CMO Confidential

This week on CMO Confidential, we are revisiting one of our favorite conversations with Rob Ward from January of 2026. A CMO Confidential Interview with Rob Ward, co-founder and General Partner of Meritech Capital, a top Silicon Valley venture firm. Rob shares his take on what he calls a "super terrifying and exciting time" and provides perspective on AI receiving the most capital of any technolog...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Michael Treff, the CEO of Code and Theory. Michael shares his belief that the ambiguity in markets is here to stay, why traditional B2B playbooks aren't working like they used to, and why this is the "dawn of a new era for creativity." Key topics include: - Three key B2B questions companies are asking - The concepts of "stacking talent" and "forward-deployed teams...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Drew Pinto, EVP and Chief Revenue and Technology Officer of Marriott International. Drew discusses the concept that architecture and data should be viewed as a means to an end, methods for assessing legacy systems, and why tech is critical to customer experience. Key topics include:  - Why he believes in "built to change” - Ways to assess your data - Why mark...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Dr. David Bray, Distinguished Fellow and Chair of the Accelerator with the Alfred Lee Loomis Innovation Council and bipartisan advisor on cyber, space, AI as well as countering terrorism, inauthentic information campaigns, and bioterrorism. David shares thoughts on why geopolitics have become so important so quickly, the universal breakdown in trust, how anxiety f...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Joe Gagliese, Co-Founder and CEO at Viral Nation, a full-service digital and social agency.  Joe discusses the concept of social as "the people's media," details why he believes "discovery begins with social" and outlines how brands might think about becoming "social centered."  Key topics include: Why social has become a prerequisite for certain categor...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Mike Kaput, the Chief Content Officer at SmarterX and Marketing AI Institute and co-host of "The Artificial Intelligence Show." Mike shares research across 2000 companies regarding AI adoption and highlights the gap between what companies say they are doing and what is happening, the fact that only 25% of companies have achieved "scaling" status, and how larg...

This week on CMO Confidential, we're revisiting our conversation with Tom Goodwin from August of 2025 - this is one of our favorites with topics just as relevant to marketers today.   Tom discusses his belief that today's CMO's are overly focused on efficiency versus marketing principles and that the contemporary playbook has been created by tech companies focused on performance metrics. &nbs...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Kim Whitler, professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, board member and former GM and CMO. Kim shares recent research which details why the largest and best companies often get dragged into conflicts they can't win, the three main forces of pressure and how they affect different management levels, and tips on picking the right company for...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Jean English, CMO of CoreWeave, formerly the CMO of Juniper Networks, Armis, Palo Alto Networks and NetApp. Jean discusses the dynamics driving the voracious demand for computing power, why cloud infrastructure matters so much, and the ongoing AI shift from training to inference. Key topics include: - How models are leapfrogging each other at speed - The importanc...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Joe Perello, the founder of PROPS, a creator marketing technology platform, formerly the first CMO of New York City under Michael Bloomberg. Joe shares his take on why consumer brand trust is declining, how viewers can be both distracted and disciplined, and why AI agents can be more trusted than brands. Key topics include:  - The difference between influence...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Rishad Tobaccowala, former Publicis Groupe Strategy & Growth Officer, speaker, podcast host of "What's Next," and author. Rishad discusses why marketing will thrive in an AI world, the reason all companies should systematically re-evaluate their business starting with a blank sheet of paper, and why the future will be determined by those over 65. Key topics in...

"The Unit Economics of AI - Can Large Language Models (LLMs) Actually Make Money?" A CMO Confidential Interview with Dr. Dan McCarthy, Professor at Maryland and leading practitioner of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Dan shares how the CLV lens can shed light on the LLM drive to acquire customers, spend billions to improve the models, ultimately pay back investors and the potential implications on...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Shiv Singh, CEO of Savvy Matters, Co-Founder of AI Trailblazers, former CMO of Lending Tree, and author of Marketing with AI for Dummies. Shiv discusses how to operate in an environment where "We have no idea about what is coming," how managing humans and AI agents impacts leadership, and why he believes marketers will need to make fewer, harder decisions. Key top...

