My guest this week is Shelley Zalis, CEO and co-founder of The Female Quotient, a true trailblazer known as the “Chief Troublemaker.” She has always made her mark as an entrepreneur, a global advocate for women in the workplace, and a three-time movement maker. She pioneered online research, co-founded the #SeeHer initiative, and built The Female Quotient, home to the world's largest community of women in business. With accolades like the Matrix Award and recognition as one of LinkedIn's Top 20 ...
Aug 15, 2025•33 min•Ep. 90
My guest today is Vicky Lozano, the CMO of Crayola — yes, the company that basically defined many of our childhoods. In her role, Vicky leads Crayola’s consumer communications, partnership marketing, digital and omnichannel marketing, interactive app portfolio, education, and location-based entertainment. Before joining Crayola, she managed a $1.2 billion gum and mints portfolio at Cadbury, working on well-known brands like Trident and Dentyne. She has also held major roles at Miller Brewing, Wa...
Aug 08, 2025•32 min•Ep. 89
My guest this week is Eric Williamson, Chief Marketing Officer at CallMiner. Eric brings more than 20 years of experience across tech and consumer marketing, spanning both the agency and brand sides. At CallMiner, he leads all global marketing functions, working hand-in-hand with sales and channel teams to fuel growth and pipeline. Before stepping into his role at CallMiner, Eric served as VP of Brand and Digital Marketing at Acquia, where he led everything from creative to demand generation for...
Aug 01, 2025•29 min•Ep. 88
My guest this week is Eliot Hamlisch, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Amtrak, a role he took on in September 2023. He's been leading initiatives across pricing, revenue management, marketing, product development, and the entire customer experience for Amtrak’s national network. Whether you're riding the Northeast Corridor or traveling cross-country, Eliot is focused on reinventing the journey—from schedule planning to digital touchpoints. He's helping drive Amtrak’s goal...
Jul 29, 2025•32 min•Ep. 87
My guest this week is back for another episode adventure. He was one of my very first guests on The CMO Whisperer —Dave Edelman. A longtime thought leader in marketing and customer experience, Dave has amassed over 1 million followers on LinkedIn . Over the past 30 years, he’s led strategy and digital marketing practices at BCG, Digitas, and McKinsey, and also served as the Chief Marketing Officer at Aetna. Today, he’s an executive advisor and senior fellow at Harvard Business School, where he w...
Jun 20, 2025•34 min•Ep. 86
My guest this week is Jennifer Renaud , CEO and board director at Coolhouse Botanics , where she leads corporate and portfolio strategy, operational expansion, and investor alignment for the Kradle pet wellness brand. With over 30 years of experience—including global marketing leadership at Oracle Marketing Cloud and Masonite—she excels in building enterprise value through growth strategy, brand revitalization, and cross-sector innovation. Throughout her career spanning enterprise technology, me...
Jun 06, 2025•33 min•Ep. 85
My guest this week is DeLu Jackson, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at ADT. A seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience, DeLu has led marketing transformation at some of the world’s most iconic brands, including McDonald’s, Audi, Kellogg’s, Nissan, Subaru, ConAgra, and now ADT. He’s known for his data-driven, customer-first approach and for helping redefine what protection and connection mean in the smart home and small business security space. W...
May 30, 2025•29 min•Ep. 84
My guest this week is Evan Day. Evan is the VP of Digital Marketing at BriteCap Financial, where he’s been mastering the art and science of making complex things simple for over 15 years. He’s worked with giants like Comcast and global heavyweights in publishing, bringing data-driven strategy to the forefront at every stop. But that’s not all. Evan is also pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology with a focus on neuroscience—because apparently having a master’s in data science wasn’t enough. Overachiever....
May 23, 2025•29 min•Ep. 83
My guest this week is Jenny Wall, Chief Marketing Officer at VideoAmp, a company that's transforming the world of media measurement and advertising performance. With over 30 years of experience leading marketing for some of the most iconic entertainment and tech brands—including HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and Nickelodeon—Jenny is known for creating bold, innovative campaigns that not only drive results but shape culture. She's also been recognized as one of Adweek 's most influential women in advertisi...
