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PODCAST

The CMO Whisperer

The CMO Whisperer, hosted by former Forbes writer Steve Olenski, is a curated executive platform and marketing leadership podcast where CMOs, brand leaders, and senior operators share candid insights on leadership, brand strategy, and growth. Spanning business, sports, and media, it goes beyond marketing to reveal how top leaders make decisions and perform at the highest levels.

business marketing

All Episodes

30:25

It's Marketing, Not Miracle Working - Frank Hamlin

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/10/09

My guest today is Frank 'MF' Hamlin, former EVP and Chief Customer Officer at GameStop, where he was in the C-suite during a pandemic-era short squeeze. Before GameStop, Frank built an impressive career across retail, e-commerce, and music, holding senior leadership roles at Guitar Center and Tailored Brands after nearly a decade in Nashville with Arista Records and Sony Music Publishing. He is also the author of Skinny Dipping at Low Tide, a darkly funny novel inspired by the boardroom

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24:46

Creators Are Becoming the New Media - Ruth Mortimer

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/10/06

My guest today has spent her career at the intersection of marketing, media, education, and ideas. Ruth Mortimer is the Global President at Advertising Week, where she helps shape the brand's thought leadership agenda and education business. Now, before Advertising Week, Ruth held leadership roles at Econsultancy, the Festival of Marketing, and Centaur Marketing. She's also a former editor of Marketing Week, an award-winning business columnist and has spent years creating conversations with

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29:43

AI Is Changing PR - Sarah Evans

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/10/02

My guest today is Sarah Evans, partner and head of PR at Zen Media. Sarah is a true pioneer in digital communications, having helped create the hashtag JournChat in 2008, founded Sevans PR, and spent the last two decades helping brands see around the corner before the rest of the market catches up. Today she leads Zen Media's PR practice, an AI visibility strategy, and was named one of Propel's top 100 PR tech leaders worldwide in 2025.

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37:03

Scaling Content Without Losing What Matters - Nicole Rex

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/09/25

My guest today is Nicole Rex, Vice President of Global Marketing Campaigns and Core Content at Dell Technologies. A journalist by training and a marketer by trade, Nicole has spent more than 25 years demonstrating that great storytelling isn't just creative, it's a business advantage. During her almost 20 years at Dell, she has led the company's internal creative agency, run experiential marketing, and held roles across social impact, content marketing, brand and creative development

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30:31

Creative Still Needs Humans - Carly Crittenden

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/09/22

My guest today is Carly Crittenden, Chief Revenue Officer at Vidmob, where she leads the company's global revenue organization and go-to-market strategy, helping brands and agencies drive stronger business outcomes through AI-powered creative data. With nearly two decades of experience across advertising technology and SaaS, Carly has held senior leadership roles at Black Crow AI, Oracle, Moat, and Google, building and scaling high-performing sales organizations and leading global

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24:52

Stop Building Better Chatbots - Aniket Deosthali

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/09/18

My guest today is Aniket Deosthali, CEO and co-founder of Envive AI. Before launching Envive, Aniket led Conversational Commerce at Walmart, where he helped build AI-powered shopping experiences at a massive scale and worked at the intersection of AI, commerce, and customer experience. Today, he's focused on helping brands move beyond the AI hype and use intelligent agents to drive real business outcomes. If you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, you know I am less

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30:47

The AI Growth Problem - Michael Stich

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/09/15

My guest today is Michael Stich, partner at CourtAvenue. Michael has spent more than 25 years helping some of the world's biggest brands navigate innovation, digital transformation, customer experience, AI, commerce, and just about every major shift marketing has faced over the last two decades. Today at CourtAvenue, he works with organizations including Kia, Epson, General Mills, Dell, and the US Air Force to solve complex business and marketing challenges. Before that, he held leadership

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31:19

Stop Chasing Celebrity Influencers - Dave Neville

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/09/08

My guest today is Dave Neville, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Johnnie-O, where he oversees brand strategy, digital marketing, creative, CRM, and partnerships for one of the fastest-growing premium lifestyle apparel brands in the market. Dave's career has taken him from serving as a captain in the US Air Force to advising global companies as a strategy consultant at Oliver Wyman and into leadership roles with iconic brands like Callaway Golf and Titleist. Along the way, he's built a

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31:41

Why Smart Marketers Overcomplicate - Philip Auerbach

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/09/04

My guest today is Philip Auerbach, Chief Marketing Officer at Custom Ink. Phil has built an impressive career leading marketing and commercial strategy for some incredibly well-known brands. Before joining Custom Ink, he led executive leadership roles at Bumble, Dunkin', Linblad Expeditions, and Caesars Entertainment, helping each of them navigate growth, digital transformation, and changing customer expectations. One of the many things I find most interesting about Phil's career is its

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30:51

AI Is Scaling Mediocrity - Will Leach

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/09/01

My guest today is Will Leach, founder of Mindstate Group and a leading expert in behavioral science and decision-making. Will previously led PepsiCo's behavioral science lab and has worked with brands including PepsiCo, Disney, Mars, Capital One, and 7-Eleven to better understand why customers choose and how leaders can make smarter decisions. He's also the best-selling author of Marketing to Mindstates, and advises executive teams on behavioral science, AI-powered insights, and growth

