Alon Chen joined Google in 2006 at 23, with no marketing experience and no connections at the company. By 28 years old, he was a CMO—overseeing marketing for Israel and Greece, building a $2 billion product line across 30 markets, pulling in a high six-figure salary and a seven-figure equity package.
By most people’s standards, he had made it absurdly early—and he says getting there was “easy,” too. Not because of mentors, politics, or any formal promotion track. In an exclusive interview with Fortune, Chen says he just ignored every rule he was given.
