CMO Search.
Marketing and growth leadership for B2B, consumer, and category-creation operators.
What this search actually requires.
A CMO search is fundamentally a motion-and-math search. Strong candidates can read a comp plan, a quota model, a marketing-funnel cohort, and a CAC-to-LTV ratio before they read your value prop. The candidate pool divides cleanly by motion (B2B versus consumer, demand-gen versus brand-led, expansion versus new-logo), and conflating those pools is the most common scoping mistake.
Engaged search funds the dedicated time of a recruiter who has placed CMOs across motion and industry. The recruiter scopes for the actual motion, not just the title.
CMO comp ranges in 2026.
Typical 2026 ranges for the CMO role. Specific comp is benchmarked per engagement against peer companies and the candidate's track record.
- ✓Early-stage / smaller-revenue CMO base: $230,000–$380,000
- ✓Venture-backed Series B–D CMO base: $300,000–$500,000
- ✓PE-backed portfolio company CMO base: $400,000–$650,000
- ✓Total compensation typically includes pipeline-tied bonus and equity
Five steps, end-to-end.
From kickoff to closed offer, run by the senior specialist you meet on the first call.
Scoping with the CEO and (where applicable) the CRO; motion identification
Market mapping for CMO candidates with documented motion fit
Calibrated shortlist with portfolio review and pipeline math validation
Working sessions on the company's actual marketing-funnel cohort data
Reference checks across past pipeline performance, offer construction, close
Where the CMO search lives.
The industries where this role profile shows up most often on our desk.
CMO search,
specifically.
The questions hiring leaders ask in the first scoping call.
Tell us the role, the niche, the urgency.
We come back inside one business day with a scoping call, a fee quote, and a candidate market read.