CMO Confidential

A CMO Confidential interview with Jim Stengel, the former CMO of P&G, author, podcast host, professor, and CEO of the Jim Stengel Company. Jim discusses how marketing has evolved from "awareness" to "entertainment and attention," the need for constant innovation and creativity, and why your purpose should be directed at making consumer's day-to-day lives better. Key topics include why CMO is 9...

A CMO Confidential interview with Jack Myers, the founder of Media Village, author, and Media Ecologist.  Jack discusses the metamorphosis of media agencies, the decline of relationships, and the math commoditization of the industry. Key topics include the generational shift in talent - nearly 2/3 of media folks have been in the business less than 8 years, why "With data dependence we stop thinkin...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Alan Gellman, the founder of Convivo Leadership and former CMO of Esurance and Credible who has coached over 150 executives. Alan discusses how to manage the imposter syndrome, the keys to building influence, and the need to balance choices regarding your leadership practices. Key topics include accepting responsibility, how to manage situations where you are disr...

A CMO Confidential interview with Dick Satterfield, the founder of Satterfield Rezenbrink Search and former P&G sales leader. Dick discusses career management under the framework of "successful and happy" and outlines why you should constantly be thinking about and evaluating your career. Key topics include why career progression is defined as continuous learning and getting promoted, tips for net...

A CMO Confidential interview with Jeff Severts, Deadly Memos author and former Chief Marketing Officer of Ulta, FTD, and Best Buy Europe. Jeff discusses why companies find it hard to do the right thing even with great intentions, why the focus on "objective measures" helps make performance reviews ineffective, and why you should think like a sports general manager. We also discuss rethinking recru...

A CMO Confidential interview with Tom Goodwin, author, speaker and former head of innovation at Publicis, Zenith and Havas. Tom shares thoughts on why generative AI is "A lot like having a million, really cocky, 16-year old interns working for you", how "The Internet has made advertising really bad," and and how "Everyone who understood technology has triumphed over people that actually knew what...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Rob Pace, the founder of HundredX, and former Goldman Sachs partner. Rob provides an investment banker's perspective on marketing and discusses his belief that how consumers "feel about" and "trust" brands is a predictor of stock price. Key topics include personal experience as the key metric, why you should be early in "doing the right thing," and why taking a so...

A CMO Confidential interview with Carilu Deitrich, the former CMO and Hypergrowth Advisor who helped take Atlassian public, joins us for the 3rd time. Carilu outlines the "tough times" facing B2B including the impact of lower valuations, the slowing of sales and conversion, the reductions in force and perks facing many companies, and how 75% of B2B companies will have launched AI versions by the e...

A CMO Confidential interview with Auren Hoffman, the CEO of Safegraph and former Co-Founder & CEO of LiveRamp. Auren provides a deep look at data as people, places, companies and products crossed with time and price, shares his thinking on why marketing data is still in its infancy and usually less good than other data, and details why machine learning stacked on top of "mostly true data" will...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Lindsey Hagens, the Global Head of Talent Network at interim/fractional executive search firm, TrueBridge, and former Google recruiter. Lindsey provides a 360 degree view of the fractional marketplace, including: factors driving its rapid growth, how the pandemic increased both the supply of and demand for fractional positions, and key things to consider if you wa...

A CMO Confidential with Patrizio "Pato" Spagnoletto, the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Streaming at Warner Brothers Discovery and former head of Marketing at Hulu. Pato discusses changes in content, distribution, and monetization, the need to balance new and traditional models, and the shift from "subscribers at any cost" to profitability. Key topics include the power of direct-to-consumer dat...