This week on CMO Confidential, we're revisiting our conversation with Peri Hansen from July of 2025 - this is one of our favorites with topics just as relevant to marketers today.    Peri discusses why the CMO position is becoming the vanguard of innovation, the importance of an "agile learner" mindset, and why there's no substitute for great leadership. Key topics include: how noth...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Dave Penski, CEO of Connected Media, formerly CEO of Publicis Media, COO of Publicis Groupe, and CEO of ZenithOptimedia. Dave shares perspective on how clients are managing through a challenging marketplace, how there's increasing "disruption" between consumers and advertisers, and why the future of media is based on "connected identity." Key topics include: why P...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Dave Penski, CEO of Connected Media, formerly CEO of Publicis Media, COO of Publicis Groupe, and CEO of ZenithOptimedia. Dave shares perspective on how clients are managing through a challenging marketplace, how there's increasing "disruption" between consumers and advertisers, and why the future of media is based on "connected identity." Key topics include: why P...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Megan Lally, the CEO and Co-Owner of Highdive, an agency which has created more than 10 Super Bowl ads. Megan explains why you shouldn't separate brand building from AI, the risk of optimization overwhelming strategy, and the importance of having partners tell you what you need to hear. Key discussion topics include: deciding whether your brand should or shouldn't...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Richard Sanderson, the Marketing, Sales and Communications Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart. Richard's topline - Shorter Tenures, Brighter Futures - with tenure stable at 4.1 years, nearly 2/3 of CMO's moving for similar or better positions, an increase in promotions from within, and marketers under pressure to produce AI results. Key topics include: the challeng...

"Your Customers Aren't as Loyal as You Think They Are - The Fragile Nature of Loyalty" A CMO Confidential Interview with Nicolas Chidiac, Chief Strategy Officer of Razorfish, formerly Chief Strategy Officer of Rokkan and EVP/Head of Planning at Leo Burnett. Nic discusses why brands often overestimate consumer loyalty, why repeat purchase trends can be misleading, and the dramatic increase in speed...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Bill Zengel, B2B Practice Leader and SVP of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). Bill explains how there's nearly $2 trillion in hidden brand value in the B2B space, how to become one of the 39% of B2B marketers who are confident, why marketers should focus on contribution versus attribution, and why measurement is more complicated in the B2B space. Key...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Tom Goodwin, author, speaker, and former innovation head at Publicis, Zenith, and Havas. Tom discusses why he believes much of the thinking around AI is wrong, how social media is becoming even more shallow, and why agentic commerce will be a challenge. Key discussion topics include the difference between selling more and being able to charge more; how consumers o...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Pete Imwalla, former CEO of RPA and 4A's board member. Pete shares his take on how many tech changes resulted in additional agency headcount, how AI is rapidly reversing that trend, and why many agency valuations have dropped significantly over the last 5 years. Key topics include: why brand building is like infrastructure; how Publicis is bucking the trend; how t...

A CMO Confidential Interview with James Shira, Principal, Global and US CIO and Global CISO at PwC. James details how  @PwC  is running an "AI marketplace" within the company which features a number of models, his focus on scale, security, and user experience, and the case for approaching AI with a "humility" mindset. Key topics include: how the CISO (Chief Information Security Officer)...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Rob Ward, co-founder and General Partner of Meritech Capital, a top Silicon Valley venture firm. Rob shares his take on what he calls a "super terrifying and exciting time" and provides perspective on AI receiving the most capital of any technology in history, the "durability of revenue" and how quickly start-ups are now reaching $100 million in revenue. Key topic...

"Dissecting Compensation - A Primer on Understanding, Negotiating and Managing Pay" A CMO Confidential Interview with Richard Sanderson, the Marketing, Sales, and Communications Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart. Richard starts with the basics of salary, bonus and equity and branches out to compensation mix, the various types of equity, negotiating best practices, and the "other" elements of an of...