Building Better CMOs and Marketing Leaders

MMA Global / LightningPod
  • 5.0 (14)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY
Building Better CMOs and Marketing Leaders

Marketing leaders are facing constant new challenges. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, listen to Building Better CMOs, from the nonprofit thinktank MMA Global. It's a podcast about the future of marketing and how marketers can get smarter & stronger, hosted by MMA CEO Greg Stuart. Greg interviews some of the wisest and most successful CMOs in the business, who share crucial insights about what their industry gets wrong, how to get to the C-Suite, and how to unlock the true power of marketing. You'll gain a deeper understanding of the evolving purpose of marketing leaders, and learn actionable strategies to overcome obstacles. Produced by LightningPod.fm. For transcripts and more, visit bettercmos.com

  1. Carolyn Pollock, CMO of Tailored Brands: Don't Believe Your Hype

    NOV 13

    Carolyn Pollock, CMO of Tailored Brands: Don't Believe Your Hype

    Full transcript Marketing measurement is a complex puzzle—especially when it comes to balancing long-term brand-building efforts with short-term performance metrics that will please stakeholders. Tailored Brands CMO Carolyn Pollock acknowledges that CFOs may be skeptical of matched market testing and other tools for measuring brand-building impact, but that long-term may have an edge. "The consistency and the continuity of showing up with a message over time, you think back to almost every brand example," Carolyn says. "The ones that are really strong and bring long-term brand value, they've delivered something very consistently for a reasonably extended period of time. And I think what happens nowadays is people don't have that same level of patience or tolerance, and our attention spans are shorter, and we feel the need to be constantly changing things up." Today on Building Better CMOs, Carolyn and MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart talk about the complexities of building a modern marketing technology stack, the exciting potential of AI, and operating effectively inside of a private equity company. Carolyn also talks about why even subject matter experts need to gain a holistic understanding of their whole organization. Follow or subscribe to Building Better CMOs Rate & review the podcast Links: Carolyn's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 3m
  2. Ariel Kelman, CMO of Salesforce: AI Agents in Action

    OCT 30

    Ariel Kelman, CMO of Salesforce: AI Agents in Action

    Full transcript It's easy to say you want your decisions to be data-driven. But as Salesforce CMO Ariel Kelman has learned, hard data doesn't tell the full story. Often, you also need to consider the qualitative. "Let's say you go and do some executive event series, where you have 30 people come to each event," he says. "It's not like if we want to go draw conclusions from, let's say, Dreamforce, we had 45,000 people. You've got a lot of data to work with there." Ariel previously led worldwide marketing for Amazon's cloud services business, AWS; his boss at the time, Andy Jassy, recommended that he call up a sampling of the participants in a niche program to determine its value to the company. "Of the 300 people in this program over the year, we went and called up 20 of them and we got pretty consistent information: This part of what you're doing is super impactful to getting us to do more. This part [is] irrelevant, waste of time. This part, I don't care ... When there's areas of your business that you can't measure precisely, if you come up with three different imprecise, imperfect measurement techniques that are very different, then you can see it can actually end up being useful. If they're all aligning, your chances of them being statistically flawed in exactly the same way are pretty low." Today on Building Better CMOs, Ariel talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about the transformative role of AI in modern marketing and Salesforce's innovative Agentforce platform. They also discuss prioritizing customer experience, the challenges of adopting deep learning models, and misconceptions in marketing measurement. Follow or subscribe to Building Better CMOs Rate & review the podcast Links: Ariel's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    45 min
  3. Allyson Witherspoon, Global CMO of Nissan: Creativity is Queen

    OCT 16

    Allyson Witherspoon, Global CMO of Nissan: Creativity is Queen

    Full transcript Automotive marketing is fiercely competitive, and even though she's excited about the potential of AI, Nissan's Global CMO Allyson Witherspoon says an over-reliance on technology could be dangerous. She believes the safer bet is to continue to embrace creativity and a strong brand identity, even in an era dominated by AI and data-driven tools. "If everyone is using AI and the data set is the same for everyone, then what's going to be differentiated?" she asks. Today on Building Better CMOs, Allyson talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about how she adapted her leadership style for a Japanese team, the art of impactful messaging, and the importance of flexibility in the workplace. They also explore how marketers can better communicate their value within organizations and why listening is a crucial and sometimes difficult skill to develop. Follow or subscribe to Building Better CMOs Rate & review the podcast Links: Allyson's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min
  4. Manolo Arroyo, Global CMO of Coca-Cola: What Kind of Leader Are You?

    OCT 2

    Manolo Arroyo, Global CMO of Coca-Cola: What Kind of Leader Are You?