A CMO Confidential interview with Paul Madera, the founder of Meritech Capital, one of the first later stage VC firms. Paul discusses the revolutionary nature of AI, where venture capital is investing, and why he thinks the initial focus is cost reduction versus revenue driving. Key topics include why AI parallels the launch of the Internet when Netscape opened the technology doors for business an...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Richard Sanderson, the Marketing, Sales and Communications Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart. Richard provides an overview of the job market, the evolution of the CMO position, and his take on quiet quitting and remote work. Key discussion topics include why many Fortune 500 companies don't have a CMO, research and interviewing best practices, the current "white c...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Dave Penski, the US CEO of Publicis Media, the #1 media network in North America. Dave discusses how to play in the first media "buyers market" in years, the revolution in streaming and measurement, and his belief that the focus on short-term results can create a smaller consumer funnel. Key topics include why it's important to focus on incremental reach and LifeT...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Gary Briggs, Petco and Etsy board member, formerly the VP of Google Marketing, and CMO of eBay and Facebook. Gary discusses how marketing has evolved since his days at Pepsi, the Cambridge Analytica event, why product marketing is so important in tech, and how he measured "trust and momentum" at Facebook . Key topics include managing privacy, why it's a "myth" tha...

Episode 35 - A CMO Confidential Interview with Margo Georgiadis, CEO of Montai Health, formerly CEO of Mattel and Ancestry, Google President, and Discover CMO. Margo discusses the tech and health landscapes, provides perspective on the forces driving the business, and shares her belief that CMO's should be at the center of strategy and understanding customers. Key topics include managing volatilit...

A CMO Confidential interview with Tom Seclow of Spencer Stuart. Tom led the CMO and Customer Experience practice for many years at one of the most respected search firms in the world. He discusses how the firm creates the job spec and the "long list," why the CMO job specs has the most variance of any spec in the C-Suite and why company feedback can sometimes take weeks. Key topics include advice...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Cliff Scott, the President & CEO of The Scott Group and longtime agency executive. This continues our "What Your Agency Wants to Tell You But Won't" series. Cliff discusses the difference between being a tactical leader versus a strategic leader and why understanding the business outcomes, consumer emotions and marketplace behaviors are more important than optimiz...

Episode 32 A CMO Confidential Interview with Paul Hirsch, former EVP at Leo Burnett, and inaugural judge of the B2B Creative Lions at Cannes, who is currently the CEO and Chief Creative Officer of the nation's oldest B2B agency, Doremus+Co. Paul discusses the need for change in how B2B companies approach marketing, why it’s important to think holistically about the purchase cycle versus the top of...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Rob Chesnut, the former Airbnb General Counsel & Chief Ethics Officer, Chegg General Counsel, SVP of Trust & Safety at eBay, and author of Intentional Integrity. Rob discusses how to think about integrity in the age of transparency - when every consumer and employee is functioning as their own newsroom, the difference between virtue signaling and real choices, and...

A CMO Confidential Interview with D J Patil, currently an investor and partner at GreatPoint Ventures and formerly the Head of Data Products & Chief Scientist at LinkedIn, Distinguished Research Scientist at eBay, and U.S. Chief Data Scientist in the Obama Administration. DJ discusses why "clever beats smart," the evolution of data science and AI, how to use your data science team as a force multi...

Episode 29 - A CMO Confidential Interview with Rishad Tobaccowala, former agency CEO, Publicis Strategy & Growth Officer, author, and podcaster. Rishad discusses the 4 power shifts in the marketplace, how the lack of marketers on boards costs companies, and why the future will come from the slime versus the heavens. Key topics include his belief that many leaders "optimize the plumbing versus the...

Episode 28 - A CMO Confidential Interview with Tom Goodwin, author, speaker and former head of Innovation at Publicis, Zenith and Havas. Tom shares his often provocative thoughts on how to rethink technology by focusing in on what it means versus what it is, why brands will matter more than ever, how folks will bungle AI, and why those managing marketing often miss the big picture by focusing on m...

A CMO Confidential Interview with Bill Cobb, the CEO of Frontdoor who was previously the President of eBay North America and CEO of H&R Block. Bill shares his thoughts on how to succeed as a CMO, the best and worst marketing management practices of boards and CEOs, how to evaluate potential opportunities and the fact that there's life after getting fired. Key topics include his belief that marketi...

Episode 26 - A CMO Confidential Interview with David Kenny, the CEO of Nielsen and former CEO of Digitas and The Weather Company. David takes us through the evolution of measurement and media and shares his thoughts on how to stay on top of a rapidly evolving marketplace. Key topics include talent, thinking about marketing as a "team sport," how to stay relevant when companies spend less time on t...