Ex-Google CMO who quit high-paying job at 28 says promotions were ‘easy’ because he ‘disregarded all the rules’
A former Google executive who became a chief marketing officer (CMO) at just 28 has said his rapid rise in Big Tech came from breaking the rules, not following them.Alon Chen quit his chief marketing officer role at Google at 28. (LinkedIn/Alon Chen)According to a report Fortune, Alon Chen joined Google in 2006 at the age of 23, despite having no prior marketing experience or internal connections. Within 5 years, he was leading marketing operations across Israel and Greece, managing a $2 billion product line across 30 markets. his late 20s, Chen had secured a highly six-figure salary along with a seven-figure equity package, achievements many professionals spend decades chasing.In a conversation with Fortune, Chen said that his rapid rise at Google was fairly “easy”, not because of mentors, politics or any formal promotions, but because he ignored every rule he was given. “Climbing up was fairly natural and easy simply because I just disregarded all the status quo and the rules and realized what’s the right thing to do, and went all the way with it,” he told the outlet.One example he shared was launching Google Partners in international markets without approval from the company’s North America headquarters. He said that the initiative succeeded, prompting leadership to later adopt it more broadly. He said that he also passed internal promotion timelines. While employees were typically expected to wait at least 2 years before seeking a promotion, Chen recalled approaching his manager within a year, arguing that his performance justified an early advancement.“I just told my manager, len, I know this is a year thing. Look what I’ve been able to achieve. It’s way more than anyone else. We’re going to put me up for promotion now,” he said, adding that the strategy worked.(Also Read:
