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America's Highest-Paid Marketing Executives

This article is more than 9 years old.

Chief Executive Officers may be the face of an organization, but it's often Chief Marketing Officers who are responsible for the branding and identity by which consumers readily identify a company.

So how are c-suite-level creative forces being compensated? To get a sense of what top tier marketing executives earn, Forbes worked with executive compensation firm Equilar. The 15 names appearing on the list below have the highest salaries of executives with the word "marketing" in their job title at all publicly traded companies in the U.S.

Information used to create this ranking is from each company's most recent disclosure; as such, the majority of data used here is from the fiscal year that ended in 2013, but some figures are from 2012. We excluded executives who have departed since the relevant filing.  Total pay for each executive was calculated including base salary, discretionary and performance based bonuses, the grant value of stock and option awards, and other compensation such as benefits and prerequisites.

Topping the list this year is David B. Fischer, Vice President of Business and Marketing Partnerships at one of the country's most recognizable brands, Facebook. An alum of Google and the U.S. Treasury Department, Fischer joined Facebook in 2010 and is credited with building the social networking giant's robust advertising platform.  In 2013, Fischer earned a whopping $8,009,343.

Following Fischer is Target Corp.'s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Jeffrey J. Jones. In 2013, Jones earned $6,799,271 in total calculated compensation. He joined the retailer in 2012 bringing experience from the agency world as well as companies like GAP and Coca-Cola .

The sole woman on this year's list of the 15 highest-earning marketing executives is Patricia Perez-Ayala, Avon's Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, and President of Global Brand and Category. In 2013 Perez-Ayala pulled in upwards of $3 million--$3,298,048, to be exact--to go with her three titles. According to Avon, the Ecuador-born, Venezuela-raised executive's responsibility include oversight of marketing, consumer insights, and product strategy, as well as research and development.

Both Steven G. Chambers and Thomas W. Butch return to the list this year. Chambers serves as President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Massachusetts-based software maker Nuance Communications. In 2013 Chambers raked in $5,367,069, down more than $2 million from the $7,581,172 he earned in 2012.

As  Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Kansas-based financial planner Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc., Butch earned $4,160,091 in 2013, up ever so slightly from his compensation of $4,090,201 in 2012.

America's Highest-Paid Marketing Executives

David B. Fischer

Company: Facebook

Job Title: Vice President, Business and Marketing Partnerships

Compensation (2013): $8,009,343

Jeffrey J. Jones

Company: Target Corp.

Job Title: Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

Compensation (2013): $6,799,271

Mark Crumpacker

Company: Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

Job Title: Chief Development Officer and Chief Marketing Officer

Compensation (2013): $5,892,862

Steven G. Chambers

Company: Nuance Communications, Inc.

Job Title: President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing

Compensation (2013): $5,367,069

Timothy G. Taylor

Company: Phillips 66

Job Title: Executive Vice President, Commercial, Marketing, Transportation and Business Development

Compensation (2013): $4,820,516

Edward B. Ignaczak

Company: Express Scripts Holding Co.

Job Title: Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Compensation (2013): $4,285,683

Thomas W. Butch

Company: Waddell & Reed Financial Inc.

Job Title: Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

Compensation (2013): $4,160,091

Clarence W. Gooden

Company: CSX Corp.

Job Title: Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing and Chief Commercial Officer

Compensation (2013): $4,084,960

Gregory B. Ahearn

Company: Leapfrog Enterprises Inc.

Job Title: Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

Compensation (2012): $4,055,631

Gary L. Ginsberg

Company: Time Warner Inc.

Job Title: Executive Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications

Compensation (2012): $3,885,072

Darryl G. Smette

Company: Devon Energy Corp.

Job Title: Executive Vice President Marketing, Midstream and Supply Chain

Compensation (2012): $3,757,289

John Boris

Company: Shutterfly Inc.

Job Title: Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

Compensation (2012): $3,635,019

George A. Kunberger

Company: Jacobs Engineering Group

Job Title: Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing

Compensation (2013): $3,563,234

Clifford E. Marks

Company: National CineMedia, Inc.

Job Title: President, Sales and Marketing

Compensation (2013): $3,497,076

Patricia Perez-Ayala

Company: Avon Products Inc.

Job Title: Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and President, Global Brand and Category

Compensation (2013): $3,298,048

Follow me on Twitter @KathrynDill.