No Assigned Seats

Thomas Stirling
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  • Marketing

Every career has a moment where the path stops being obvious. The seat wasn't assigned, it was earned, built, or occasionally taken. No Assigned Seats is a conversation series hosted by Thomas Stirling, brand strategist, agency founder, and the guy brands call when the wheels are spinning but nothing's moving. Each episode, Tom sits down with marketing and business leaders to go beyond the résumé and into the decisions that actually shaped them: the pivots, the reinventions, the bets that paid off, and the ones that didn't. This isn't a tactics show. It's a show about leadership in motion, what it looks like when clarity is hard to find, change is constant, and the next move is never guaranteed. If you're building something, leading something, or figuring out what comes next, pull up a chair.

  1. 2d ago

    The Next Chapter: Why Brands (and People) Need to Rethink Aging, Purpose, and Possibility with Linda Watts

    What if one of the biggest opportunities in marketing isn't the next generation—but the one we've been overlooking? In this episode, host Thomas Stirling sits down with Linda Watts, Director of Brand & Marketing at the National Senior Games Association, to explore why older adults remain one of the most misunderstood audiences in marketing. Drawing on more than two decades of experience across healthcare, senior living, and mission-driven organizations, Linda shares why brands need to move beyond messaging rooted in fear and decline and instead inspire purpose, possibility, and what's still ahead. Together, Tom and Linda discuss the power of aspirational storytelling, how purpose continues to motivate people at every stage of life, and why organizations across healthcare, financial services, wellness, and beyond have an opportunity to rethink how they engage adults over 50. Along the way, they explore the remarkable mission of the National Senior Games Association and what its athletes teach us about aging, achievement, and human potential. Connect with Linda Watts: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-watts-marketing/Website: https://nsga.com/ If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.

  2. Jul 15

    The Urgency of Care: Healthcare Marketing Lessons from Politics with Vinny Mangiacopra

    What can healthcare marketers learn from the cutthroat world of political campaigns? In this episode, host Thomas Stirling sits down with Vinny Mangiacopra, Director of Marketing at the Center for Vein Restoration (CVR), the nation’s largest physician-led vein care practice. Managing a multimillion-dollar patient acquisition budget across 120+ locations, Vinny shares how his unconventional background in political science and grassroots campaigning shaped his unique approach to brand growth, leadership, and patient care. Vinny breaks down what he calls the "Campaign Mindset"—the philosophy of treating every single interaction as an opportunity to build trust and earn lifelong support. He discusses how to maintain message consistency across diverse audiences, leverage the power of medical education to drive action for elective procedures, and instill a natural sense of urgency in a crowded healthcare marketplace. Connect with Vinny Mangiacopra: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinny-mangiacopra-19976657Website: https://www.centerforvein.com/ If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.

  3. Jul 10

    Moving Beyond the Screen: Why B2B Enterprises are Doubling Down on Experiential Marketing with Marshall Thompson

    In this episode, host Thomas Stirling sits down with Marshall Thompson, Executive Director of Experiential Practice at Hyperquake, to discuss how Fortune 1000 brands are adapting to a crowded digital landscape. As buyers face digital content fatigue and growing skepticism over polished AI-generated assets, leading enterprises are shifting their investments toward high-impact, physical environments. Thompson shares his non-traditional journey from a college dropout to leading experiential strategy. He highlights how forward-thinking business-to-business (B2B) companies are successfully leveraging built environments, such as innovation hubs, executive briefing centers, and immersive brand homes, to deepen relationships and accelerate the sales cycle. Connect with Marshall Thompson: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshalljthompsonWebsite: https://www.hyperquake.com/ If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.

  4. Jul 10

    The Weight of Legacy: Staying Relevant As A Heritage Brand With Helena Verellen

    Former Second City CMO Helena Verellen joins Thomas Stirling to share hard-won lessons from a career spent stewarding some of the world's most iconic brands, from Sony and WWE to Sesame Workshop and Second City. Helena draws on over two decades of global marketing experience to make one thing clear: when it comes to heritage brands, the core never changes. What changes is how you tell the story. Whether she was bringing Shakira to new international markets or driving ticket sales at a 65-year-old comedy institution, Helena's north star remained the same — stay true to who you are. In this episode, Helena and Thomas dig into the real pressures CMOs face: short tenures, PE-backed boards demanding quarterly results, and the constant temptation to chase the next shiny object. Helena explains how she balanced brand awareness investments with performance marketing metrics, and why saying no to inauthenticity is one of the most important things a marketer can do. They also explore the role of AI in creative organizations, where Helena shares an early mistake that taught her exactly where AI belongs, and where it doesn't. The episode closes with Helena's optimistic vision for the future of marketing leadership and a sharp take on why "return on investment" might be the most overused phrase in the boardroom. Connect with Helena Verellen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenaverellenWebsite: https://www.marketingsociety.com/helena-verellen If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.

