Executive search firm Russel Reynolds tracks the movement of marketing executives around the globe. During the second quarter of 2011, Russel Reynolds highlighted the emergence of a "next-generation" marketer. Interestingly, this new generation has nothing to do with age, experience, or demographics and has everything to do with diversity of marketing experience. The old CPG (consumer product goods) "academy" model is evolving to a "hybrid marketer" model. This is a marketer who likely started his or her career in traditional brand management, then gained significant quantitative marketing skills by way of online, direct-to-consumer, or media experience; more likely a combination of all three in addition to the core CPG foundation. According to Russel Reynolds, this marketing evolution is seen in companies that are looking to expand beyond traditional marketing to span areas including digital, mobile, and social marketing. In fact, given new realities, many next-generation marketers will come out of cutting-edge digital agencies and the media industry.

Executive search firm Russel Reynolds has identified a new generation of marketer with diverse marketing experience.

Russel Reynolds' report highlights the way that the CMO's role is evolving in the marketplace and shifting toward customer insight and relationship building. The company outlined a number of key characteristics that defined the role of the next-generation CMO.