Episodes

  • Branding, Beverages, and Breakthroughs with Keurig Dr Pepper CMO Drew Panayiotou

    Branding, Beverages, and Breakthroughs with Keurig Dr Pepper CMO Drew Panayiotou
    Dec 3 2025
    "Being a public company CMO is very different than being a CMO in a private entity ... you need to deliver earnings. And I'd say this, any CMO that is not focused on driving revenue will not be there a long time," says Drew Panayiotou, the CMO of Keurig Dr Pepper. "You have to drive revenue, no if, ands, or buts." Consistently driving revenue gets even harder when, like Drew, you are stewarding 125 brands, including Yoohoo, Hawaiian Punch, Canada Dry, Keurig, Dr Pepper, and 7-Up. Drew believes in focusing on building emotional connections and cultural relevancy, driving raving fans to perpetuate the brand’s growth and significantly impacting revenue. Today on Building Better CMOs, he talks with Marketing + Media Alliance CEO Greg Stuart about harnessing digital transformation to fuel marketing initiatives, the importance of internal alignment and communication, and the role of emotional connections in brand loyalty. ⁠Full transcript⁠ This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod⁠⁠ Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Rate and review the podcast ⁠⁠Drew's LinkedIn⁠⁠ Greg's LinkedIn
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • From Candy to Credit with Natasha Madan of Intuit Credit Karma

    From Candy to Credit with Natasha Madan of Intuit Credit Karma
    Nov 19 2025
    "If you don't drive, you will be driven," says Natasha Madan, the head of marketing at Intuit Credit Karma. "You have to play offense, you cannot be playing defense." That leadership philosophy has helped Natasha navigate from marketing candy brands at Nestlé to building Prime's brand strategy at Amazon, and now helping millions of people make financial progress. She believes marketers struggle to connect brand marketing with growth marketing, creating a gap that limits their impact. Today on Building Better CMOs, she and Marketing + Media Alliance CEO Greg Stuart discuss why marketing needs to bridge brand and performance, how understanding consumer psychology drives breakthrough creative, and why leadership means making tough decisions people may not initially like. They also explore the deep relationship people have with money, the power of AI-driven personalization, and why clarity is kindness in both parenting and managing teams. Full transcript This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠ Rate and review the podcast Natasha's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn
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    53 mins
  • Connecting Marketing to Growth, with Wayfair CMO Paul Toms

    Connecting Marketing to Growth, with Wayfair CMO Paul Toms
    Nov 5 2025
    Full transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch this interview on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Wayfair CMO Paul Toms got some advice from the company’s first marketing boss, which he still uses all the time: “Nobody cares about anything that happened before today. All we care about is that we make the smartest decision today… It lets you just engage in the present and in solving for the future without over-rotating on a prior decision." Paul has spent nearly 19 years at Wayfair, starting when the company had about 100 employees. Today, he oversees five brands across four countries, and leads marketing for a $12 billion business that's expanded into physical retail while maintaining its digital-first foundation. Today on Building Better CMOs, Paul and Marketing + Media Alliance CEO Greg Stuart talk about why marketers struggle to connect their work to business outcomes, and why the distinction between brand and performance marketing is simply a time window. They also discuss how to resolve disagreements by finding common ground, how Wayfair is finding innovative uses for AI, and why making decisions with incomplete information is essential for growth. This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate & review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paul's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠
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    56 mins
  • Luxury, Leadership, and AI with Mercedes-Benz USA CMO Melody Lee

    Luxury, Leadership, and AI with Mercedes-Benz USA CMO Melody Lee
    Oct 23 2025
    Full transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch this interview on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — "I would argue, in the C-Suite, there's not a job that has expanded, shifted, evolved more so than the CMO's role, more so than a marketer's role," says Melody Lee, CMO of Mercedes-Benz USA. "We are now responsible not for marketing as tactics, but marketing as a growth strategy for a company, for a brand."Melody carries what she calls "a burden of responsibility," a privilege and a challenge to ensure Mercedes-Benz continues to live up to its 140-year old legacy. She says marketers have to elevate their role internally — ensuring colleagues understand how marketing influences and drives business forward — while also protecting the intangible value that makes luxury brands worth their premium.Today on Building Better CMOs, Melody and Marketing + Media Alliance CEO Greg Stuart discuss the evolving role of the CMO, why diversity of thought creates the best-performing teams, and why the best leaders focus on making the people around them successful. They also explore the unique challenges of luxury brand marketing, the importance of measurement that drives better decisions, and why Mercedes-Benz approaches AI innovation with both ambition and caution as it introduces next-generation vehicles. This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate & review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Melody's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠
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    56 mins
  • How Leaders Raise the Bar, with Moët Hennessy USA SVP Regan O'Kon

