My guest this week is Thomas Prather, the Chief Marketing Officer at Smashburger.

Thomas brings over 30 years of marketing expertise, beginning in automotive advertising, where he managed Cadillac's resurgence in 1995. He transitioned to the food and beverage industry in 2003, joining Starbucks and eventually becoming VP of U.S. Retail Marketing.

At Starbucks, he drove growth across more than 17,000 U.S. locations, notably overseeing the brand's third-party delivery partnerships with UberEats and DoorDash, while leading the brand's most successful fall season with the 20th anniversary of the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

As Smashburger's CMO, Thomas now applies his extensive experience to drive the brand's growth through innovative global strategies focused on elevating Smashburger’s brand presence. He aims to attract a broader audience by aligning the company's offerings with emerging trends and consumer expectations, all while ensuring the brand remains relevant and committed to delivering an exceptional guest experience. 

My guest this week is Andy Rebhun. Andy joined Cava as Chief Experience Officer in 2023. From 2019 to 2023, he held several senior leadership positions at El Pollo Loco, including Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Digital. Prior to that, he served in various marketing and digital leadership roles at McDonald's Corporation in Boston, Chicago, and Atlanta. Andy began his career in the Accelerated Marketing Development Program at Ford Motor Company. He holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. 

My guest this week is Nic Chidiac, Chief Strategy Officer for Razorfish, where he oversees brand and experience strategy. He's worked with CMOs from the biggest brands in the world across a wider range of categories, including QSR, travel, tech, automotive and government. Formerly with Leo Burnett, Nic brings a global lens to his CMO perspective as well, having spent his career working across markets in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. We talk about everything you need to know about working with an agency, how to effectively use AI and what the changing role of the CMO means.

My guest this week is Oksana Sobol. Oksana leads the insights function at The Clorox Company, where she's implementing an agile, fast, and consumer centric insights model. Her global career spans everything from brand marketing and market research in her native Ukraine, and then the Czech Republic. She's worked for big companies like Nielsen, Kraft Foods, Unilever, J&J, and Mondelez.

Links

• Oksana's LinkedIn
• Steve's LinkedIn

My guest this week is former NBA player, Channing Frye. After an illustrious 14 year career, which included winning a championship in Cleveland with none other than LeBron James. Channing is now lead analyst for Warner Brothers Discovery, where he hosts the multitude of shows, including handles on NBA TV and his cohost of a very popular podcast with another NBA player, Richard Jefferson. 

Channing also started his own private wine label called Chosen Family Wines. Here's my highly entertaining conversation with Channing Frye.

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My guest today is Doug Zarkin, former CMO of Pearle Vision and current Chief Brand Officer of Good Feet Worldwide. Doug's won Effie Awards and Cleo Awards and countless other awards that I can't even think of. I've known Doug for well over 10 years, and he is absolutely one of the brightest minds in all of marketing that I've ever met. Our conversation ranges from his thoughts on why emotions are so important when it comes to advertising, to what he deemed his most successful failure, to what it was like to be an Avon lady. I am beyond honored, beyond humbled to a call him my friend, and to have him a guest on my show.

Lee Roth is the co-founder of The Actionists, a platform designed to make marketing more actionable for businesses. He is an experienced marketer, entrepreneur, and agency leader. Driven by solving global, industry, and company problems, Lee founded the Action List with his co-founder, Pio Schunker. Lee has a diverse background in marketing, having worked at various levels in organizations such as Coca-Cola, PayPal, Been There, Done That, Ogilvy, and Kennedy. His experiences have shaped the development of the Action List, addressing the pain points of marketers at every stage. Throughout his career, Lee has had the opportunity to work with some of the most iconic brands, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike, Starbucks, Disney, Gatorade, Apple, and Google. His diverse experience, combined with his ability to empathize, enables him to provide valuable insights and leadership to businesses facing complex challenges.

