Stephanie McMahon Makes Forbes 2021 List Of World’s Most Influential CMOs

The ninth annual ranking from Forbes is based on 30 digital and social channels analyzed by data science teams from Sprinklr and LinkedIn. The pool of candidates were drawn from more than 500 CMOs and brands from across a wide range of Forbes lists and external lists, such as the World Federation Of Advertisers and the Brand Finance Global 500. Candidates that were considered had to be active and in their role from at least January through May of 2021. The list was created with assistance of artificial intelligence, while the brand performance metrics were based on more than 4.5 billion social media engagements.

McMahon ranked #2 on the list, the same spot she claimed in 2020. She ranked #13 in 2019.

Forbes wrote the following on Stephanie for the 2021 list:

While she may be the only CMO with “professional wrestler” on her resume, Stephanie McMahon an influential marketer far beyond the WWE ring. Along with overseeing the creation of the bio-secure “ThunderDome” during the Covid-19 crisis, McMahon also helped drive fan engagement for live and streaming matches, navigated the return to in-person events in July and built one of the largest TikTok followings for a sports property.

McMahon has also led cross-company collaborations. To help Netflix promote its Army Of The Dead show, WWE had zombies circle the ring and become part of the show. And earlier this month, the WWE partnered with Connor’s Cure and The V Foundation to raise money for fighting pediatric cancer. She’s also helped The Ad Council with its vaccine marketing including PSAs for people to learn more about their options for getting vaccinated.