Chief marketing officers are vital to strategic decision-making, but increasingly, they’re being left out of the discussions that matter most—to the detriment of both customers and growth.“Kelsey and I are on a singular mission to bring CMOs back,” McKinsey Senior Partner Shelley Stewart III said recently, referring to Senior Partner Kelsey Robinson. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Shelley and Kelsey join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on worsening disconnects in the C-suite, as well as how strengthening alignment between CMOs, CEOs, and CFOs can make a meaningful and sustainable difference in organizational performance. This conversation originally aired as a McKinsey Live webinar following the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

Chief marketing officers are vital to strategic decision-making, but increasingly, they&rsquo;re being left out of the discussions that matter most&mdash;to the detriment of both customers and growth. &ldquo;Kelsey and I are on a singular mission to bring CMOs back,&rdquo; McKinsey Senior Partner <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/shelley-stewart">Shelley Stewart III</a> said recently, referring to Senior Partner <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/kelsey-robinson">Kelsey Robinson</a>. In this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, Shelley and Kelsey join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on worsening disconnects in the C-suite, as well as how strengthening alignment between CMOs, CEOs, and CFOs can make a meaningful and sustainable difference in organizational performance. This conversation originally aired as a <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-live/webinars/unlocking-growth-the-power-of-ceo-cmo-and-cfo-alignment">McKinsey Live webinar</a> following the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

The McKinsey Podcast features conversations with experts from global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company, focusing on the issues that matter most in business and management.

The McKinsey Podcast

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey &amp; Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

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