The CMO Whisperer

My guest today is Sameer Gulati, Chief Product Officer and President of Zen Business and someone who spent more than two decades at the intersection of technology, financial services and real-world business building. Sameer isn't just thinking about products. He's thinking about outcomes. At Zen Business, he's helping re-imagine what it actually means to start and run a business today by bringing together AI embedded finance and automation into a platform designed to give small business owners a real shot at success. He's built his career across B2B, FinTech and business development, consistently focused on one thing: how to create, scale and transform, not in theory, but in practice. And what stands out about Sameer is that he doesn't chase trends. He builds systems that make those trends actually work for people.

Today's episode comes live to you from POSSIBLE, where the ideas move fast, the conversations matter, and the coffee has no chance of surviving. I'm joined by Heather Roestamadji - Director of Growth Strategy at Claritas. Heather sits at the intersection of audience intelligence, AI-driven optimization, and multi-channel measurement, helping brands turn complexity into clarity and data into real business growth. Now with nearly two decades of experience, she knows how to cut through the noise, connect strategy to performance, and answer the question every marketer eventually faces: What's actually working?

My guest today is Warren Kornblum. Warren works with brands that want more than attention. They want to matter. From founding one of Canada's fastest-growing agencies to serving as global CMO of Toys R Us, he's been in the rooms where growth, reinvention, and tough decisions actually happen.And what he's seen is simple. Brains don't fall apart because of strategy. They fall apart when they stop mattering to their people and to their customers. He's also the author of Notes from the Brand Stand, where he introduces share of heart, the emotional connection that drives real loyalty.

My guest today is Nataly Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer at Zappi, where she's helping some of the world's biggest brands rethink how they understand consumers and make faster, smarter, data-driven decisions. Nataly is one of those rare marketing leaders who blends operator muscle with true global perspective. Before Zappi, she spent nearly a decade at HubSpot, where she played a key role in the company's international growth, leading marketing, localization and expansion into new markets. She's also the co-author with Katherine Melchior Ray, another guest on the pod, of Brand Global Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures. A must-read for anyone trying to build a brand that actually travels across borders and cultures. She started her career as a Spanish interpreter and built her way to the CMO seat, giving her a uniquely powerful lens on communication, culture, and connection. Nataly brings strategic clarity, global insight and real operating experience to the table. And that's exactly why this is going to make such a great conversation.

My guest today is Jonathan Hamm, a former number one-ranked amateur boxer in the United States and 2011 US national champion. Jonathan was one of the top super heavyweight fighters of his era and an Olympic team alternate heading into the 2012 London games. Before that, he was a standout college football player who earned a shot with the New Orleans Saints and later transitioned into mixed martial arts, training alongside such legends as Jon Jones. But what makes Jonathan different isn't just his path. It's how he thinks about it. Because beyond the physicality, beyond the competition, Jonathan has developed a deep interest in philosophy, identity, and the mental frameworks that shape how we perform, adapt, and evolve. From the ring to business to life, this is a conversation about pressure, decision making, reinvention and the mind behind it all.