    Full transcript Manolo Arroyo, EVP and global CMO of the Coca-Cola Company, believes there are three types of leaders: One type lacks confidence in themselves and frequently changes the strategy; another buys time for themselves by changing the team around them; and the third decides to commit to the strategy and the team and get the work done. "[They] roll up their sleeves, having the confidence that the strategy is the right one," he says. "The team fundamentally is the same. It might not be perfect, but they're willing to roll up their sleeves and build the capabilities together and go through whatever it takes to learn every day and continue to encourage and inspire the teams to go faster." Today on Building Better CMOs, Manolo talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about leveraging AI for brand innovation and the importance of personal well-being for peak performance. He shares insights on the evolving landscape of marketing measurement, and highlights Coca-Cola's enduring Olympic partnership, aligning with the brand's values and global reach. Follow or subscribe to Building Better CMOs Rate & review the podcast Links: Manolo's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 3m
  5. Andy Rebhun, Chief Experience Officer of Cava: Bring the Weather

    JUN 12

    Andy Rebhun, Chief Experience Officer of Cava: Bring the Weather

    Full transcript Today on Building Better CMOs: Andy Rebhun, the chief experience officer at the fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava, talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about the importance of consistent authenticity, how to thrive in the C-Suite, and "bringing the weather" for everyone — including Uber Eats drivers. "We welcome everyone to our table," he says. "It should never be that DoorDash or Uber Eats driver is anything different from one of our other customers. Because again, if we do a good job with a handoff, they're likely going to do a good job with the handoff to the customer." Follow or subscribe to Building Better CMOs Rate & review the podcast Links: Andy's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 hr
  6. Linda Boff, Global CMO at GE: Servant of Purpose

    MAY 15

    Linda Boff, Global CMO at GE: Servant of Purpose

    Full transcript GE has changed a whole lot since Global CMO Linda Boff started working there, more than 20 years ago. It was once a sprawling portfolio company that made everything from microwaves to television shows; recently, it spun off its healthcare, energy, and aerospace divisions into three distinct public companies, and executives like Linda take these core areas of focus very seriously. "We are a company, I like to say a capital-P Purpose company," she says. "A third of the world has power because of GE. Planes with our engines take off every two seconds. So as you and I are talking, there are probably, give or take 900,000 people in the sky right now with our engines under wing. And our health care equipment, MRIs and CTs and so much more, touches 2 billion patients a year." Today on Building Better CMOs, Linda and MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart discuss how to punch above your weight with a smaller marketing team, why B2B businesses don't have to be boring, the importance of communicating to the rest of the C-Suite in their language, and more. Plus: Why you need to separate stories from facts. Follow or subscribe to Building Better CMOs Rate & review the podcast Links: Linda's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    54 min
  7. Charisse Hughes, Chief Growth Officer at Kellanova: Evolution of the CMO

    MAY 1

    Charisse Hughes, Chief Growth Officer at Kellanova: Evolution of the CMO

    Full transcript It doesn't matter how good your marketing is if you can't communicate its impact to the larger organization, says Charisse Hughes, senior vice president and Chief Growth Officer of Kellanova. Her firm spun off of the Kellogg Company last year to manage iconic brands like Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, as well as breakfast cereal outside of the U.S. Those have been household names for a long time, but Charisse says that across the marketing world, it's easy to lose sight of the long term. "Marketers are missing the mark in terms of our communication strategy within the organization—as well as how we look at, measure, and think about immediate versus long-term business results or long-term brand equity," she says. "I feel like we, as a marketing community, have to get better at educating our organization, our CEOs, our CFOs, on what is the value of a click today, what is the value over the course of time, and what tradeoffs are we making here and why?" Today on Building Better CMOs, Charisse and MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart discuss all of that, as well as how to unlock the value of brand marketing, purposeful career pivots and getting to the C-suite, balancing hard truths with optimism, and more. Plus: What makes a Chief Growth Officer different from a CMO? Follow or subscribe to Building Better CMOs Rate & review the podcast Links: Charisse's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    49 min
  8. Michelle Crossan-Matos, CMO of Ulta Beauty: Visionary and Operator

    APR 26

    Michelle Crossan-Matos, CMO of Ulta Beauty: Visionary and Operator

    Full transcript Some marketers think of themselves as operators and some see themselves as visionaries. But only the great ones, says Ulta Beauty CMO Michelle Crossan-Matos, understand that they have to be both. Just before the POSSIBLE conference in Miami, where she spoke to MMA CEO Greg Stuart, she was in Orlando, working to inspire 3000 leaders from Ulta's massive retail operations. "But when I get in the office tomorrow, it is about how are my sales doing? How can I pivot? How can I get even more this Friday?," she says. "So ask yourself deeply right now, how comfortable do you feel between that toggle? And if you don't enjoy that, that's okay. How can you learn to enjoy it?" In this special live episode of Building Better CMOs, Michelle and Greg also talk about her unusual path to the C-Suite, managing a gigantic loyalty program, creating your own framework, preparing for every scenario, why every marketer should take a stint in retail, and more. Plus: How business leaders can prepare for unexpected scenarios like COVID. Follow or subscribe to Building Better CMOs Rate & review the podcast Links: Michelle's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    34 min
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About

Marketing leaders are facing constant new challenges. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, listen to Building Better CMOs, from the nonprofit thinktank MMA Global. It's a podcast about the future of marketing and how marketers can get smarter & stronger, hosted by MMA CEO Greg Stuart. Greg interviews some of the wisest and most successful CMOs in the business, who share crucial insights about what their industry gets wrong, how to get to the C-Suite, and how to unlock the true power of marketing. You'll gain a deeper understanding of the evolving purpose of marketing leaders, and learn actionable strategies to overcome obstacles. Produced by LightningPod.fm. For transcripts and more, visit bettercmos.com

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