Marketing Consultant
As Marketing recruitment headhunters, we’re often asked for a list of the best Chief Marketing Officer interview questions.
Use our interview questions list to uncover a deep understanding of your CMO candidates’ approach, skills and culture. We’re sure these questions will also fire your own ideas for adapting them to your company’s unique marketing position.
Given that marketing as a discipline is so broad across brand, digital, CRM, social media, paid advertising, content (and many more), you’ll need to consider your own business marketing objectives and what skills, experience, and knowledge you need from this leadership position, to achieve them.
The questions are divided up into the different facets a great CMO possesses, enabling to you spot the best-fitted candidate from even the highest quality short-list.
These questions are also relevant for Interim Chief Marketing Officer positions.
What skills should a Chief Marketing Officer have?
Preparing for the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) interview means grasping the business objectives and how they translate into marketing goals and tasks. Understanding these dynamics allows you to discern the skills and attributes necessary for the candidate to drive meaningful impact within the organisation. Questions such as whether the CMO will reshape brand positioning, amplify website-generated leads, revamp content strategies, or oversee sales and commercial functions are pivotal, especially for start-ups seeking relevant experience.
By addressing these questions and consulting with junior marketing team members, you can craft a skills or competency matrix. This tool aids in evaluating CMO candidates objectively, facilitating informed decision-making during the hiring process. Additionally, considering the personal attributes of potential CMOs, such as personality, cultural alignment (or divergence), and demonstrated values, is crucial. A successful CMO should exhibit a well-defined business vision, personal confidence, and the capacity to lead, make strategic decisions, and inspire others.
View our full guide about how to hire a CMO.
Chief Marketing Officer interview questions
Here is our guide to the best Chief Marketing Officer interview questions. This isn’t a comprehensive list, and you should add specific competency questions, but this list should offer some guidance for a Chief Marketing Officer interview.
General interview questions
- What are your reasons for wanting to leave your current role?
- What excites you about our business?
- What might you suggest are your key strengths as a CMO?
- What is your most impactful initiative as a marketing leader? What impact did it make?
- How do you measure the effectiveness of your work in your current role? What KPI’s and data points do you look for?
- What other business areas do you have experience in?
- Why should I hire you?
Business related CMO interview questions
- What is your vision for this brand?
- What is the first task you’d undertake as CMO?
- What 3 objectives would you create for the marketing team?
- What do you like v don’t like about our brand / marketing efforts? What improvements do you see?
- How would you measure success of marketing in this business?
- How would you design a marketing strategy for our business?
- What are the latest marketing trends, and how will you incorporate them into our marketing strategy?
- What is your assessment of our current market and competitor activity?
Metric related CMO interview questions
- What KPI’s and metrics are most important to you? How often do you track these?
- What type of analysis would you conduct within this business?
- Have you used predictive analytics to forecast future marketing performance?
- How quickly would you react to a dip in metrics?
- Tell me about a time where you have had to decide between two competing metrics?
- Are there any marketing metrics which you disregard and why?
- What marketing metrics most align to our business objectives?
Stakeholder Manager / Relationships / Leadership
- What is your leadership style?
- What makes you a great leader?
- How do you communicate well with your team and peers?
- How you motivate other people? Give an example.
- How would you manage a team that wasn’t meeting objectives?
- Tell me about a time you had to influence your peers / CEO?
- What do you think you can contribute to our senior leadership team?
- How do you manage difficult dynamics on SLT’s / Boards?
Failure / Self Criticism / Self Awareness
- Tell me about a mistake you made and how you handled it?
- Give an instance where you have had a dispute at work with your peers. How did you handle it?
- Give an example of a time where you didn’t meet objectives. What could you have done differently?
- Give an example where you had to acknowledge you did not have the best idea.
Roadmap, Prioritisation & Decision Making
- How do you develop a business case?
- What steps do you take to put together a marketing strategy?
- How do you measure performance?
- How do you gain buy-in from Board members for your marketing strategy?
- How do you react when a Board member disagrees with you?
Culture-related CMO interview questions
- In what culture do you thrive in?
- What are you hoping for in terms of culture in this business?
- Which of our company values is most important to you and why?
- How would you respond to an employee who was not living up to our values?
- What is a non-negotiable for you in terms of company culture?
