Retained Executive Search for Chief Marketing Officers
At Cowen Partners Executive Search, we’re executive search experts who happen to be marketing experts, too. We dominate SEO in one of the most competitive search markets. We consistently secure PR placements in Forbes, WSJ, and Business Insider. We build demand generation engines, optimize conversion funnels, and drive measurable pipeline growth. This isn’t a team that studies marketing—we execute go-to-market strategy at the highest level daily.
When you need a search firm that understands what exceptional CMOs actually do, you need the executive search firm led by leaders who’ve done it themselves. We assess marketing leaders against standards we meet in our own operations. We know what world-class SEO, PR, and digital marketing requires. We understand the difference between marketing executives who talk strategy and those who deliver measurable growth.
This is executive search expertise combined with go-to-market marketing expertise at the highest level.
Companies Trust Cowen Partners Executive Search to Deliver Growth Leaders
Cowen Partners Executive Search is a top 100 retained executive search firm advising boards, CEOs, and investors on C-suite and senior leadership recruitment for mid-market to large-cap organizations. Ranked among the nation’s best by Forbes, Business Insider, and Hunt Scanlon.
Senior partner-led searches. Total market access to proven executives. Qualified candidate slates delivered in three weeks.
With more than 500 executive placements nationwide and a 99% retention rate, our marketing practice delivers CMOs and growth leaders who drive revenue and real results.
Our elite marketing executive recruiters provide talent for every role from Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to Chief Growth Officer (CGO), VP of marketing, product marketing, demand generation, advertising, and beyond.
Why We Understand Marketing Leadership Differently
We Practice What We Assess
When we evaluate CMOs and marketing executives, we’re assessing them against standards we meet in our own operations. We understand the difference between marketing leaders who talk strategy and those who drive measurable results—because we drive them ourselves.
This lived expertise makes our marketing executive search fundamentally different.
Strategic Role Calibration
We work with CEOs and boards to define what the marketing role actually requires: brand building, demand generation, product marketing, digital transformation, customer experience, category creation, or revenue acceleration. We match capabilities to your specific growth challenges.
Total Market Access to Marketing Talent
Our senior partners reach sitting CMOs at high-growth companies, marketing leaders ready for larger strategic roles, and executives with the track records and capabilities your situation demands. We’re not limited to those who are actively looking.
Marketing Expertise Assessment
We evaluate marketing leaders on strategic thinking, creative-analytical balance, brand stewardship capability, demand generation expertise, digital fluency, executive presence, and the ability to operate as enterprise leaders who shape business strategy.
Performance-Oriented Evaluation
We assess track records of growth delivery: revenue impact, pipeline generation, brand equity development, market share gains, customer acquisition efficiency, and the ability to scale marketing organizations that compound results.
This process is our guarantee that you’ll get the placement you need the first time. To learn more about our executive search process, how we help, and if our recruitment process is the fit your team needs, let’s talk.
SELECT PAST CLIENTS
Ash Wendt, President and Co-Founder
Ash Wendt, a founding partner at Cowen Partners Executive Search and Marketing Practice Leader, is a leading expert in recruiting top marketing talent and brand strategists. With a robust background in marketing and executive recruiting, Ash has built a dynamic firm that thrives on a results-driven approach. His dedication to developing strategic hiring processes has made him a go-to resource for organizations seeking top creative minds and high-impact leaders across various industries. Ash’s insights are regularly featured in The Wall Street Journal, further solidifying his reputation as a thought leader in the field.
At Cowen Partners Executive Search, Ash’s expertise lies in identifying and placing marketing executives who drive brand growth and lead innovative marketing strategies. His focus on matching top talent with the right organizations has positioned Cowen Partners as a trusted partner for companies looking to excel in a competitive market. Ash’s commitment to excellence and ability to deliver results have made him a key figure in the world of executive search, ensuring that Cowen Partners continues to fulfill its mission of meeting clients’ critical talent needs.
Marketing and Demand Generation Placements
Director of Product Marketing
Brand Marketing Manager
Marketing & Demand Generation Recruiting Firm in All 50 States
The experienced marketing executive recruiters at Cowen Partners Executive Search have a long-standing reputation for excellence in connecting companies with the brightest marketing minds in their industry.
We take exceptional care while applying deep expertise to identify the best candidates for our clients’ needs, regardless of whether they are looking for a CMO for hire or they are in the market for an executive to head up product marketing, advertising, brand marketing, growth marketing, digital marketing, or any other area of their company’s marketing operations.
That is why the marketing executive headhunters at Cowen Partners Executive Search are the partners whom leaders trust and rely on for their marketing and demand generation recruitment needs.
The Modern Marketing Leadership Mandate
Today’s CMOs and senior marketing executives must navigate unprecedented complexity while delivering both short-term performance and long-term strategic positioning.
They Must Be Enterprise Leaders, Not Just Marketing Experts
The CMO role has evolved beyond departmental leadership. Exceptional marketing executives sit at the strategy table with CEOs, CFOs, and boards—shaping business model decisions, M&A strategy, product roadmaps, and customer experience transformation. They understand P&L dynamics, unit economics, and how marketing investments create enterprise value, not just awareness.
They Must Master the Creative-Analytical Paradox
Modern marketing demands leaders who are both left-brain and right-brain dominant. They craft compelling brand narratives that inspire emotional loyalty while simultaneously optimizing conversion funnels with algorithmic precision. They trust data to inform decisions but know when creative instinct should override the numbers. They build brands people love and demand generation engines that hit pipeline targets.
They Must Build and Steward Brand in the Transparency Era
Your brand isn’t what you say—it’s what customers, employees, investors, and critics say about you, amplified across channels you don’t control. Modern marketing leaders craft brand identities that resonate authentically, uphold brand promises in every customer interaction, and advance brand equity even amid public scrutiny. They build internal brand advocacy as aggressively as external awareness.
They Must Deliver Measurable Growth While Building Long-Term Value
Boards and CEOs expect CMOs to deliver this quarter’s pipeline AND build brand equity that compounds over the years. This requires balancing short-term performance marketing with long-term brand building, demonstrating marketing ROI while investing in initiatives that won’t show returns for quarters, and hitting growth targets while positioning the company for the market’s next evolution.
Finding leaders who excel at all of this? That’s where Cowen Partners Executive Search succeeds.
AS SEEN ON
Marketing Executive Search & Recruitment Resources
Explore our marketing executive search resources to see why Cowen Partners is a top sales and marketing executive search firm in Atlanta, St. Louis, Anchorage, Denver, Boston, New York City, Chicago, Milwaukee, Seattle, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and beyond.
Industries We Help
Every industry needs talent. Our executive recruiters connect companies with in-demand candidates who are prepared to take command of leadership roles. Click the role you need below to learn more about our process for finding and placing top talent in less than 6 weeks.
TESTIMONIALS
Companies Agree Our Marketing Executive Search Process Works.
See What Our Clients Have to Say About Our Results.
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