Is the 'Chief Communications Officer's' (CCO) influence rising in India, too? A Korn Ferry survey for 2025 found the CCO is no longer a support function in Fortune 500 firms — it's a boardroom one. But are India's comms leaders getting the same seat at the table, and in influence? Or is the gap between "trusted advisor" and "still proving the case" wider here?
PRmoment India speaks to leading PR and corporate communication voices to understand where they stand. Corp comm professionals feels it depends on the company and in many cases the industry itself.
Indian Corp Comm Reporting Structure: CEO vs CMO
No Official India-Specific Data Available
There is no published, India-specific survey tracking the exact percentage of corporate communications leaders who report to CEO vs CMO in India. The available data is primarily global (Fortune 500, U.S., and multi-country).
To get an indicative idea of the status, PRmoment India conducted a dipstick of the status via LinkedIn. The results of 177 votes is below:
Half of India's comms chiefs say they report to the CEO.
India is likely following the global trend, with around 50% of corporate communications leaders now reporting to the CEO (vs. CMO), though this is an inference rather than hard data.
The trend is strongest in:
- Large Indian MNCs
- Global MNC India entities
- Airlines & tech companies
It's weaker in:
- Mid-tier Indian companies
- Traditional industries (steel, auto, energy)
Moushumi Dutt, communications strategist has worked in lead corp comm roles in global firms such as Phillips and Intel. She says, "Who you report to is indicative of the strategic importance placed on the corporate communications function. In most MNCs the communication lead tends to report into the CEO. In my work experience the CCO and the CMOs are peers who sit on the same side of the table. And this matters. While working on the launch of the Philips Airfryer for India, PR played a key role as much as marketing, specially in the localisation of the outreach."
Melvin Mathew, communications & reputation leader and strategic advisor to the CEO agrees saying, "Who the comms person reports to reflects the priority of the organisation. When reporting to the CEO, the priority is reputation, which is one of the CEOs KRA. We work with the heads of other departments like marketing when there is a product launch, HR for Internal Comms (not Employee Engagement - that is purely a HR function), CFO if the company is going for an IPO or is already listed. If the reporting is to any of these departments then that is the focus of the organisation."
Krishna B Mariyanka, public affairs & policy strategy expert believes, "In corporate India, the chief communication officer has outgrown the old “press release manager” tag and now sits at the CEO’s right hand. The shift happened because reputation has become balance-sheet critical.
For instance, when Adani Group was hit by Hindenburg’s 2023 report, the stock swing of nearly ₹12 lakh crore proved that narrative can move markets faster than earnings. The CCO-led response — investor calls, global media, employee calm-downs — became as vital as the legal defense. Boards noticed. The same playbook was repeated during Paytm’s 2024 RBI crisis. In each case, CCOs shaped regulatory messaging, town halls, and market sentiment within hours, not days. Communication stopped being support function; it became risk mitigation."
Reby Abraham , lead - corporate communications & public affairs, Protean eGov Technologies, says, "Taking a birds eye view will indicate that most organizations direct reporting for CCO will be to CEO and dotted reporting to CMO. Most organizations usually have VP- brand Comms or similar sounding designation and they usually report to CMO only."
PRmoment India has put together a quick ready reckoner on who you should report to for career growth in corp comm.
Practical implications for India's comms leaders
If you're an Indian corporate communications professional, where you want to go should decide who you report to.
Nandini Chatterjee, former chief marketing and communications officer, PwC
Nandini Chaterjee has held CCO roles during her extensive career in corp comm.
Chatterjee shares, "For over a decade of my career, I have reported either to the CEO, COO, MD, or the markets leader accountable for key client relationships and growth. In most instances, it was a dual reporting structure, with the CEO as one of those lines. So for me, the journey has been less about gaining access to strategic conversations and more about the deepening recognition of communications as a function that actively shapes those conversations, rather than simply responding to them."
She adds, "In professional services, my remit spanned both marketing and communications, with a strong focus on reputation management. It encompassed internal communications, digital marketing, media management and CSR communications. It was a broad mandate that required operating across multiple stakeholders and agendas simultaneously.
When I moved to a listed manufacturing organisation in a hard-to-abate sector, the scope expanded further to encompass sustainability and investor relations as substantive components of the wider reputation agenda. These became central to how the organisation was understood and evaluated by the market."
Chatterjee explains, "This kind of evolution is, I think, increasingly the norm. The most effective communications leaders today operate at the intersection of business strategy, reputation and stakeholder expectation. "
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