 My guest today is Chris Johnson. Chris is the managing partner of Tomorrow Today, a leading AI consulting firm that helps companies harness the transformative power of AI through strategic AI roadmaps and advanced AI implementations. He is also the founder and CEO of ELT, a full-service marketing agency focused on creating meaningful customer experiences based on strategic insights. With 30 years of experience leading clients through technological shifts, including the internet, e-commerce, social media, and digital marketing. 

My guest this week is Dawn Hudson from CEO to CMO, the chairman of the board, her career has spanned high level posts in media, retail, consumer goods, and on and on and on at brands like the NFL, Pepsi, Loews, P.F. Chang's, Nvidia, the LPGA.

My guest this week is Duncan Smith. Duncan is a seasoned media and communications strategist with over two decades of experience in media planning, buying, and agency leadership roles across London, Europe, and New York. Throughout his career, he has led top-tier agencies, spearheading the launch of connection planning departments, managing global multinational clients, and leading winning pitches for well over $4 billion in new business. Duncan's strategic vision, media expertise, and ability to construct communication strategies that deliver against business objectives have been instrumental in rebuilding agencies from the ground up. Currently, he is the Global Chief Product Officer at Journey Further, one of the most admired and culture-focused performance brand agencies in the world.

This week's guest is Elizabeth Maxson, or "Emax," a seasoned marketing professional with over 18 years of experience across industries such as nonprofit, automotive, and high tech. As the SVP and CMO of Tableau, a Salesforce company, she drives global go-to-market strategies. Throughout her career at Salesforce, Elizabeth has held various roles, including leading strategic partnerships with industry giants like AWS, Google, and Apple. She also led marketing for Quip, a Salesforce acquisition. Notably, during the COVID pandemic, she helped distribute over 50 million units of PPE to healthcare workers globally in partnership with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, a career highlight she takes immense pride in. 

My guest this week is Eric Danetz. He's the president and founder of Spencer Grace Advisors, a consultancy helping organizations navigate change and achieve growth. Previously, he was the Global Chief Revenue Officer at Reuters, overseeing global sales and customer success. He's also served as the Chief Business Officer at AccuWeather and SBP, and GM at Time Inc. International, where he managed a portfolio of 90 brands in 170 countries. He's held executive roles at Fortune, Money, Alloy Digital, Newsweek, Daily Beast, CBS Interactive, CNET, and more. He's been a board member for the IAB Video, Bite the Block, and Silicon Alley Sports. Finally, he's a proud father of two, one of whom I just learned is a new driver—congratulations! He's an avid traveler, animal lover, and racket sports enthusiast. 

 My guest today is David Edelman. David's the former CMO of Aetna, and he's currently a senior lecturer in marketing at Harvard Business School. I've known David well over 10 years and we had an absolutely fascinating conversation focussing initially on AI and and the customer experience.
One of David's recent HBR articles was "Customer Experience in the Age of AI" which are two topics that are very near and dear, at least they should be, for every marketer of the world. I hope you enjoy my conversation. 

Marisa Thalberg is a globally recognized business strategist and brand-building innovator, known for leading brands like The Estée Lauder Companies, Taco Bell, and Lowe's Home Improvement to new heights of consumer resonance, cultural relevance, and business performance. Inducted into the Forbes CMO Hall of Fame, she also founded Executive Moms, an organization supporting professional women who are mothers. Marisa co-hosts the podcast Brand New Produce with iHeart Media and serves on multiple nonprofit boards, including the Blumenthal Center for the Performing Arts and the MMA Global Board. 

My guest this week is Tim Ringel, a serial entrepreneur with a passion and drive to push past that stubborn status quo. 

He's the global CEO of next gen advertising group called Meet the People. We talked about all sorts of things, including the role of AI in and omni channel marketing. Here's my conversation with Tim Ringel. 

