Did you know the consumer research industry has a whopping $75 billion in revenue in the US alone? Then, why in the world do we have such trouble discovering insights that can change or reframe how someone feels about a brand or a company? On this week's episode, Jim will shine some light on this massive opportunity! Jim's guests on The CMO Podcast are Gunny Scarfo and Lindsey Wehking of Nonfiction Research, a six-year-old company with this purpose: to create uncensored, emotional research...

This week, Jim provides a different kind of episode of The CMO Podcast, featuring two executives from different companies who work together in a client partnership relationship.  Jim's first guest is Clayton Ruebensaal, the SVP and Chief Creative Officer of Comcast, the $122 billion by revenue media, entertainment and technology company. Comcast’s portfolio includes the NBCUniversal brands, Universal Studios, Xfinity, and the Sky brands.  Also joining Clayton and Jim is Sam Hornsby, the...

The guest today on The CMO Podcast is Eshan Ponnadurai, the Vice President of Consumer Marketing at META, the 1.2 trillion dollar company by market cap, with a brand portfolio that includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads, and Messenger. Eshan is a man of many interests, with a voracious curiosity. He was born in Sri Lanka, and moved to Australia when he was four years old. He now lives in New York City with his wife and two boys. Eshan began his professional career at Procter &...

The guest today on The CMO Podcast is Shane Murphy-Reuter, the Chief Marketing Officer of Webflow, the 11-year-old company that is disrupting the business of building websites and other digital experiences. Webflow empowers people to design, build and launch websites…without coding. Webflow is well beyond unicorn status; its valuation is north of $4 billion, with revenue trending toward $150 million. It is well funded–$335 million to date–with a global staff of 600. And here’s a smart choice...

This week's guest on The CMO Podcast is Melissa Hobley, the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Tinder–you know: swipe right, swipe left. Seriously, Tinder is a behemoth; it's the #1 dating app in the world with 2 billion swipes a day, 20 million matches a day, and a presence in 190 countries. And with revenue in the $2 billion range, Tinder is the largest name in the Match Group’s portfolio of 40 brands.  Melissa has worked as the global marketing officer for Tinder since August 2022; she was...

Happy Cinco de Mayo! This week on The CMO Podcast, Jim welcomes the leader behind the explosion of avocado consumption: Alvaro Luque, the President and CEO of Avocados From Mexico. This 11-year-old non-profit organization was founded by the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association and the Association of Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico. As a result of the efforts from Avocados From Mexico, the avocado market has doubled since 2013, and 80% of avocados purchased in the US...

To celebrate Earth Week, Jim Stengel welcomes Brad Hiranaga to The CMO Podcast. Brad works as the Chief Brand Officer of Cotopaxi, the colorful outdoorsy brand you likely see around on streets, in airports, and of course, in the great outdoors. It’s a fast growing brand; it has just about doubled its size every year for the past three years. Cotopaxi’s products include backpacks, hip packs, jackets, and other outdoor products and experiences. Inspired by his time living in Latin America,...

With women's sports on the mind, Jim's guest this week on The CMO Podcast is Shelley Zalis, the Founder and CEO of The Female Quotient, or FQ, the ten-year-old company that curates experiences, media, and solutions that advance gender equality. The FQ is famous for its Equality Lounges at some of the most important global gatherings–like Davos, CES, SXSW, and the Cannes Creativity Festival. One of Shelley’s mantras is “to conquer imposter syndrome you must believe in yourself," and she has...

Joining Jim this week on The CMO Podcast is Mauro Porcini, the SVP and Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo, the $91 billion company by revenue. Pepsi’s founding dates back to 1893 with the invention of Pepsi-Cola in a small town in North Carolina. In 1965, the Pepsi company combined with Frito-lay to become PepsiCo, and has become one of the most admired food and beverage companies in the world, with brands that range from Cheetos to Mountain Dew to Gatorade to SodaStream to Quaker.  Mauro is...

The guest this week on The CMO Podcast is Michelle Froah, the Global Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer at The Educational Testing Service, or ETS. ETS is the largest private educational assessment organization in the world, serving 50 million people a year in 200 countries. You probably know them better for their products, which includes the GRE admission tests for graduate and professional school, and the TOEFL tests which prepare students for university study and immigration. ETS...

This week on The CMO Podcast, Jim wraps up Women's History Month with Natalie Sunderland, the Global Head of Marketing and Communications at the Bank of New York Mellon, or BNY Mellon. This is definitely the oldest company Jim has featured on the show; BNY Mellon was established in 1784 by Alexander Hamilton, and became the first company listed on the NYSE. BNY Mellon holds nearly $48 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration. In 2024 it was one of Fortune’s Most Admired...

It's tax season! On this week's episode of The CMO Podcast, Jim is joined by none other than Jill Cress, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer at H&R Block–the Kansas City-based company that has been helping people with their taxes since 1955. H&R Block is one of the most ubiquitous storefronts in America with thousands of offices–almost as many locations as McDonalds! H&R Block has a big business in tax preparation–revenue is approaching $4 billion–but their ambition is...

Happy Women's History Month! The CMO Podcast continues to celebrate key women leaders with Jim's guest this week–Deena LaMarque Piquion, the Chief Growth & Disruption Officer at Xerox, the 118-year-old workplace products and services company. Of course, Xerox holds a special place in brand history; like Kleenex, Google, and Coke, Xerox is one of the few brands that became synonymous with its category. Today, Xerox is a $7 billion company, and more diversified than the company you likely...

