The CMO Whisperer - podcast cover

The CMO Whisperer

Steve Olenski
The CMO Whisperer, hosted by former Forbes writer Steve Olenski, is dedicated to those who keep it real in AND out of the world of marketing. From others in the C-suite to agency leaders to editors of publications to athletes to entertainsers and on and on, this show is for them and about them.
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Episodes

What CMOs Need To Know About Agencies & More - Nic Chidiac

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 a...

Mar 15, 202434 minEp. 28

Marketing Lessons From a Challenger Brand CMO, Paul Suchman

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).

Mar 08, 202435 minEp. 27

A Slam Dunk! My 1:1 With Dustin Godsey, CMO, Milwaukee Bucks

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?

Mar 01, 202435 minEp. 26

Marketing Master Class, my priceless conversation with Raja Rajamannar (Mastercard CMO)

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 ...

Feb 23, 202437 minEp. 25

All You Need Is Love, My 1:1 With Alan Bethke, SVP, Marketing, Subaru of America

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.

Feb 16, 202433 minEp. 24

The bigger story behind 3rd party cookie deprecation & what it means for marketers

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 del...

Feb 02, 202440 minEp. 22

A Prescription For Marketing Success: My 1:1 With Dr. Marcus Collins

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.

Jan 29, 202439 minEp. 21

What Marketers Can Learn From a Former NBA Champion

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 co...

Jan 12, 202432 minEp. 19

A Woman of Influence: My 1:1 with Reena Agnihotri, former Global Head of Brand for Deloitte

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.

Dec 22, 202332 minEp. 17

From Sports to Skyscrapers: My 1:1 With Former CMO of the NJ Devils, Michael Williams

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.

Dec 15, 202339 minEp. 16

Having a Ball! My 1:1 with Jawad Bisbis, VP of Marketing for Ball Corp.

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.

Dec 08, 202337 minEp. 15

Sound Bites! My 1:1 With Westwood One’s Head of Insights Pierre Bouvard

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.

Dec 01, 202335 minEp. 14

AI, CMO tenures and influencers. My 1:1 with Jon Bond, co-founder of Kirshenbaum Bond

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 . Link...

Nov 24, 202335 minEp. 13

Huddle up! My 1:1 with Dawn Hudson, Former CMO of the NFL

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.

Nov 17, 202340 minEp. 12

The Ultimate Hershey Kiss. My 1:1 with Marketing Maestro, Bruce Hershey

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...

Nov 10, 202331 minEp. 11

Insights Into Insights! My 1:1 with Oksana Sobol, Insights Lead at Clorox

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...

Nov 03, 202338 minEp. 10

My Zero Moment of Truth With Jim Lecinski

Back in 2011, Jim Leschinsky, while working at Google, coined a phrase; Zero Moment of Truth. He would later write the book, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth. It was then and is still today a seminal book in the world of marketing. Jim's gone on to become an Associate Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University.

Oct 27, 202334 minEp. 9

A man of action, literally. My 1:1 with the Co-Founder of The Actionists, Pio Schunker

My guest today is Pio Schunker. Pio has been on both sides of the aisle; from the brand side, including stops at Coca Cola and Samsung, where he held senior marketing management roles, to the agency side, including stops on Ogilvy and Mather and Loewen and Partners, where he worked on accounts like American Express and Mercedes Benz. Most recently, Pio just launched his own agency called The Actionists , whose mission is to make marketing more actionable. Links Pio's LinkedIn Steve's LinkedIn...

Oct 20, 202348 minEp. 8

To marketing, McKinsey and beyond! My 1:1 with Bart Sichel

My guest today is Bart Sichel. Most recently, Bart was the CMO of Bed, Bath and Beyond. Before that, he was at Burlington stores and he was also a partner at McKinsey where he was a leader in their marketing practice. He has an unbelievable amount of experience in the world of marketing, especially in retail. We kicked off the conversation on the topic that is the elephant in every marketer's room, AI, and what it means in the world of retail. We had a really, really fascinating conversation abo...

Oct 13, 202341 minEp. 7

What the Weird Al of Investment Bankers can teach marketers, my 1:1 with LUMA Partners’ Terry Kawaja

My guest today is Terry Kawaja, the founder and CEO of Luma Partners, a strategic advisory firm that's right at the intersection of media, marketing and technology. Terry has been called the Jon Stewart of investment bankers, and with very good reason. He's overseen over $300 billion worth of transactions. He's also known at least by me as the Weird Al Yankovic of investment bankers. Find out why in my unbelievable, entertaining, energizing conversation with Terry. Links I'm Still Branding parod...

Oct 06, 202341 minEp. 6

From Star Trek to Peanuts to Cirque du Soleil oh my! Alma Derricks, Business & Brand Strategist

Alma Derricks has over 25 years of experience building inventive new ventures at established media, entertainment, tech, hospitality, CPG. You name it, she's done it, at brands like Verizon, Sirius XM, Amazon, Southwest Airlines. She's also held senior management positions at HBO, Paramount, and Cirque du Soleil. She's currently a senior client partner at Korn Ferry. Links Alma's LinkedIn Steve's LinkedIn...

Sep 29, 202334 minEp. 5

She’s got the rite stuff. My 1:1 with Jeanniey Walden, CMO of Rite-Aid & Thrifty Ice Cream & host of Liftoff

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.

Sep 22, 202333 minEp. 4

From McKinsey to Aetna to Harvard Business School, my 1:1 with David Edelman

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...

Sep 15, 202345 minEp. 3

Building one of the world's most recognized brands was music to his ears – Evan Greene, Former CMO, The Grammy Awards

My guest today is Evan Greene. Evan's the former CMO of the Recording Academy, which you probably know better as the Grammy Awards. Evan and I've known each other well over 10 years, and we had a truly fascinating conversation. We talked about everything from making the complex look simple to what initially drew him to the world of marketing in the first place, and if he was ever starstruck during his time at the Grammy awards. Just wait until you hear who sat right next to him at a rehearsal. L...

Sep 08, 202336 minEp. 2

The power of listening to lead, the benefit of a successful failure & more – Doug Zarkin, Award Winning CMO

My guest today is Doug Zarkin, former CMO of Pearl Vision. 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, beyon...

Sep 08, 202343 minEp. 1

The CMO Whisperer Trailer

Hi, this is Steve Olenski, AKA the CMO Whisperer, a title given to me by the former CMO of Walmart. Part marketing practitioner, part ad agency, veteran part journalist - I was a Forbes writer for nearly 10 years. What I am at my core is a conversationalist, I love to engage in real conversations. In a world where AI blurs the lines between what is authentic and what is not, The CMO Whisperer Show is all about reality, the reality of what it's like to be a CMO. But it's not just CMOs, this show'...

Sep 04, 20231 minEp. 1
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