  5. Jun 17

    Turning Marketing Into a Revenue Engine in Healthcare (Not a Reporting Function) With Ian Dowe

    In this episode, host Thomas Stirling sits down with Ian Dowe, SVP of Marketing at HealthAxis Group, a healthcare SaaS company specializing in insurance claim processing. Dowe shares his unconventional career journey, evolving from a front-line insurance sales representative into a veteran healthcare marketing leader across hospital, payer, and technology sectors. Stirling and Dowe dive deep into why marketing is too often treated as an administrative "service desk" rather than a vital growth driver. Dowe argues that a marketer’s primary reason for existence is contribution to revenue, advising teams to look past surface-level vanity metrics, like clicks and impressions—to hyper-focus on opportunity creation and pipeline results. Connect with Ian Dowe: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-dowe/Website: https://healthaxis.com/ If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.

  6. Jun 17

    Storytelling in a Sea of Sameness: Why SaaS Messaging Sounds the Same (and How to Fix It) with Chris Musico

    In this episode, host Thomas Stirling sits down with Chris Musico, Vice President of Brand Experience at AvePoint, to tackle one of the biggest challenges in B2B marketing: escaping the dreaded "sea of sameness." In a fast-moving SaaS landscape dominated by identical competitor dashboards, many companies default to risk-averse copy that reads like category boilerplate. Chris shares how his unconventional journey from broadcast journalism to tech marketing shaped his philosophy that clarity is kindness. He discusses how AvePoint revolutionized its global content strategy by auditing and mapping assets to the B2B Buyer Journey Framework, shifting focus away from competitor features and directly toward unique customer outcomes. Connect with Chris Musico: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophermusico/Website: https://www.avepoint.com/ If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.

  7. Jun 5

    When Community Is the Channel: How Knowing Your Audience Beats Bigger Budgets With Chanelle Leslie

    In this episode, host Thomas Stirling sits down with Chanelle Leslie, a senior marketing leader who has scaled brands across CPG, beauty, fitness, and subscription models, including Overtone, Ceremonia, and somatic fitness app, The Class. Chanelle shares her core belief that sustainable growth does not require louder marketing; instead, it stems from knowing your audience better than anyone else. The conversation explores how building a true community differs from simply managing an audience. Chanelle breaks down how community-led growth naturally drives high-converting word-of-mouth traffic, reduces acquisition costs, and even unlocks massive retail partnerships like Sephora. She emphasizes that authentic community is a long-term play built on values that resonate deeply with specific cultural or emotional niches. Chanelle also shares a powerful case study from her work at The Class. By shifting away from celebrity-focused hype ads to copy that addressed real user needs mined from exit surveys, her team cut acquisition costs in half over nine months, proving that community feedback is the ultimate foundation for creative strategy. Connect with Chanelle Leslie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisischanelle/Website: http://taryntoomey.com/ or https://www.chanelleleslie.com/ If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.

  8. Jun 5

    The CMO as President: Why Marketing Deserves a Seat at the Strategy Table With Sarah Greenough

    Most marketing leaders spend their careers fighting for a seat at the table. Sarah Greenough built the table. With more than 30 years at Princeton Properties, starting in marketing and ultimately ascending to President and CMO, Sarah's career is a case study in what happens when marketing stops being treated as a support function and starts being recognized as a core driver of business value. Her path wasn't a straight line. It was built on proving, year after year, that brand, leasing, revenue, and operations aren't separate disciplines; they're the same conversation. In this episode, Tom and Sarah unpack what it really takes for marketing to earn a permanent seat at the strategy table, why so many CMOs are still fighting for credibility they should already have, and what the marketing leaders who make it to the top understand that others don't. This is a conversation about the long game, and what three decades of showing up, adapting, and leading through change actually looks like. Connect with Sarah Greenough: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahgreenough/Website: https://www.princetonproperties.com/ If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to pull up a chair. Subscribe so you never miss a seat at the table.

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About

Every career has a moment where the path stops being obvious. The seat wasn't assigned, it was earned, built, or occasionally taken. No Assigned Seats is a conversation series hosted by Thomas Stirling, brand strategist, agency founder, and the guy brands call when the wheels are spinning but nothing's moving. Each episode, Tom sits down with marketing and business leaders to go beyond the résumé and into the decisions that actually shaped them: the pivots, the reinventions, the bets that paid off, and the ones that didn't. This isn't a tactics show. It's a show about leadership in motion, what it looks like when clarity is hard to find, change is constant, and the next move is never guaranteed. If you're building something, leading something, or figuring out what comes next, pull up a chair.

Information

  • Creator
    Thomas Stirling
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Thomas Stirling
  • Show Website
    No Assigned Seats