My guest this week is Peter Jung, the CMO of NASCAR. We talked about how the brand is engaging younger audiences, what they're doing to engage audiences around the world, and who the competition for NASCAR.

My guest this week is Ashley Miles, the CEO of Franklin West, a new era business growth advisory and execution firm that is shaping the future of work in the growing on demand economy. The firm was recently awarded by Inc. Magazine and Globee awards for its impact on Fortune 500 companies. Ashley's had an amazing career with stops at many different big brands.

My guest this week is Doug Milliken, former VP of Marketing Transformation at The Clorox Company. When he was there, he was responsible for the company's brand building and growth capabilities. His experience led to one inescapable conclusion; the performance of an organization is driven largely by its culture.

My guest this week is Shani Seidman, the CMO of Kayco Kosher Foods, the parent company of Manischewitz the 120 year old brand that she was just entrusted with the rebranding of. It was an incredible challenge that she met head on. She shares insights and tips for other CMOs going through rebrands.

In an unexpected twist, previous guest Oksana Sobol (and Insights Lead at Clorox), puts the CMO Whisperer in the hot seat for a podcast takeover. Oksana asks Steve about some of the key things he's learnt from doing this show, including insights on AI, data and the CMO tenure.

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My Guest this week is Jess Shirra, a fractional CMO and the founder of the Fractional CMO School. Her days are spent supporting her seven figure clients, helping them grow their membership and core businesses. Additionally, she mentors other marketers to help them launch and grow their own fractional CMO business.

With more than 15 years in the field, she's led marketing for both high growth startups, plus well known global brands such as Lululemon, Pottery Barn, Jenna Kutcher, Strava, and Deloitte to name just a few. Jess' philosophy is rooted in customer first marketing, which she believes makes marketing and sales effortless and cultivates fiercely loyal brand advocates.

My guest this week is Dan Gardner, the co founder and executive chairman of the technology first network Code and Theory. They work with brands like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, JP Morgan, Chase and more. We kick of talking about the eerie similarity between 2001 and 2024, and what marketers are missing about AI.

My guest this week is Ashley Black, the founder and CEO of Ashley Black Inc, Fashion Blaster and Advanced Regenerative Research Technologies and Associates. She's a multiple Stevie award winner for woman of the year, lifetime achievement and entrepreneur of the year.

 My guest today is Jeanniey Walden. Jeanniey is the senior vice president and CMO of Rite Aid and Thrifty Ice Cream. Her decades of experience span Fortune 500 companies and startups across a whole host of industries, including retail, health and wellness, consulting, ad agencies, fintech. Everything. If that weren't enough, she's also the host of her own network TV show called Liftoff. 

My guest today has been described by Forbes as an artist, a globe treading speaker and market seeker, a storyteller who identifies emerging trends and inspires clients to think differently.  His name is David Shing, AKA Shingy. And he is a true visionary in a digital era who closely observes the unfolding future in the vast online landscape. 

Following his role as AOL is European Head of Media and Marketing. He then ascended to the role of digital profit at AOL and Verizon media. And in 2019, he embarked on a new journey with his consultancy, where he works with the world's top 100 brands, shaping the future of digital engagement. 

My guest this week is Umang Shah, Vice President of Marketing, Enablement and Effectiveness for Northwestern Mutual. A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Umang has had stops at Xerox, Microsoft, Walmart, Unisys, among many others.

Today I'm joined by two guests, Rose Jia and Hetal Patel.

Rose is an award winning marketing and product leader who currently heads up lifecycle and launch marketing for Amazon's Prime Video. She and her team drive profitable growth across the customer life cycle through original and licensed content. She's also the creator of the Renaissance Marketer Mindset, a new way for marketers to guarantee growth and innovation. And her recent book is called The Renaissance Marketers Shortcut to Get Finance to Say "Yes, and".