May 16, 2025•34 min•Ep. 82
My guest this week is making his second appearance on the CMO Whisperer podcast, and for good reason. He’s a CMO who’s helped Fortune 500 companies, startups, and even a scratch-made pizza shop break through the noise. He’s driven $350 million in revenue from one campaign. He’s sparked 45% growth in online grocery and built brands that lead with meaning and scale with precision. With over 25 years in the game, Bruce Hershey isn’t just a marketer—he’s a builder, a breaker, and someone who’s redef...
May 09, 2025•29 min•Ep. 81
My guest this week is someone whose career path may not be linear, but it's been anything but boring. Jason Chebib started out in some of London’s top ad agencies, including Ogilvy, Publicis, J. Walter Thompson, and BBDO, where he worked alongside CMOs and future CMOs at brands like Shell, Unilever, Dyson, Mars, and Ford. Then came a pivot—from creating campaigns to teaching the science behind them. Jason traveled the world, training the next generation of marketers in what actually works when i...
May 02, 2025•31 min•Ep. 80
My guest this week is Tory Pachis, CMO of Amica Mutual Insurance Company, based in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Tory is a seasoned insurance executive with nearly 25 years of industry experience. At Amica, he oversees five core areas within the marketing department: marketing, data science, media and platform, branding and communications, operations and project management, and digital experience. He joined the company in 2020 as Vice President of Marketing and has since led a brand renaissance. That i...
Apr 25, 2025•29 min•Ep. 79
My guest this week is Doug Zarkin, a transformative leader in branding and marketing, known for his quick-thinking, human approach. His career highlights are many, including co-founding breakthrough advertising, youth entertainment, and lifestyle marketing campaigns; leading the successful launch of Avon’s mark. brand; and elevating Victoria’s Secret PINK into a national powerhouse. He also played a key role in driving brand transformations at Kenwood and Pro Vision. Doug is currently serving as...
Apr 18, 2025•27 min•Ep. 78
My guest this week is an award-winning marketer, business executive, strategist, and brand innovator. Daniel Cherry III has extensive experience across sports, CPG, lifestyle, music and entertainment, and luxury consumer categories. He’s had a storied career working with some of the world’s most iconic brands, including DC Comics, Activision Blizzard Esports, the New Jersey Devils, the New York Cosmos, and now Adidas. His work has earned numerous awards and recognitions, including a Grammy nomin...
Apr 11, 2025•31 min•Ep. 77
My guest this week is Randi Stipes, the Chief Marketing Officer at The Weather Company, one of the world's most trusted brands and most accurate forecasters. No stranger to marketing transformation, Randi challenges marketers to think differently about the weather and its business implications across every industry. With nearly three decades in media and marketing, she has served in a variety of roles across product, editorial, sales, and marketing, all of which have provided her with a unique p...
Apr 04, 2025•34 min•Ep. 76
My guest this week is Brian Irving, the Chief Marketing Officer of Lyft. Brian has over two decades of experience building and marketing iconic global brands, including Meta, Eventbrite, Apple, Google, Levi's, and Airbnb. As CMO at Lyft, Brian leads all marketing, creative, and communications efforts for the brand. This includes developing strategy and executing product and brand marketing, overseeing the creative studio, managing social media, and handling external communications. Prior to join...
Mar 28, 2025•26 min•Ep. 75
My guest this week is Christy Haskins, the VP and CMO of La-Z-Boy, leading the brand reinvigoration efforts of the nearly 100-year-old—yes, 100!—beloved brand across consumer marketing, digital commerce, consumer insights, and creative. Previously, Christy worked across brands and portfolios at Whirlpool Corporation and Nestlé Purina PetCare. Her experience spans brand management, shopper and retail marketing, innovation, and category management across well-known brands like KitchenAid, Whirlpoo...
