63% Indian CMOs Accountable for Profitability Amid AI, Talent Challenges

The IBM CMO Study 2025 reveals that 63% of Indian Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are now accountable for delivering profitability, with 53% responsible for driving revenue growth, reflecting an expanded role beyond traditional brand management. Indian CMOs are prioritizing customer experience, technology modernization, scalable service delivery, marketing and sales effectiveness, and business model innovation to future-proof their organizations. Despite the enthusiasm for AI, only 26% of Indian CMOs have established responsible AI guidelines to ensure fairness and accountability, and while 44% believe their functions are ready to integrate Agentic AI, just 26% feel they have the necessary talent to meet their goals over the next two years. Additionally, a significant amount of enterprise data remains untapped, and only a third of organizations have a cross-functional view of the customer journey, though better alignment could boost revenue by up to 20%. Indian CMOs also emphasize partnerships, with 62% prioritizing ecosystem collaboration, well above the global average of 47%. Tuhina Pandey, IBM's Director for APAC Communications & Marketing, stresses the need for a new playbook powered by trusted data, skilled talent, cultural reset, and AI augmentation to bridge the gap between ambition and execution in the AI era.