The CMO Podcast

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 previously the top marketer at OKCupid for five years. After graduating from Fordham University, Melissa began her career as a publicist in media and entertainment before pivoting into consulting with Buyology. Later, Walgreens came calling, and she spent four years at the giant retailer as VP of Marketing. After a brief stint at a startup, Melissa joined the Match Group as CMO at OKCupid in 2017. Tune in for a colorful, radiant and ebullient conversation with a CMO who swipes right on love, creativity and community.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 are from Mexico.Alvaro has worked as CEO of Avocados From Mexico since nearly the beginning. He graduated from the University of Costa Rica and began his career in CPG marketing at the Scott Paper Company. Alvaro spent nearly eight years at Gruma, a market leader in branded corn and flour tortillas, working in Costa Rica, Venezuela and the United States. Tune in for a conversation with a leader who has built a brand in a brand-less category, while massively growing the industry.For your celebrations this week, try Alvaro's recipe for guacamole: along with fresh Avocados From Mexico, mix in pistachios, dried cranberries, cotija cheese and roasted jalapeños.Plus check out their GuacAImole experience for Cinco de Mayo: https://avocadosfrommexico.com/cincodemayo/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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, Davis Smith founded Cotopaxi about 10 years ago in Salt Lake City. Cotopaxi is named after a volcano in Ecuador–where Davis lived–and the brand icon is a llama, for the quirky herd animals of the high Andes.Brad is a returning guest on this show. Jim chatted with Brad back in December 2020, when he was the Chief Marketing Officer for General Mills. Brad worked at General Mills for over 16 years (four as CMO). He briefly worked as interim CMO for Beyond Meat after leaving General Mills, and he joined Cotopaxi in September 2022 as its first Chief Brand Officer. Tune in to learn why Brad chose purpose as this stop on his career and how Cotopaxi is looking forward as a sustainable brand. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 vividly exemplified that conviction throughout her career. Shelley began her career in consumer research, and eventually founded a company in 2000 called OTX, a pioneer in the then-emerging field of online research. Then in 2010, Shelley sold OTX to research giant Ipsos and left in 2015 to found The Female Quotient.Shelley is also the co-founder of #SeeHer, a movement led by the Association of National Advertisers to increase the accurate portrayal of women and girls in advertising and media. Shelley is a supreme connector, a tireless advocate, and a great storyteller.Follow Shelley and her travels: https://www.instagram.com/shelleyzalis/and learn more about the Female Quotient: https://www.thefemalequotient.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mauro Porcini, SVP and Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo, talks about the power of storytelling in his transition from designer to author, balancing data and storytelling for CMO strategies, the impact of dreaming big and parenthood on creativity, empowering design in corporations like PepsiCo and 3M, and lessons in kind and human-centric leadership through design.

Michelle Froah, Global CMO at ETS, shares insights on ETS brand refresh, including leveraging technology for skill assessments and catering to new customer groups. Discusses leadership challenges, data vs storytelling, career transitions, and the importance of positive energy in overcoming obstacles.

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 Companies, scoring high in innovation and people management. Natalie is Canadian by birth, studied at Queens University in Ontario, and joined American Express shortly after college. She stayed at AmEx for fourteen years, before moving to Citi for two years. Then she made a big jump in her career–she moved to California and joined the startup world, working at two fintech startups and one young health care company. In 2021 she decided to join BNY Mellon. As the company celebrates its 240th anniversary, Natalie joins Jim to talk about she works to build curiosity and pride within her team and beyond. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 changing to something larger, anchored in their purpose to provide help and inspire confidence in their clients and communities. Jim talks to Jill about about reframing a 70-year-old brand–its challenges, its opportunities–and what H&R Block is learning along the way. Jill was a guest on the show way back in January 2020–when she was transitioning from her role as CMO at National Geographic to VP of Marketing at PayPal. Now Jill returns to talk about her time at H&R Block, just in time for you to finalize your own taxes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Deena LaMarque Piquion, Chief Growth & Disruption Officer at Xerox, discusses Xerox's reorganization, her journey from Tech Data to Xerox, and her leadership philosophy. She emphasizes being a dedicated mother and leader. The podcast also explores the transformation of a CMO to a Chief Growth and Disruption Officer, organizational changes, and leadership skills. Deena shares insights on audience targeting, personal branding, and writing a book, highlighting the importance of setting higher goals, balancing life, and projecting values.

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 podcast to talk about how she has approached leading the largest professional services firm in the US. Then, the show takes an interesting turn. Lara is an unabashed believer in the power of sports in building future women leaders, and the enormous economic opportunity for brands in the still massively underdeveloped area of women’s sports. Tune in for a conversation with an athlete herself–Lara still plays competitive softball–and learn how she looks to develop the next generation of women leaders through sports.Check out the "The real MVPs of business": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5XqZ4PlQCgSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.