From Growth Marketer to CMO: How Kelly Cheng Leads Marketing at Goldcast
The Dave Gerhardt Show
Balancing CMO Life and Parenthood
Kelly reflects on returning from maternity leave, setting boundaries, preparing the team for parental leave, and leading with vulnerability.
#297 Leadership | I sat down with Kelly Cheng, CMO at Goldcast, to talk about her path from growth marketer to marketing leader, how she’s built and scaled Goldcast’s marketing org, the shift from PLG to sales-led, and why she believes great CMOs play the long game.
Timestamps
- (00:00) - – Intro
- (04:07) - – Kelly’s path from Hong Kong to Boston
- (07:07) - – Joining Goldcast and the PLG pivot
- (10:07) - – Moving from growth marketer to CMO
- (13:07) - – The role of mentors in her career
- (21:07) - – Questions to ask before taking a CMO role
- (28:53) - – Inside Goldcast’s marketing org structure
- (34:53) - – How Kelly measures brand and mindshare
- (41:53) - – Why the BDR team reports to marketing
- (47:53) - – The link between brand, content, and pipeline
- (52:53) - – Leading with vulnerability and the “long game”
Join 50,000 people who get our Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Today’s episode is brought to you by Paramark.
It’s November. 2026 planning is already here. And the stuff you’re doing right now will decide how next year plays out.
But here’s the problem: most teams are still planning next year's marketing strategy based on the WRONG DATA because of broken attribution and a misleading gut feel. And you can’t make smart budget calls if you’re just guessing what’s working, what’s not, and where to put your next dollar.
That’s where Paramark comes in. They help you replace the guesswork with actual insight backed by $2 billion in analyzed marketing data. They’ve figured out what actually drives incremental growth across every channel including LinkedIn, Meta, TikTok, Google, CTV, even OOH.
And right now, they’re offering a private 1:1 consultation with their CEO and CMO, Pranav and Sam, who have led marketing teams at companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Microsoft, and Shutterfly.
In this 45-minute strategy session, they’ll help you measure the real impact of every marketing dollar, pull insights from your current media mix, and design a 2026 roadmap that’s rooted in data, not gut.
This is a heck of an offer. And it’s real. And will go fast. So if you want to future-proof your marketing strategy for 2026, don’t miss out on this offer.
Grab your spot at paramark.com/brand-consult.
***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
- They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
- Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
- Visit hatch.fm to learn more
The AI-powered Podcast Player
