While the current business climate is difficult, from a financial standpoint, 2025 was a good year to be a CMO. According to new data from The Conference Board and ESGAUGE, median total compensation for CMOs in the S&P 500 saw the largest increase of all executive titles, excluding CEO. Median CMO compensation hit $6.5 million, up 27% from 2024—surpassing median compensation for CFOs, COOs, CHROs and chief legal officers.

The Conference Board found that the rising pay likely reflects more emphasis on responsibilities under the CMO’s purview: brand resilience, pricing power, customer retention, data-driven demand generation, and integration of analytics and digital platforms. However, the nonprofit notes that the data doesn’t indicate CMOs are quickly getting rich. Changes in executive structures mean there are fewer people with the CMO title—just 29 in the S&P 500. Among companies in the Russell 3000, there are just 133 CMOs, and the number of people with that title dropped by a third between 2021 and 2025.

Regardless of what CMOs are called these days, their responsibilities are growing—but they also have opportunity to create different kinds of campaigns. With today’s media landscape, there’s no such thing as a brief moment. Streaming and social media allow important marketing moments—like the Super Bowl, the Oscars or the World Cup—to gain traction before, during and after they happen. I talked to Natalie Bastian, CMO of real-time marketing and measurement platform InMarket, about how to take advantage of the opportunity. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

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Today is a big day for Disney. It’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro’s first day on the job, succeeding longtime CEO Bob Iger. Bringing new leadership into any of the large media and entertainment companies is always a significant moment, but considering that Disney has only had three CEOs in the last four decades—and one was Iger’s previous short-term successor Bob Chapek—new blood at the Mouse House is seismic. All together, Iger was Disney’s CEO for about 19 years—from 2005 to 2020, then a brief retirement before returning again in 2022. The mouse ears will formally be passed on at a shareholder meeting this afternoon.

Iger leaves behind a long legacy of growth through acquisitions, technology, entertainment and branded experiences. Forbes senior contributor David Bloom goes through some of the highlights of Iger’s tenure, including the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and the Star Wars franchise through LucasFilm; getting into streaming with Disney and building on the market through ESPN and Hulu; as well as large expansions to Disney parks, cruise ships and resorts worldwide—including a licensed park in Abu Dhabi (which Forbes senior contributor Caroline Reid writes is still moving ahead, despite the nearby war in Iran). Iger also moved Disney into video games, purchasing a majority stake in Epic Games, and into generative AI through a character licensing deal with OpenAI’s Sora video generator.

D’Amaro, a 28-year company veteran and the former head of Disney Experiences—which manages the company’s theme parks, hotels, cruise line, and Imagineering and consumer products divisions—was tapped as Iger’s successor in February, following a search that took more than a year. He has a lot to live up to—Reid suggested in February D’Amaro would have to boost Disney’s valuation........

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