CMO Confidential

• Brand U - Building Your Personal Brand as a Marketing Leader | Kip Knight | CMO Coaches Founder

  A CMO Confidential Interview with Kip Knight, founder of CMO Coaches, former CMO of Taco Bell and H&R Block USPresident. Kip lays out the case for marketers to build their brands based on trust, authenticity and personal core principles along with an objective understanding of "what you are really famous for being able to accomplish." Key topics include: why executive presence matters; the combination of emotional IQ and curiosity; the need for resume "proof points;" and why role models matter. Tune in to hear networking tips, why you want to know what "they say about you when you aren't in the room" and the power of a handwritten thank you note. Kip Knight (Founder, CMO Coaches; former Taco Bell CMO & H&R Block US Retail President) joins Mike Linton to get practical about building a durable *personal brand* as a marketing leader. We cover a three-step framework (self-assessment - positioning - activation), executive presence (IQ + EQ + CQ), how to lead with truth during tough calls, and why handwritten notes still matter. Sponsored by Typeface — the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo.**Key points**• Personal brands aren’t accidental: in today’s AI-accelerated market, being findable and consistent is table stakes for senior roles. • The framework: start with a rigorous self-assessment (360s, reviews, assessments), then define positioning around your true superpowers, and finally activate with proof points. • Be objective: ambition without a strategy and measurable evidence sets you up to fail; build real proof points before you sell your story. • Executive presence = IQ + EQ + CQ (curiosity). Lean into new tech (e.g., GenAI) and stay relentlessly curious. • Truth is better than spin in crises: define reality, be transparent, and your team will follow you through hard decisions (e.g., headcount cuts). • Culture is the stories told when you’re not in the room; leaders are “always on,” so model consistency and principle-led behavior. • CMOs as business integrators: convene IT, Legal, Finance, HR, and the CEO to make the right GenAI bets with clear success criteria. • Power move: send handwritten notes on high-quality stationery; the impact far exceeds email. **Chapters**00:00 Welcome + sponsor: Typeface — why brand still wins in the age of AI 03:00 Why your personal brand matters more than ever 06:00 Being findable & consistent in an AI world 07:00 The 3-part framework: self-assessment - positioning - activation 10:00 Doing an honest self-assessment (360s, reviews, Working Genius) 14:00 Turning strengths into positioning; knowing your kryptonite 16:00 Executive presence: IQ, EQ, and CQ (curiosity quotient) 20:00 Truth-telling vs. vulnerability during layoffs and tough calls 23:00 Role models, “always on” leadership, and culture as stories 29:00 CMOs as business integrators on GenAI — how to run the process 32:00 Networking that works: “How can I help you?”, warm intros, no ghosting 34:00 Elite habit: handwritten notes on great stationery (why it lands) 36:00 Wrap + where to find more CMO Confidential TagsCMO,marketing leadership,personal brand,executive presence,brand strategy,career development,marketing careers,AI in marketing,agentic AI,Typeface,leadership,coaching,CMO Coaches,Kip Knight,Mike Linton,GenAI,networking,culture,trust,authenticity,handwritten notes,frameworks,positioning,activation,EQ,CQ,P&L,growth,enterprise marketing,YouTube podcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• AI - The Year in Review & The Year Ahead | Andy Sack and Adam Brotman | Forum3

  A CMO Confidential Interview with Andy Sack and Adam Brotman, Co-Founders and Co-CEO's of Forum 3, authors of the book AI First, previously at Microsoft and Starbucks. Adam and Andy discuss the exponential growth of LLM's in the 3 years since the Chat GPT launch, the rapid pace of consumer adoption and "why there's never been a bigger prize in capitalism." Key topics include: why the circular tie-ups between the models and chip providers may make sense, their belief that only 5% of companies are well underway; why you should use AI at least 10 times a day; and how the "current way of doing business" is the biggest blocker to progress. Tune in to hear 2026 predictions, why you should have a "family password," and how an AI Zoom scam resulted in a $20 million loss for the company. AI: The Year That Changed Marketing | Andy Sack & Adam Brotman on CMO ConfidentialFormer Starbucks Chief Digital Officer Adam Brotman and investor/operator Andy Sack return to break down AI’s wild 2025—and what’s next for marketers and the C-suite in 2026. We cover the rise of reasoning models and agents, chip-and-model tie-ups, who’s winning (and who’s falling behind), why only ~5% of companies are truly “underway,” and how consumer behavior is racing ahead of most enterprises. Adam and Andy deliver pragmatic guidance for boards, CEOs, and CMOs: where to lean in, how to organize, and what to build now.What you’ll learn:• The real story on model advances, agents, and the chip/energy bottlenecks• Why supply-lock deals aren’t “circular nonsense” and how they’ll shape winners/losers• Enterprise reality check: 5% vs. 95%, and why CEO/board sponsorship determines lift-off• Consumer adoption, zero-click search, and how discovery is shifting under your feet• Marketing beyond efficiency: ideation, synthetic testing, and creative at production speed• 2026 predictions: Apple’s big AI move, the year of consumer agents, and new AI devices• Risk & resilience: deepfake fraud, the “family password,” and change management that sticksActionable takeaways:• Use AI 10×/day; turn on voice and select a “thinking/reasoning” model for complex work• Treat AI as a company-wide transformation, not an IT pilot; pick a few high-value use cases and own them from the top• Experiment with agentic workflows and AI video to compress cycle time from storyboard to launchSponsored by @typefaceai Typeface helps the world’s biggest brands go from brief to fully personalized, on-brand campaigns in hours—not months. Their agentic AI marketing platform automates workflows across ads, email, and video, integrates with your MarTech stack, and includes enterprise-grade security. Adweek named Typeface “AI Company of the Year,” TIME listed it among the Best Inventions, and Fast Company called it the next big thing in tech. See how brands like @ASICSGlobal and @Microsoft are transforming marketing with Typeface: typeface.ai/cmoAbout CMO ConfidentialHosted by five-time CMO Mike Linton, CMO Confidential goes inside the decisions, politics, and trade-offs of one of the most scrutinized jobs in the C-suite. New episodes every Tuesday on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.00:00 Intro & Sponsor: Typeface02:00 Topic & Guests — Adam Brotman and Andy Sack03:00 Three-year AI surge: usage, video, geopolitics06:00 Reasoning models, long-duration agents, chip/energy demand10:00 Midroll: Typeface12:00 Capital tie-ups: supply lock vs. “circular money”15:00 Winners & losers: the AGI race and consolidation16:00 Enterprise adoption: board/CEO-led change vs. IT pilots18:50 Reality check: 5% “well underway,” 95% early22:00 Consumer adoption: everyday use, underutilization25:00 Can companies keep up? Why most are lagging27:00 Search is shifting: AI overviews, assistants everywhere29:00 Marketing beyond efficiency: ideation, automation, CX31:00 AI video examples to study (Kalshi ad, IAm8)33:30 Agencies & consultancies adapting (Accenture, BCG, McKinsey)34:30 2026 predictions: Apple’s big move, year of agents, new devices36:00 2026 tensions: labor disruption, backlash, “bumpy” progress38:00 Practical tips: use AI 10×/day, voice mode, “thinking” models41:00 Tools & safety: @lovable family/business passwords42:00 Deepfake/Zoom heist cautionary tale44:00 Wrap-up: subscribe & episode library44:30 Closing Sponsor: Typeface —CMO Confidential,Mike Linton,Adam Brotman,Andy Sack,Typeface,agentic AI,AI marketing,marketing strategy,chief marketing officer,CMO,CEO,board strategy,enterprise AI,reasoning models,AI agents,AGI,LLMs,generative AI,Claude,Gemini,ChatGPT,NVIDIA,semiconductors,MarTech,creative automation,personalization,zero click search,search disruption,media buying,advertising,brand vs performance,organizational design,change management,digital transformation,customer experience,synthetic personas,AI video,SOA,Sora,Replit Agent,Apple AI,Perplexity,security,deepfakes,family password,go to market,content at scale,ASICSSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• AI Is Smashing the Marketing Funnel & It Might Crush CMO's in the Process | Mike Walrath | Yext