    How Leaders Raise the Bar, with Moët Hennessy USA SVP Regan O'Kon
    Oct 8 2025
    Full transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch this interview on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ — One simple piece of advice has had a “profound impact” on Moët Hennessy USA SVP Regan O'Kon’s career: “Don't let tasks take over.” “We are all guilty of letting tasks take over, every single day,” Regan says. “You might have to create a PowerPoint, you might have to put a checklist on your annual planning milestone. You might have to have a huge cross-functional meeting, you might have to present to the board … [but] the most important thing is your team and your ability as a leader to remove barriers and let them go and be creative and inspired.” That philosophy guides Regan as the SVP of Commercial Marketing for Moët Hennessy USA, where her portfolio includes Dom Perignon, Hennessy, Veuve Clicquot, and other iconic brands. In an industry where luxury is defined by small acts of service and hospitality, Regan's team works to ensure every consumer interaction creates a memory. Today on Building Better CMOs, Regan and MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart discuss the complexity of bringing brand strategy to life at the point of purchase, the importance of leading with emotional intelligence, and how relentless focus and team consistency helped build the Aperol Spritz into a global phenomenon. They also explore the balance between data-driven insights and cultural intuition, why storytelling matters as much as the product itself, and how historic brands evolve while honoring their heritage. This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate & review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regan's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠
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    48 mins
  • Agentic AI and Emotional Connection with Noha Abdalla, CMO of Choice Hotels

    Agentic AI and Emotional Connection with Noha Abdalla, CMO of Choice Hotels
    Sep 24 2025
    Full transcript⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Watch this interview on YouTube⁠⁠⁠ — “Sometimes when you get to a fork in the road and you have to decide, am I going to stay in this job or take this new job? … It can feel like the weight of the world on your shoulders to make that decision,” says Noha Abdalla, CMO of Choice Hotels. “[But] each path is going to lead you somewhere else and you're going to learn something new. And so take the burden off a little bit or the weight of that decision off and pick something and learn from it.” That philosophy has carried Noha from consulting to the American Red Cross, from Animal Planet to Hilton, and now to leading marketing across 22 brands and millions of room nights at Choice. Along the way, she’s seen firsthand how marketing builds trust, not just bookings, and how AI is transforming the creative process. Today on Building Better CMOs, Noha talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about the challenges of hospitality marketing, the decision to bring in Keegan-Michael Key as brand ambassador, and her team’s experiments with agentic AI to personalize at scale. They also discuss the role of mentorship, lessons from running a franchise business, and why marketers must champion emotional connection and trust at every step of the customer journey. This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate & review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Noha's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠
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    51 mins
  • Stacy Hammond, CMO of Charles Schwab: Cheerleader Leadership

    Stacy Hammond, CMO of Charles Schwab: Cheerleader Leadership
    Aug 20 2025
    Full transcript⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Watch this interview on YouTube⁠⁠ — “Knowing who you are then leads you to a place where you can start asking questions about how who you are shows up in the workplace,” says Stacy Hammond, Chief Marketing Officer at Charles Schwab. “Everybody at Schwab is a leader,” she says, and the best leaders do market research on themselves: How they are perceived, and how those perceptions align with the value they bring. Today on Building Better CMOs, Stacy and MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart talk about turning “earners into owners,” making investing simple and approachable, and the importance of both accessibility and transparency. They also discuss her unconventional path to the CMO role, beginning in Schwab’s retail business 24 years ago, and what it means to be a “cheerleader” for your team. This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate & review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stacy's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠
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    52 mins
  • Lisa Caputo, CMO of Travelers: Empathy Meets Innovation

    Lisa Caputo, CMO of Travelers: Empathy Meets Innovation
    Jul 9 2025
    Full transcript⁠ ⁠Watch this interview on YouTube⁠ — "You have to blend innovation with empathy, and effectively combine data-driven insights and creative storytelling," says Lisa Caputo, the Chief Marketing, Communication and Customer Experience Officer at Travelers. "To me, that's a magic combination." And there's one more ingredient missing from the recipe, which Lisa has learned over a career spanning broadcast journalism, the White House, and corporate America: The willingness to stay curious and embrace change. Today on Building Better CMOs, she shares insights on transforming customer experience at Travelers, the four-legged stool of "Big M marketing," and the critical role of leadership in driving organizational change. She and MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart also discuss the value of measurement in demonstrating impact, what she learned from working for Bill & Hillary Clinton, and how to foster an environment of empathy. Correction: Travelers is 170 years old, not 161. This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠LightningPod.fm⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate & review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Greg's LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠
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    1 hr and 7 mins