Hatal is a seasoned professional with over a decade at iHeartMedia. She's a trailblazer in leveraging diverse data sources to drive insightful connections between products, consumers, and advertising. With a background in clinical and cognitive psychology, she employs a blend of qualitative, quantitative, and advanced analytics methods to craft impactful narratives for iHeartMedia's marketing position. 

My guest this week is Kyle Monson, co-founder of Codeword, an agency that fuses journalism, PR, and advertising into a single field they call communication design. Over the past 12 years he's grown the agency from three people to more than a hundred people working together to shape the future of technology marketing. Kyle has worked in the tech industry for nearly 20 years. First as a journalist, then as a marker for global tech brands and a wide range of startups. 

My guest this week is Billee Howard. She's the co founder and CEO of Brandthro, the only AI research company that scores customer emotion via human input to create the first ever emotional segmentation datasets.

My guest this week, Geoff Cottrill has been everywhere, from Converse to Starbucks, to Procter and Gamble, to Coca Cola, to his current role as Chief Brand Officer at Topgolf.

My guest this week is Nic Chidiac, Chief Strategy Officer for Razorfish, where he oversees brand and experience strategy. He's worked with CMOs from the biggest brands in the world across a wider range of categories, including QSR, travel, tech, automotive and government. Formerly with Leo Burnett, Nic brings a global lens to his CMO perspective as well, having spent his career working across markets in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. We talk about everything you need to know about working with an agency, how to effectively use AI and what the changing role of the CMO means.

My guest this week is Paul Suchman, CMO of Audacy, a leading multi platform audio content and entertainment company. We talk about what it's like being a challenger brand to enter a market, how to keep that mindset as market leader and what the future of audio looks like (with AI).

My guest this week is Dustin Godsey, the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. We covered a lot of ground in this conversation, including AI in sports teams and Dustin being the first marketing hire for the Bucks, but I was specifically interested in how a CMO of a sports team market a team when they're not doing so well in the standings?

My guest this week is a good friend who also happens to be one of the most influential marketers in the world, Raja Rajamannar, the CMO of Mastercard. Over his 10 years with the brand, he has transformed Mastercard into one of the top 10 most valuable brands in the world.

At the helm of the iconic priceless platform, he and his team are on the cutting edge of experiential multi sensory marketing for consumers and customers alike. He has extended the reach and impact of the brand by embracing AI and Web3 technologies, while also pioneering new standards in inclusive design.

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 My guest this week is a good friend who also happens to be one of the most influential marketers in the world, Raja Rajamannar, the CMO of Mastercard. Over his 10 years with the brand, he has transformed Mastercard into one of the top 10 most valuable brands in the world.

At the helm of the iconic priceless platform, he and his team are on the cutting edge of experiential multi sensory marketing for consumers and customers alike. He has extended the reach and impact of the brand by embracing AI and Web3 technologies, while also pioneering new standards in inclusive design. 

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My guest this week is Alan Bethke. For over 20 years, Alan has served in various roles for Subaru of America, including his current role as SVP of marketing, where he's responsible for all marketing brands, strategy, media, planning, creative customer experience, corporate comms, and on and on and on.

My guest this week is Marissa Solis. Marissa is Senior Vice President, Global Brand and Consumer Marketing for the NFL, where she leads all global brand and consumer marketing initiatives for the league, including all national advertising, both traditional and digital, in stadium marketing and new fan development.

 My guest this week is Richard Howe. Richard is an accomplished entrepreneur, tech executive and board member. He served as a senior executive at FinTech innovator, Fair, Isaac and Company, the inventor of the FICO score, which profoundly changed the way credit worthiness is evaluated. He was also chief strategy officer at Axiom, the inventor of direct to consumer data based marketing. 

Richard is currently the chairman and CEO of Inuvo, a market leader in artificial intelligence, aligning and delivering consumer oriented product and brand messaging strategies online based on powerful, anonymous, and proprietary consumer intent data, for agencies, advertisers, and partners.

