being close to the CEO isn’t the same as shaping how the business grows. For communications leaders, that’s a warning. Access without influence is easy to overestimate.”
That warning sits at the heart of the report. The study, based on a survey of 150 CEOs from top U.S. companies , shows a clear pattern. CMOs are winning on alignment but falling short on perceived impact. While 79% are seen as strongly aligned with CEOs and boards, and 85% are viewed as builders of trust, only 15% receive top performance ratings, and 57% are still viewed primarily as execution leaders .
For communications leaders, the implication is straightforward. Proximity to leadership is no longer a differentiator. It is an expectation.
At the same time, the study reveals a second, more consequential gap. Marketing is measuring more than ever, but not in ways that are convincing the CEO.
As Overall puts it:
“There’s no shortage of measurement in marketing or communications today, but the data shows it’s not landing where it matters most. While more than 70% of CEOs say marketing metrics are aligned with business goals, only 13% are very confident in marketing’s ability to demonstrate incremental financial impact. That gap is critical for communicators. It’s not about producing more data or better storytelling in isolation. It’s about linking narrative, reputation, and engagement directly to business performance. If that connection isn’t clear, communications risks being seen as an executional function, not a driver of the business.”
This is where the role of communications is being redefined. Narrative, reputation, and engagement have always been core to the discipline. What is changing is the expectation that they must now connect directly to financial outcomes. CEOs are not questioning whether communications matters. They are questioning whether its impact can be clearly seen in business performance.
Nowhere is this tension more visible than in how CEOs view marketing’s role in growth.
Overall frames it this way:
“Right now, CEOs are putting a very clear mandate on marketing and communications. Sixty-five percent expect it to drive sales growth, with increasing weight on brand and company narrative. But the belief isn’t keeping up. Only 59% of CEOs are confident marketing contributes to growth, and just 15% are very confident. At the same time, 60% now view marketing as a cost center. That’s the gap. If you can’t tie narrative and reputation to real business movement, you get pulled into execution. If you can, you start to shape how growth actually happens.”
The data behind that statement is stark. Sixty-five percent of CEOs say growth is marketing’s primary mandate, yet only 59% believe marketing is delivering on that expectation, and only a small fraction are highly confident . At the same time, 60% of CEOs now view marketing as a cost center, a sharp reversal from prior years .
This is the inflection point. For communications professionals, the takeaway is not to produce more content or more metrics.
It is to close the gap between narrative and outcome.
The Boathouse study makes clear that CEOs are looking for leaders who can connect the story of the company to how the company performs. That means demonstrating how reputation influences demand, how narrative shapes market perception, and how engagement translates into measurable business movement.
In other words, the future of communications is not about access. It is about accountability. And the leaders who can make that connection will not just have a seat at the table. They will help define where the business goes next.
