"Ambushed"

Javier Benito, Starwood Hotels
The former Coke executive left the company in April after his champion, CEO Steven Heyer, abruptly resigned following conflict with the board.

John Fleming, Wal-Mart
The marketing chief was reassigned in January to a merchandising role as part of a high-profile departmental face-lift.

Michael Linton, Best Buy
The company's first CMO was known for his hard-charging style. He left abruptly last year: "It was time to do something different."

Kerri Martin, Volkswagen of America
After winning a slew of awards for her work with BMW's Mini, she hit the skids in VW's more formal culture.

Mary Minnick, Coca-Cola
The former Wall Street Journal "woman to watch" left in January after she was passed over for a top job. She was the sixth CMO since 1995.

A version of this article appeared in the June 2007 issue of Fast Company magazine.