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29:45

Why Great Marketing Fails - Liz Crisafi

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/08/28

My guest today is Liz Crisafi, a transformational marketing executive with more than 25 years of experience building iconic brands, accelerating growth, and creating customer experiences that drive loyalty and business results. Over the course of her career, she's held leadership roles at IHG Hotels and Resorts, Hornblower Group, Discovery Communications, Eastman Kodak, Kimberly-Clark, and Ogilvy.With experience spanning hospitality, travel, media, entertainment, consumer products, and

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32:42

Why Smart Leaders Struggle - Alma Derricks & Eliza...

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/08/21

Today, I welcome two guests to the show, Alma Derricks and Eliza VanCort, the co-creators of Ignite, a leadership experience built around a simple but incredibly timely idea. As technology and AI continue to reshape the workplace, the human skills that drive great leadership have never been more important. These two came to this work from very different directions. Alma has spent more than three decades building businesses, launching brands, and leading commercial strategy for organizations

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26:49

B2B Is Still Human - Jake Nishimura

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/08/14

My guest today is Jake Nishimura, Vice President of Marketing at Kiswe, a company that's quietly changing the way some of the biggest names in sports, music, and entertainment connect with fans around the world. Jake's career started on the live event side of the business, promoting concerts for artists like Tara Swift and Ed Sheeran before making the jump into streaming, where he's helped bring live experiences to audiences for everyone from Queen and the Rolling Stones to Jack

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30:25

Marketing Has Lost Control - Marie Bahl

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/08/07

My guest today is Marie Bahl, Chief Marketing Officer at Uptempo. A few weeks ago, Marie published an article called Martech Built Empires—Now It Needs Bridges. More recently, she shared a manifesto with me that expanded on many of those ideas. Marie argues that marketers have spent years becoming data janitors, spreadsheet detectives, and professional explainers of their own value.Instead of building brands, driving growth, and shaping business strategy, too many marketing teams are

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24:41

Stop The Finger Pointing - Andrea Eaton

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/07/28

My guest today is Andrea Eaton, Chief Revenue Officer at Ataccama. Andrea is a growth-focused executive with more than 20 years of experience helping tech companies scale revenue, transform go-to-market strategies, and navigate periods of rapid growth. Her career spans leadership roles across sales, marketing, revenue operations, and product marketing, giving her a truly unique perspective on what it takes to drive sustainable business results.Now, before joining Ataccama, Andrea led global

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24:38

Escape The AI Paralysis - Mike Lane

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/07/24

My guest today is Mike Lane, CEO and co-founder of Fluency, the digital advertising operating system helping agencies scale paid media campaigns across every major digital ad channel.Fluency manages more than 250,000 campaigns monthly and nearly $3 billion in annual media spend, giving Mike a unique lens into where advertising, automation, and AI are all headed. The company recently raised a $40 million Series A to accelerate its growing agentic AI capabilities. And today we're going to dig

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21:25

AI Won't Replace Marketers - Christine Buck

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/07/17

This episode is recorded live at BrandSmart, the longest-running brand marketing conference in the U.S. BrandSmart brings together noteworthy speakers and future-forward marketers — a who’s who of decision-makers and influencers — to share proven tools, smart ideas and inspiring stories. Joining the CMO Whisperer today is Christine Buck, CMO of MiniTab and AMA board member, as well as the 2024 AMA Chicago Marketer of the Year. Christine brings deep global experience and a sharp data-driven

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25:07

Every Child Needs Someone - Kathryn Fernandez

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/07/14

My guest today is Kathryn Fernandez, Chief Executive Officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence. Kathryn has spent her career helping people reach their full potential, first as a teacher, then as a Peace Corps Youth Development Volunteer, and later through leadership roles across Philadelphia's nonprofit community. Today, she leads one of the region's most impactful organizations, working every day to create life-changing mentoring relationships for young people across the

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28:07

Advertising Can Save Lives - Kris Johns

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/07/10

My guest today is Kris Johns, founder and CEO of AdGood, and somebody whose career sits right at the intersection of innovation, media, and impact. Kris has spent more than 15 years helping shape the streaming and ad tech world, building platforms and businesses that transformed how audiences discover content and how companies create growth. He helped scale AdPool into one of the world's largest CTV marketplaces, played a major role at World before its acquisition by AppLovin, and was part

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32:00

Why Rebrands Actually Fail - James Maddison

The CMO Whisperer ·

2026/07/07

My guest today is James Maddison, CMO at blockchain.com, and this is one of those stories where the path to the top doesn't exactly follow the neat little roadmap that career counselors hand you in school. James has worn a lot of hats on the way. Journalism, entrepreneurship, brand building, marketing leadership, and figuring out how to connect storytelling with growth in industries that move fast and rarely come with instruction manuals.Before blockchain.com, he helped shape growth and

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168 results

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