My guest this week is Dr. Marcus Collins, an award winning marketer, best selling author and former chief strategy officer at Wieden+Kennedy, and currently a marketing professor at the university of Michigan. Part marketing professor, part chief strategy officer, Dr. Marcus prescribes lots of advice for brand health.

My guest this week is Aubriana Lopez, Head of Data Strategy, Global Product Marketing for Samsung Ads. Aubriana is an experienced multi discipline marketer who's had the ability to grow her expertise throughout the ever evolving nature of the media business, with a focus on audience development, cross functional measurement, and in depth reporting and insights.

My guest this week is former NBA player, Channing Frye. After an illustrious 14 year career, which included winning a championship in Cleveland with none other than LeBron James. Channing is now lead analyst for Warner Brothers Discovery, where he hosts the multitude of shows, including handles on NBA TV and his cohost of a very popular podcast with another NBA player, Richard Jefferson. 

Channing also started his own private wine label called Chosen Family Wines. Here's my highly entertaining conversation with Channing Frye.

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From Bank of America to American Express to a champion of journalism done right, Lou Paskalis is a leading voice in the world of marketing and media today.

My guest this week is Reena Agnihotri, former Global Head of Brand Consulting at Deloitte, Reena is now Global CMO at Valiantys, a leading global Atlassian partner that accelerates customers business transformations using agile methods. Reena is also part of an exclusive leadership program through Women of Influence, a program designed for decision makers who want to optimize their leadership potential and continue establishing their legacy.

My guest this week is Michael Williams. Michael's a global leader who has served as CMO for the Grand Prix of America Formula One, the New Jersey Devils, and the San Francisco 49ers. He was also responsible for all sales and marketing for the Walt Disney Company's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and is currently the General Manager and Managing Director of Summit One Vanderbilt, the tallest commercial skyscraper in Manhattan.

My guest today is Jawad Bisbis. After starting his marketing career at Procter & Gamble, Jawad has held senior roles at 7Eleven, Focus Brands, Coca Cola, and Luxottica, right up to his current role as global VP of marketing at Ball Corporation. He holds a master's degree from KEDGE business school in France and is fluent in Arabic and French.

 My guest this week is Dr. Marcus Collins, an award winning marketer, best selling author and former chief strategy officer at Wieden+Kennedy, and currently a marketing professor at the university of Michigan. Part marketing professor, part chief strategy officer, Dr. Marcus prescribes lots of advice for brand health. 

 My guest this week is Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer for Cumulus Media and Westwood One. He leads their audio active group of media and creative advisory service and works with both national brands and agencies to craft targeting and measurement solutions. Prior to his current role, Pierre was SVP at TiVo Research and Analytics, where he led cross media and measurement engagements for Procter & Gamble and Comcast.

My guest this week is Jon Bond. At age 27, Jon and his partner Richard Kirshenbaum founded Kirshenbaum Bond, a truly new kind of agency that challenged the status quo from the Mad Men era. And within just six months, the agency had been featured in New York Magazine. Jon has gone on to do so many other things, including working with Forbes to create its iconic 50 most influential CMOs. Jon also sits on the boards of many companies and is the chairman of the U.S. advisory board for System1.

Links

• Jon's LinkedIn
• Steve's LinkedIn

My guest this week is Dawn Hudson. From CEO, to CMO, to chairman of the board, her career has spanned high level posts in media, retail, consumer goods and more. Dawn has at brands like the NFL, Pepsi, Lowe's, PF Chang's, Nvidia, the LPGA and the list goes on.

My guest this week is Bruce Hershey. Yes, as in the Hershey Kiss, Hershey candy bar. Bruce has over 30 years of marketing experience and he's held various leadership roles, responsible for marketing strategy and growth on both the client and agency side. In 2019, Bruce won the highly coveted CMO of the year award. Here's my conversation with my dear friend, Bruce Hershey.

Links

• Bruce's LinkedIn
• Steve's LinkedIn