Building Better CMOs and Marketing Leaders

Armin Molavi spent 20 years working in agencies before transitioning to client-side marketing at Hilton, then building a successful fractional CMO practice serving private equity-backed companies. Currently, he's the CMO at Instructure, which makes the ubiquitous learning management system Canvas."25 years of B2C, and this is my very first B2B gig, so I've been learning a lot," Armin says. "What's the saying? Like drinking from a fire hydrant?"But at a fundamental level, he explains, B2B is not so different from what he's spent most of his career doing."At the end of the day, I have to convince people that if they give up their budget for what I have to sell, it's going to make their life better at work," he adds. "That's what marketing is."Today on Building Better CMOs, Armin and Greg Stuart discuss what marketers should know about working with private equity firms, why agencies and clients both need to be better partners to each other, and the life-changing career advice he received from Kellyn Kenny. They also discuss why marketers need to drop the jargon and start connecting their work to enterprise value if they want a seat at the table. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Full transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate and review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Armin's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn

Grace Kao has served as a marketing leader at some of the most influential consumer tech companies of our time, including Yahoo, Pandora, Instagram, Spotify, and now Snap, where she is the CMO. But one of the most important things for her career growth has been following people, rather than job titles. "You want to go to a company that you believe in the company values, but believing in the people and understand that the people have the same values as you do, that has always been important to me," she says. Today on Building Better CMOs, Grace and Marketing + Media Alliance CEO Greg Stuart talk about the power of marketing to mindsets instead of demographics, and the advice from her mom that still guides her today: don't be afraid to fail. They also discuss what marketers can learn from Gen Z's entrepreneurial creativity, the upcoming relaunch of Snap's AR glasses Specs, and CEO Evan Spiegel's "shots to goal" philosophy. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Full transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠ This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Rate and review the podcast⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Grace's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn

Amy Weisenbach, CMO of The New York Times, recalls some crucial advice she received early in her career: "Don't come to me and say, how do I do this? Come to me and say, here's the problem. Here's what I think I should do. What do you think?" After cutting her teeth at companies like Jim Beam and Unilever — where she helped build one of the most provocative brands of the early 2000s, Axe Body Spray — Amy now leads marketing at one of the world's most storied media companies. Along the way, she's learned that the best brands understand everything communicates, from a Memorial Day sale to a Super Bowl spot. Today on Building Better CMOs, Amy talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about the hard-won journey from 2 million to 12 million subscribers, why the Times' leadership chose to invest in journalism when others were cutting, and the "Truth Is Worth It" campaign that made journalists proud of their marketing team for the first time. They also discuss the secret to hiring performance marketers who care about brand, as well as the value of trusted, human-reported journalism in an age of AI-generated content. ⁠⁠⁠Full transcript⁠⁠⁠ This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠LightningPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Rate and review the podcast⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amy's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn

Starbucks Global Chief Brand Officer Tressie Lieberman learned early in her career that building a brand requires balancing two timelines: "brand over time and sales overnight." It's a philosophy she's carried through leadership roles at Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Chipotle, and now applies to one of the most watched brand transformations in business. Tressie joined Starbucks a year ago as part of CEO Brian Niccol's turnaround team, overseeing everything from menu innovation and digital experience to the company's ready-to-drink beverages. Her mission: reignite the soul of Starbucks and bring the brand back to its coffeehouse roots. Today on Building Better CMOs, she and Marketing + Media Alliance CEO Greg Stuart talk about what causes iconic brands to lose their way, how to harness customer-generated trends like the viral glass “bearista,” and why curiosity is the number one trait she hires for. They also discuss embracing change as a career imperative, the entrepreneurial mindset she brings to big companies, and why marketers must treat customers as co-creators rather than passive audiences. ⁠⁠Full transcript⁠⁠ This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠LightningPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Rate and review the podcast⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tressie's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Greg's LinkedIn

"Being a public company CMO is very different than being a CMO in a private entity ... you need to deliver earnings. And I'd say this, any CMO that is not focused on driving revenue will not be there a long time," says Drew Panayiotou, the CMO of Keurig Dr Pepper. "You have to drive revenue, no if, ands, or buts." Consistently driving revenue gets even harder when, like Drew, you are stewarding 125 brands, including Yoohoo, Hawaiian Punch, Canada Dry, Keurig, Dr Pepper, and 7-Up. Drew believes in focusing on building emotional connections and cultural relevancy, driving raving fans to perpetuate the brand’s growth and significantly impacting revenue. Today on Building Better CMOs, he talks with Marketing + Media Alliance CEO Greg Stuart about harnessing digital transformation to fuel marketing initiatives, the importance of internal alignment and communication, and the role of emotional connections in brand loyalty. ⁠Full transcript⁠ This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod⁠⁠ Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Rate and review the podcast ⁠⁠Drew's LinkedIn⁠⁠ Greg's LinkedIn