A CMO Confidential Interview with Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph, formerly co-founder and CEO of LiveRamp. Auren discusses his belief that vendor management is the most critical skill for the future and why most companies should "rent" a high caliber pool of talent instead of hiring individual executives. Key topics include: thoughts on improving your vendor management skill (with outside law firms as an example); the concept of "scaffolding" developing talent; why he believes procurement is a "negative value" function; and why he would short consulting firm Booz Allen. Tune in to hear why he thinks private equity has shifted from making companies better into financial engineers and his belief that an MBA usually has a negative ROI.

CMO Confidential: Auren Hoffman on Vendor Management, Talent Strategy, and the Broken MBA

In this week’s episode of CMO Confidential, Mike Linton sits down with Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph and former co-founder/CEO of LiveRamp, to challenge conventional thinking on hiring, procurement, and leadership development.

Auren shares why he believes vendor management is the #1 skill for future executives—and why most companies should rent world-class capabilities rather than hire executives they can’t fully utilize. From “scaffolding” young talent to his provocative views on procurement’s negative value, Booz Allen, MBAs, and the transformation of private equity, this episode is packed with contrarian insights for CMOs, CEOs, and founders alike.

🧠 Don’t miss Auren’s candid takes on why many traditional business functions are stuck in the past—and what leaders should do instead.

🔔 Subscribe for more insider lessons on what it really takes to thrive in the C-suite.

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction: Auren Hoffman’s Background & Career Path

01:45 - The Most Important Executive Skill: Vendor Management

05:22 - Why Renting Talent Beats Hiring for Most Companies

08:40 - Scaffolding: A Framework for Developing Talent

12:10 - The Case Against Procurement: “A Negative Value Function”

16:03 - Why He Would Short Booz Allen

18:35 - Private Equity’s Shift from Builders to Financial Engineers

23:14 - The Problem with MBAs and Why ROI is Often Negative

26:40 - How Executives Should Rethink Internal Capabilities

29:08 - Final Thoughts & Rapid-Fire Takes

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