Our Managing Partner for Consumer Brands, Linzi Cameron and our Global Managing Director, Sarah Skinner explore how CMOs can navigate change and restructure in a way that empowers their teams and drives long-term business growth.
It appears ‘restructure’ isn’t just something which applied to the way Elon Musk approached the working processes of the US Government. Marketing Week’s latest 2025 Career & Salary Survey highlights over half of marketers have experienced a team restructure in the past year, with nearly a third seeing their teams merged with other disciplines. This level of change and disruption is startling, when you think about the impact this could have on the way CMOs plan for the future and deliver strategic results of real business value. But in our experience of working with senior leadership teams in brands in the UK and internationally, this level of change is a reality.
This is why the AAR’s latest report – ‘The Evolution of the Marketing Operating Model’ – is so timely. It highlights the need for a robust, future facing operating model based on People, Partners, Process and Platforms, which maps out ‘how’ businesses may need to change internally, in other words, deliver the ‘restructure’, in order to support their desired external change.
There are many reasons why this is happening in 2025. Companies are leveraging AI, integrating new capabilities, optimising team structures, dealing with geopolitical changes, and considering how trade might work in the new world of ‘tariffs’. Always, the overarching objective for a restructure should be about maximising growth. Growth creates new opportunities, which is why it is so important, not just to businesses, but to governments too. Growth is about job creation and supporting innovation and new developments.
There’s a lot riding on a successful ‘restructure’ then, and it often falls to the CMO. Strong leadership is essential. There are important things a CMO must communicate:
- The reasons for the ‘restructure’ – why it is happening
- What business needs the ‘restructure’ will serve – what it is addressing
- The priorities to make the ‘restructure’ a reality – how it will be delivered
All this will be done under the watchful eye of the CEO and board who will be looking to the CMO to lead successful change management.
The purpose of any restructure, if aligned to an evolved and future facing operating model, needs to be presented and delivered as an opportunity for how marketing drives long term growth.
As Marketing Week rightly points out, restructuring isn’t always about downsizing, it’s often about redeploying skill sets to better align with new business priorities. The difference lies in how a CMO communicates and behaves.
We know from our experience working with senior leadership teams that their people are at the core of any transformation. Successful leadership teams also recognise that when a ‘restructure’ is mishandled they can create ‘change fatigue’ and ‘job insecurity’, which will derail any plan.
This is also apparent in the AAR’s report which highlights that the most successful marketing operating model evolutions have a clear three-year plan, dedicated resource, and an approved business case with board level buy-in – all of which is essential for how any required ‘restructure’ is articulated. When there is a clear north star set out by the CMO, it helps build resilience in the team; they can see that the short-term pain in a ‘restructure’ has a mid-to-long-term gain.
The most effective CMOs in 2025 are those who can navigate the ‘restructure’ and, by doing so, ensure marketing remains a strategic engine for growth.