We have compiled a short guide for further reading: 5 questions to assess a candidate’s cultural fit
Chief Marketing Officer interview questions: summary
Intelligent People are a specialist marketing recruitment agency. If you need any more help with what Chief Marketing Officer interview questions to ask, contact us today. Since 2002, we’ve helped a broad range of companies, from global blue chips to the most exciting scale-ups, to hire marketing experts that build effective strategies.
If you need any more help with how to conduct Chief Marketing Officer interview questions, or you’d like a shortlist of quality CMO candidates, contact us today.
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We understand how critical key C-level recruitment projects are for our customers. Therefore, all of our Executive Search assignments in London are led or overseen by one of our management team, with support from our experienced search consultants and researchers, who will often have an industry specialism.
As an Executive Search recruitment agency, we specialise in retained search for C-level positions including CEO’s, CMO’s, CPO’s and more. We are proud of our 100% Executive Search success record, ensuring our clients receive the best leadership talent for their needs.
CMO interview questions: FAQs
What should be the focus in a CMO interview?
For Employers:
You should focus on the candidate’s strategic vision, leadership ability, and proven track record of delivering measurable marketing impact. Dig into how they align marketing with business goals and how they lead teams through change or growth phases.
For Candidates:
Highlight your experience with data-driven marketing, brand positioning, digital transformation and team leadership. Be ready to discuss your past impact on revenue, market share, or customer growth, and how you’d bring strategic value to their specific business.
What questions should be asked in a CMO interview?
For Employers:
Ask scenario-based questions like:
- “How have you scaled a marketing function?”
- “What was your most successful campaign and why?”
- “How do you collaborate with sales/product teams?”
These reveal strategic, operational, and cultural alignment.
For Candidates:
Be prepared for deep dives into your metrics, leadership style, and vision. You should also ask the employer questions such as:
- “What role does marketing currently play at the exec table?”
- “What are the biggest growth priorities for the next 12 months?”
This shows that you’re thinking as a future partner in leadership.
How do you evaluate whether the CMO fits the company culture and leadership team?
For Employers:
Pay attention to how the candidate communicates, leads, and collaborates. Ask how they’ve handled cross-functional challenges or influenced boards and CEOs. Cultural fit is especially important at the C-level.
For Candidates:
Gauge whether the executive team values marketing. Ask about decision-making processes, risk appetite, and how success is celebrated. Make sure the leadership team supports your vision and approach to brand, customer, and digital strategy.
How should performance and ROI be discussed in a CMO interview?
For Employers:
Request specific examples of how the candidate tied marketing activity to bottom-line impact. Look for fluency with key metrics like CAC, LTV, attribution models and campaign ROI.
For Candidates:
Come prepared with examples that demonstrate commercial thinking. Talk through how your strategies led to measurable improvements in revenue, customer acquisition, or retention – and how you used data to make decisions.
Is industry experience necessary for a CMO?
For Employers:
It depends on your sector. In regulated or technical industries, domain knowledge may be essential. But don’t discount candidates with transferable skills and a record of adapting quickly.
For Candidates:
If you’re new to the industry, emphasise how you’ve quickly ramped up in other sectors, and how you’ve delivered value by applying fresh thinking. Show your research into their market, competitors and customer landscape.
What’s the difference between a brand CMO and a growth CMO – and which do we need?
For Employers:
Assess whether your business needs stronger brand leadership or aggressive performance marketing. The best CMOs today are hybrid, but their background may lean one way.
For Candidates:
Clarify in the interview where the company is in its growth journey. Position your strengths accordingly – whether you’ve led scale-ups, turned around brand perception, or built data-driven growth engines.
What red flags should be watched for in a CMO interview?
For Employers:
Watch for candidates who speak in vague generalities, lack data to back up achievements, or struggle to explain how they built or led teams. Also be cautious if they show resistance to change or learning.
For Candidates:
Red flags include unclear company strategy, marketing being siloed, or a lack of commitment to customer-centricity. If marketing isn’t represented at the exec level or lacks influence, consider whether you’ll have the backing to succeed.
How much should a CMO be involved in product and customer experience?
For Employers:
Today’s CMOs should be integral to shaping the customer journey – from acquisition to loyalty. If your candidate doesn’t ask about product or CX, it may suggest a limited view of marketing.
For Candidates:
Demonstrate how you’ve influenced product strategy, UX, and customer insight. Ask about how closely marketing works with product and customer teams, this will tell you whether you’ll have true impact.
