Executive Search for Marketing Transformation Leaders

CMO. Chief Growth Officer. Chief Commercial Officer. VP Marketing & Growth. Agency Presidents/Managing Directors.

Forty to seventy percent of executive hires fail within 18 months. Half say the role wasn't what was described. The pattern is predictable: track record matches the brief, but the deeper fit—what the organization actually needs solving—was never validated.

The brief lists everything: brand and performance and transformation and AI strategy. These are often in tension with each other, and the organization hasn't resolved which ones drive the role and which ones support it. That's not a flaw to fix; it's a reality to work with. The first conversation is about the mandate underneath the brief—the pressure, the gap, the problem that actually needs solving.

I clarify the brief before I fill it.

When I talk with candidates, I'm doing the same thing in reverse. Track record is table stakes. I'm listening for trajectory—what they're building toward, not just what they've accumulated. The best ones have been circling a specific kind of challenge their whole career.

I match trajectory to mandate. That's why fit lasts.

I spent twenty years building marketing organizations—Wired in '95, Razorfish and Sapient through the first wave, and P&L responsibility for Fortune 500 transformation work. I recruit for roles I've held. When a spec doesn't quite fit the problem, I can usually see why.

That understanding has to carry through the entire search. I made Senior Partner at Korn Ferry in two years, then built TMG so the person who does that diagnostic work is the same person talking to candidates. Buy the partner, get the partner—not the associate. Same person from diagnosis to offer.

My placements average 4+ years. 44% get promoted. Both roughly 3x industry benchmarks. Every client since 2014 has come through referral. ​

I work across PE portfolios, Fortune 500 brands, and agencies—and move talent between them. That range is how I find people others miss.

How I work: Retained search. Three milestones tied to deliverables, not calendar dates. 12-month guarantee. Post-placement support through year one.

I work with operating partners, corporate marketing leaders, and agency executives who treat the hire as a strategic decision—not a procurement exercise. Clients include Shamrock Capital, Intel, IPG.

If you're ready to partner on building a leadership team that transforms—let's talk.

Kristian Schwartz
Founder, Partner
schwartz@themontgomerygroup.com