An interim head of marketing, or CMO, for the gap between leaders
Last updated
When your marketing leader leaves, goes on leave, or hasn't been hired yet, the team and the budget still need an owner on Monday. I step into the seat for a fixed window, usually three to six months at three to four days a week, run the team and the number, and help you hire and hand over to the permanent person. I'm Logan Ice. It starts at $12,500 a month.
When this is the right seat
- Your head of marketing or CMO just left, and the search will take a quarter you don't have.
- Someone senior is going on leave and the plan can't sit still for four months.
- You raised money or went into retail and need a real marketing leader before you're ready to hire one for good.
- You've never had a marketing leader, the founder has been doing it, and it's time to stop.
What I do in this seat
- Own the marketing team, the budget and the blended number, and run the weekly cadence that keeps everyone pointed at it.
- Grade every agency and in-house buyer on MER and contribution margin, not their own platform's report.
- Keep the creative pipeline, the reporting and the launches moving. This is not a caretaker role. Growth still has to happen.
- Write the job the permanent leader will actually do, help you hire them, and onboard them into a system that already works.
How it's set up
Three to four days a week for a window we agree on up front, usually three to six months. That's more of my time than the other seats, which is why it starts at $12,500 a month rather than $7,500. There's no hard exit either. If you'd like me to stay on in a strategy or creative seat once your permanent hire lands, that happens more often than not.
Questions people ask
How is this different from your other seats?
The other seats are one part of marketing, two to three days a week, for as long as it's useful. This one is the whole function, three to four days a week, for a defined window with an end you can see. I run the team, the budget and the number, then hand the seat to whoever comes next.
How long does an interim engagement last?
Usually three to six months, which is about how long a good search for a permanent head of marketing takes. We agree the window up front and revisit it monthly. If you want me to stay on in a smaller seat after, plenty of clients do that.
Will you help hire my permanent head of marketing?
Yes, and I'd argue it's the most valuable part. By month two I know exactly what the job is, so I can write the description, sit in the interviews, and onboard the person into a system that's already running instead of a mess I left behind.
What does the interim seat cost?
From $12,500 a month. It's more than my other seats because it's more days and it's the whole function. Ad spend and software stay in your accounts, as always.
See all the seats →
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