The CMO Podcast

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.

This week, The CMO Podcast celebrates Black History Month with a special episode centered on the incredibly fast start-up of an organization called BECA–the Black Executive CMO Alliance. BECA is the 3-year-old brainchild of founder & CEO Jerri DeVard, the former CMO of Verizon, ADT and Office Depot.BECA is the only alliance created and composed of Black CMOs and CXOs to address the persistent diversity problems in America’s C-Suites and boardrooms. It has gained momentum in the short three years since its founding; its membership represents a collective market cap of $800 billion.Jim is joined by three leaders whose lives have been impacted by BECA:-Gail Petersen: Chief Marketing Officer & Executive Vice President, Global Marketing & Communications at Ecolab, a global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions-DeLu Jackson: Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer for the home-security company ADT-Christina Marshall-Valdez: Director of Commercialization, Southeast Asia, SC Johnson–the large, privately held consumer products company. Christina is a BECA Future Leader who has recently graduated as part of the first cohort of The BECA Playbook.Learn more about BECA at https://blackexec.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just in time for the month of love, this week's guest on The CMO Podcast is Michelle Crossan-Matos, the Chief Marketing Officer for Ulta Beauty. Founded in 1990, Ulta Beauty is the largest beauty retailer in the US, with sales in the $11 billion range, and growing. It offers a wide range of beauty products and salon services: 25,000 products online and across their nearly 1400 stores, from 500 well established AND emerging brands.Ulta Beauty is not just big; the company is highly innovative in how they think about their store associates, their retail media, their loyalty program, and how they work with brand partners. Michelle was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. She graduated from the University of Strathclyde Business School before joining P&G in Europe. After 16 years at P&G, Michelle held CMO roles at Vertu, the luxury tech brand, and Samsung US. Michelle joined Ulta about one year ago. She has two middle-school-aged children, and splits her time between Puerto Rico and the Chicago area, where Ulta Beauty is based. Of special note: Jim had the previous CMO of Ulta Beauty, Shelley Haus, on the show in October 2020. Shelley was one of the brightest stars in the industry, and sadly passed away in the summer of 2022. So, it is with poignancy that Jim welcomes her successor.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tune in this week for The CMO Podcast's fifth annual Super Bowl Roundtable Discussion! Important marketers provide insight into how they created their Super Bowl ads and share their thoughts on the biggest marketing day of the year.Jim welcomes special co-host, Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman of VaynerX & CEO at VaynerMedia. Joining this year's conversation:Brett O'Brien (CMO of PepsiCo Foods North America)Kory Marchisotto (CMO of e.l.f. Beauty and President at Keys Soulcare)Russell Wager (VP Marketing for KIA America)Gabrielle Wesley (CMO of Mars Wrigley North America)Andrea Zaretsky (CMO of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management)Michelle Deignan (VP of Marketing & GM of OREO)Adam Kornblum (SVP & Global Head of Digital Marketing at CeraVe)David Corns (CMO of Open Door)Eric Edge (Managing Director, Marketing & Advertising for Alaska Air)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Vineet Mehra, CMO of Chime, discusses the company's mission to revolutionize banking. They explore the future of marketing, unified brand and performance strategies, and navigating challenges in financial services. Mehra also shares insights on evolving brand purpose, differentiation in fintech, and social media strategies.

Jim's guests on The CMO Podcast are entrepreneurs Mike Zelkind and Tisha Livingston, founders of 80 Acres Farms. Mike is the CEO of 80 Acre Farms and Tisha is the CEO of Infinite Acres, a subsidiary of 80 Acres and the tech platform that powers the company.Listeners are likely not familiar with this company, but should be. The nine-year old startup has raised more than $250 Million and revolutionized farming. 80 Acres is a pioneer in indoor, vertical farming. Imagine a farm that does not need sun, soil or favorable weather. It also does not use pesticides, and instead utilizes 100% renewable energy and 97% less water than a traditional farm, making it 300x more productive. 80 Acres Farms produce now appears in Kroger, Whole Foods, and other select retailers.Mike and Tisha met while working together at Pierre Foods. Both had backgrounds in supply chain management before becoming partners and founding 80 Acres in 2015. Tune in for a conversation with a new breed of farmers, who have a true sense of conviction to help make a better world.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Julius Robinson, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for Marriott International, and Samatha Maltin, CMO for Sesame Workshop, reflect on the major themes from 2023. Topics include the changing role of CMOs, the politicization of ESG and DEI, building outstanding teams, valuing creativity, reimagining Sesame Street, and focusing on high-impact tasks.