Only 36 percent of Fortune 500 companies still use the chief marketing officer title, according to Forrester’s latest analysis. Marketing executives currently sit on the executive team or report to the CEO at just 52 percent of Fortune 500 companies, making 2026 the third consecutive year of decline.

As legacy enterprises fold marketing into revenue, growth, and operations roles, Silicon Valley is placing the opposite bet. Erik Torenberg, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, recently posted a hiring call for a CMO to “own the narrative for the a16z portfolio and firm.” READ MORE