According to Greg Welch, who launched Spencer Stuart's marketing practice and now heads the firm's global consumer goods and services business, the average CMO tenure has grown to just over 28 months in 2008, up four months since Welch started measuring CMO tenure in 2004.

FORBES: CMO Calculus

The other former NoW staff who have been formally charged are ex-managing editor Stuart Kuttner, former news editor Greg Miskiw, former head of news Ian Edmondson, ex-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and former reporter James Weatherup.

BBC: Phone hacking: Rebekah Brooks formally charged