Mar 21, 2025•34 min•Ep. 74
My guest today is Steve Rotter, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at DeepL, a Language AI platform that enables over 100,000 businesses to transform communications, reach new markets, and improve productivity. Steve is an entrepreneur, evangelist, and author, bringing over two decades of tech marketing leadership experience to his role as CMO. A two-time founder, he has had three successful exits and has been part of three unicorn companies. Steve is deeply passionate about innovative marketing, AI,...
Mar 14, 2025•28 min•Ep. 73
My guest today is Melton Littlepage, CMO of 1Password—trusted by more than 100,000 businesses to protect their data. 1Password gives you complete control over passwords and other sensitive business information. Melton has a 20-plus-year track record of innovation, category creation, and growth acceleration at technology companies. Prior to joining 1Password, he was the CMO of Outreach—the leading sales execution platform—helping individual sales reps and entire revenue organizations create more ...
Mar 07, 2025•34 min•Ep. 72
In this special two-for-one episode of The CMO Whisperer Podcast, host Steve Olenski welcomes two distinguished guests – John Kearon, Founder, System1 Group, and Joel Weinberger, Professor of Psychology, Derner School of Psychology. Together, they dive deep into the fascinating intersection of advertising, emotions, and decision-making, exploring how feelings drive actions and the role of familiarity and fear in marketing. From thought-provoking insights on the power of nostalgia to the balance ...
Feb 28, 2025•39 min•Ep. 71
My guest today is Steven Fuld , the former Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Corporate Marketing at Sony Corporation of America . Steven led U.S. marketing efforts in collaboration with Sony's Tokyo headquarters and operating companies such as PlayStation, Sony Pictures, and Sony Electronics. His leadership spanned brand strategy and communications, enterprise marketing, technology, and loyalty program design. His team defined Sony's brand positioning, managed paid and organic channels...
Feb 21, 2025•34 min•Ep. 70
My guest today is Tim McDermott. Tim is the President of the Philadelphia Union and Union Sports and Entertainment, overseeing all club business operations. Since joining the Union in 2016, his efforts have focused on increasing brand strength, expanding the fan base, and enhancing revenue opportunities, while maintaining a commitment to growing soccer and positively impacting the community. Under his leadership, the Union have achieved significant milestones, including record partnership revenu...
Feb 14, 2025•27 min•Ep. 69
My guest this week is Jenn Ogden-Reese, Chief Marketing Officer at On Location, a leading premium experiences company providing access to ticket packages with enhanced hospitality and premier end-to-end travel for bucket-list events. She has more than 25 years of experience building businesses and leading multi-platform marketing and strategy. Before joining On Location, she served as CMO at several high-growth companies, including 2U , an ed-tech company serving over 44 million registered learn...
Feb 07, 2025•29 min•Ep. 68
My guest today is Suzanne Darmory , the former Chief Marketing Officer at Refundo , the only minority-owned fintech platform in the tax industry, committed to fostering inclusivity in the communities they serve. In addition to founding her own boutique agency, The AGNCY That Sold Agnesi , she has spent her career on both the client side—working with companies like IBM, L'Oréal, and Jackson Hewitt—and the agency side in New York (Arnold Deutsch, Gray, JWT) and London (Bates UK, Euro KG, Ogilvy Ma...
Jan 31, 2025•34 min•Ep. 67
My guest this week is Dara Treseder, the Chief Marketing Officer at Autodesk, a leading technology and software company that is transforming how the world is designed and made. She oversees global marketing, brand, communications, demand generation, e-commerce, and education business teams. As a veteran CMO, Dara has held key leadership roles, including Global Head of Marketing, Communications, and Membership at Peloton, CMO of Carbon, and CMO of GE Business Innovations and GE Ventures. Earlier ...
Jan 24, 2025•34 min•Ep. 66
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 an...
Jan 17, 2025•32 min•Ep. 65
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 o...
Jan 10, 2025•27 min•Ep. 64
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 con...
Dec 27, 2024•45 min•Ep. 63
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.
Dec 20, 2024•33 min•Ep. 62
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 ...
Dec 13, 2024•37 min•Ep. 61