To kick off Women's History Month, Jim's guest today on The CMO Podcast is Lara Abrash, the Chair of Deloitte US. In June 2023, Lara was promoted to the Chair role, where she runs the largest professional services firm in the US, with about 170,000 people in her organization. Lara has worked at Deloitte for about 18 years, beginning as an audit partner in 2005. She earned her Bachelors in Economics at SUNY Albany, and her MBA in Accounting from Baruch College. Jim welcomes Lara on the...

This week, The CMO Podcast celebrates Black History Month with a special episode centered on the incredibly fast start-up of an organization called BECA–the Black Executive CMO Alliance. BECA is the 3-year-old brainchild of founder & CEO Jerri DeVard, the former CMO of Verizon, ADT and Office Depot. BECA is the only alliance created and composed of Black CMOs and CXOs to address the persistent diversity problems in America’s C-Suites and boardrooms. It has gained momentum in the short...

Just in time for the month of love, this week's guest on The CMO Podcast is Michelle Crossan-Matos, the Chief Marketing Officer for Ulta Beauty. Founded in 1990, Ulta Beauty is the largest beauty retailer in the US, with sales in the $11 billion range, and growing. It offers a wide range of beauty products and salon services: 25,000 products online and across their nearly 1400 stores, from 500 well established AND emerging brands. Ulta Beauty is not just big; the company is highly innovative...

Tune in this week for The CMO Podcast's fifth annual Super Bowl Roundtable Discussion! Important marketers provide insight into how they created their Super Bowl ads and share their thoughts on the biggest marketing day of the year. Jim welcomes special co-host, Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman of VaynerX & CEO at VaynerMedia.  Joining this year's conversation: Brett O'Brien (CMO of PepsiCo Foods North America) Kory Marchisotto (CMO of e.l.f. Beauty and President at Keys Soulcare) Russell...

This week's guest on The CMO Podcast is Vineet Mehra, the Chief Marketing Officer of Chime. The 12-year-old fintech company was founded by Chris Britt and Ryan King as an alternative to traditional banking. Interesting marketing trivia: many believe the official launch of the company was in April 2014, when Chime was featured on "Dr. Phil." Chime is a private company, with a mission to bring financial peace of mind to its customers. It has raised more than $2 billion in funding from a Who’s...

Jim's guests on The CMO Podcast are entrepreneurs Mike Zelkind and Tisha Livingston, founders of 80 Acres Farms. Mike is the CEO of 80 Acre Farms and Tisha is the CEO of Infinite Acres, a subsidiary of 80 Acres and the tech platform that powers the company. Listeners are likely not familiar with this company, but should be. The nine-year old startup has raised more than $250 Million and revolutionized farming. 80 Acres is a pioneer in indoor, vertical farming. Imagine a farm that does not...

Before we get too far into 2024, let's look back at the five major business themes from the 50-plus CMO Podcasts recorded last year. To apply these lessons to our work this year, we have invited three previous CMO Podcast guests to join us for a fruitful discussion. First, Jim welcomes Julius Robinson, the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for the US and Canada for Marriott International. Second, Samatha Maltin, Chief Marketing Officer for Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational...

Jim's guest today on The CMO Podcast is Jessica Correa, the Chief Marketing Officer of Unleashed Brands, the most interesting company you have probably not heard of. It is a portfolio company of brands that focus on youth development, including Urban Air Adventure Parks, Little Gym, Snapology, and Premier Martial Arts. The business model of Unleashed Brands is similar to a franchise model–they partner with founders and help them scale with support in human resources, technology, finance,...

We're still feeling that party energy of the holidays as Jim welcomes Taylor Berry, the VP of Brand Marketing at Tito’s Handmade Vodka, to The CMO Podcast. Austin-based Tito’s may be handmade, but it is no small brand. Tito’s is the number 1 best-selling vodka brand in the US, with revenue in the $2 billion range. Its story is a classic American Dream saga. Bert “Tito” Beveridge–yes Beveridge is his real last name–founded the brand in 1995 after failed ventures in the oil and drilling...

Ring in the new year with the CMO Podcast as Jim welcomes Jonathan Knight, the SVP, Head of Games for The New York Times. The Times Games include the famous New York Times Crossword Puzzle, The Mini Crossword, Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, and Tiles. Founded in 1851, The New York Times is one of the oldest and most respected brands in the world, with nearly 10 million subscribers. Jonathan knows a lot about building brands with high and lasting consumer engagement and loyalty. He has...

Join us for one final episode to wrap up the year as Jim welcomes MJ DePalma, the Global Director of Cultural & Inclusive Business Impact at Microsoft. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, Microsoft is now a $200 billion by revenue–and growing–company with 220,000 employees. The company has also made headlines more than usual this year with its investment in OpenAI. MJ is a UCLA graduate with a psychology degree, and has worked at Microsoft twice in her career–once for four years, and now...

Today's guest on The CMO Podcast is Shira Feuer, the Chief Marketing Officer of Trinny London, the seven-year-old, digital-first, global beauty brand founded by Trinny Woodall. Founder Trinny Woodall has been an influential personality on the fashion and beauty scene since the 90s, when she started a Daily Telegraph Ready-to-Wear column with Susannah Constantine. The column morphed into the BBC series What Not to Wear. Since its founding in 2017, Trinny London has succeeded within the beauty...