What changed
SaaStr published an analysis of Pave’s compensation database on 22 July 2025. Pave’s data covers 14,000 executives.
- Short stays. SaaStr reports that chief revenue officers and chief marketing officers each average 1.8 years in role. It derives this from annual turnover and describes the measure as implied median tenure.
- One in three each year. Annual turnover for chief revenue officers is 32%, which SaaStr describes as roughly one in three.
- A wider pattern. A Gartner survey of 200 C-suite leaders who report to the CEO, run in October 2024 and published on 5 February 2025, found that 56% were likely or extremely likely to leave their role in the next two years. It covers C-suite roles in general, not only revenue.
What it could put at risk
Revenue
At a tenure of 1.8 years, a three-year plan spans about two revenue leaders and a five-year plan close to three. Each one inherits a pipeline they did not build and has to judge it afresh.
Cost
A change of leader can bring a search, a ramp-up period and sometimes a new plan and new tools.
Cash
A forecast built under one leader may be reset by the next, and deals can slip while the new leader decides what to keep.
Continuity
Customer relationships and deal knowledge held by the leader can leave with them if the business does not hold them as well.
Our view
We think a plan that depends on one person’s tenure is likely to outlast them. Treat the revenue seat as a role that has to be covered, not only a person to hire.
Make sure the business holds what the leader knows: the plan, the account map, the pipeline rules and the customer history. A change of leader is then a handover, not a restart.
When the seat is empty or in doubt, interim or fractional cover for a few months can keep the plan moving while you decide who comes next.
This reflects two surveys and does not describe any particular company. The Pave figures are reported by SaaStr, not published by Pave, and SaaStr does not explain exactly how it calculated tenure.
Three questions for the board
- How long has each of our revenue leaders been in seat, and how long does our plan run?
- If our revenue leader left next month, what would still be in place: the plan, the account map and the pipeline rules?
- Who would cover the seat, and from what date?
Sources
SaaStr: Just how long does the average CMO and CRO last? Data from 14,000 execs (22 July 2025)
Gartner: HR survey reveals more than half of C-suite leaders are likely to leave over the next 2 years (5 February 2025)
Sources accessed on 22 October 2026.
Photo: Benjamin Lehman on Unsplash.
Important information. This article is general information for business readers. It is not legal, financial, accounting or investment advice, and it does not take account of your circumstances. Figures and quotations come from the sources listed, which we have not independently audited, and are given as at the date of publication. Illustrations use assumed figures and are not forecasts, client results or guarantees. References to other organisations do not mean they endorse Elea Partners or have any relationship with it.
