Bozoma After less than two years as Netflix’s chief marketing officer, Saint John is leaving.
Saint John will be succeeded by Marian Lee, Netflix’s vice president of marketing in the United States and Canada, who joined the company in June 2020.
When the company announced the departures on Thursday, it didn’t say why Bozoma was departing. In a statement, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said he “liked working with Boz and have been impressed by her creativity and energy,” and that she “attracted world-class marketers to the organisation and encouraged them to be innovative leaders.”
Lee worked in marketing at Condé Nast and J. Crew before joining Netflix in July after nearly a decade at Spotify. “A smart marketer with vast knowledge not only in entertainment but also in fashion and media businesses,” said Sarandos of Lee.
“Netflix is a fantastic brand with the best content and creative teams in the world,” Lee said in a statement. “I am certain that our most exciting work is yet to come, and I am honoured to lead this world-class global marketing team into the future, connecting our amazing shows and films with fans across the globe.”
Under Saint John’s leadership, Netflix has launched a number of pandemic-era initiatives, including an ad that uses the company’s signature “tu-dum” sound, a partnership with WWE to promote The Walking Dead, and immersive experiences for popular shows like Stranger Things and Money Heist.
CMOs have the shortest tenures of any C-suite leader, according to executive recruitment firm Spencer Stuart, with the average CMO lasting just 40 months in 2020. Saint John, who topped Forbes’ list of the World’s Most Influential CMOs in 2021, spent less than half of his time at Netflix. Over the previous decade, she has also held top marketing positions at a variety of technology and entertainment companies.
