What is a part-time CMO, and does the model work in Italy?

A part-time CMO is a senior marketing leader who sits in your management team one to three days a week. They own the marketing strategy, the budget, the priorities and the team, as a full-time Chief Marketing Officer would. The difference is the time, and therefore the cost.

The model fits Italy well. Much of the economy rests on small and mid-sized companies, often family-owned, with strong products and a commercial culture built on sales networks, distributors and trade fairs. Marketing is frequently a small team reporting to the sales director or to the owner. These companies rarely need a full-time marketing executive. They need someone senior enough to set a direction, and present enough to make it happen.

iytro created the Part-time CMO model in France in 2019 and counts more than 400 clients. iytro has no office in Italy. Its leaders work with Italian companies from Paris and Barcelona, on site when it matters and remotely the rest of the time.

Which Italian companies is it suited to?

Four profiles are a natural fit.

• Export-led manufacturers. The product sells abroad through distributors, and the company now wants its own brand, its own leads and its own customer data in each market.
• Family companies in a generational handover. The new generation wants to structure marketing and needs an experienced leader next to them for a year or two.
• Start-ups and scale-ups. The founders still run marketing themselves, with a team of juniors and freelancers.
• Italian subsidiaries of foreign groups. The country manager has targets and a small local team, but no senior marketer to adapt the group playbook to the Italian market.

How many days a week, and what does it cost?

The leader is embedded one to three days per week. Two days is a sensible starting point: enough to lead a team and sit in the management meeting, without paying for time you do not use.

• Day rate: €1,100 to €1,500, depending on the profile.
• Two days a week: about €10,000 to €12,000 per month.
• No long-term commitment. The volume is adjusted month by month, up during a launch, down once the team runs on its own.

The profile is chosen for the problem: a CMO, a Head of Growth, a Brand Director, or a specialist in product marketing, CRM, content, field and partner marketing or marketing operations. The same format exists as an interim, when a marketing director leaves and the seat cannot stay empty. If you also need hands to execute, the 1+1 offer puts a small subscription team at your disposal.

How are on-site and remote days organised in Italy?

Because the leader travels in, the rhythm is planned in advance. A workable pattern is a block of consecutive days on site at regular intervals, at your headquarters or your plant, with remote days in between. On-site days go to what works badly on a screen: the kick-off, workshops with the owner and the sales team, visits to customers and distributors, recruitment interviews, trade fairs. Remote days cover the weekly team meeting, campaign and budget reviews, and work with agencies.

Two points are worth settling in the first conversation. The first is language. Agree which language the leader will use with your team and your customers, and say so plainly if your team works only in Italian, so that the question is dealt with before the start. The second is location. A company in a city with good flight connections can see its leader more often than a company two hours from the nearest airport. Both points change how the weeks are planned.

If your marketing covers several countries, read how one leader can run marketing across European markets as a part-time CMO.

How does an engagement start?

It starts with a conversation about the business problem: growth has slowed, a new market is opening, the sales team complains about leads, the brand has aged. The profile of the leader follows from that problem. Ask to meet the person before you commit.

The first weeks go to a diagnosis of customers, positioning, channels, budget and team. The leader then agrees a short list of priorities with you and starts executing with your team and your suppliers. You review the number of days every month.

For a view of the model in a real company, read the Lixo case study and the Hublo case study. 86% of iytro clients recommend the company, and iytro is B Corp certified.

If your question is less about format and more about whether to hire a full-time CMO, an agency or a freelancer, the page on the fractional CMO in Italy covers that decision.