  A CMO Confidential Interview with Mike Walrath, Chairman and CEO of Yext, Inc., formerly CEO of Right Media, and SVP at Yahoo! Mike discusses what he believes is the collapse of the marketing funnel, the need to understand how AI consumes data while judgement stays with consumers, and how an "influence marketing" mindset is emerging. Key topics include: why CMOs will need to be both great brand strategists as well as scientists, the need to constantly distribute information and "tend it like a garden," and why Reddit is great for training AI, but not as important in building brand influence. Tune in to hear a story about why you shouldn't let ChatGPT talk in an unsupervised forum and why Land Rover should send me a polo shirt. This week, Mike Linton sits down with Mike Walrath, Chairman & CEO of @yext (and founder of WGI Group), to unpack why the classic awareness–consideration–conversion funnel is collapsing—and what CMOs must do next. From zero-click discovery and AI agents “front-ending” consumers to why structured first-party data now beats pretty websites, Walrath maps the new rules for brand, distribution, and measurement in an AI-led marketplace.We cover: how consideration gets outsourced to AI, why marketers will “market to agents” (without controlling the ad copy), the coming arms race in citations and data distribution, and what organizational fixes boards and CMOs should make now. If you own brand, growth, or P&L accountability, this is a playbook for the next chapter.**Sponsor — @typefaceai Typeface helps the world’s biggest brands move from brief to fully personalized campaigns in hours, not months. With its agentic AI marketing platform, one idea scales into thousands of on-brand variations across ads, email, and video—integrated with your MarTech stack and secured for the enterprise. See how brands like ASICS and Microsoft are transforming marketing: typeface.ai/cmo.Highlights* Why “zero-click” compresses awareness and consideration inside AI experiences—and how to win the AI bake-off.* The end of marketer-controlled ad copy; influence shifts to data quality, recency, and distribution.* Memory and context change everything: agents know the consumer—and your brand—better than you think.* Brand matters more, not less; without brand salience you won’t make the answer set.* From content to data: make every spec, price, menu, inventory, policy, and promo machine-readable and syndicated.* Citations, not vibes: first-party sites and listings dominate AI references; keep them fresh and authoritative.* Org design: hire the data athletes, upgrade infrastructure, and instrument real conversion milestones (tests, visits, units).New episodes every Tuesday on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify. If you find this useful, please like, subscribe, and share with your team.**Guests**Mike Walrath — Chairman & CEO, Yext; Founder, WGI Group.Host: Mike Linton — former CMO of Best Buy, eBay, Farmers Insurance; former CRO, Ancestry.CMO Confidential,marketing,CMO,chief marketing officer,AI marketing,agentic AI,marketing funnel,zero click,search,SEO,GenAI,LLM,brand strategy,performance marketing,Yext,Mike Walrath,Mike Linton,customer journey,personalization,content at scale,structured data,citations,data strategy,MarTech,go to market,GTM,board strategy,enterprise marketing,retail,automotive marketing,restaurants,media,advertising,Typeface sponsor,Typeface AI,typeface.ai/cmoSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• The AI Application Layer - The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly | Jim Lecinski, Northwestern-Kellogg

  A CMO Confidential Interview with Jim Lecinski, Clinical Professor of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, author, and former Google VP. Jim discusses why he believes marketers are often overly focused on using AI for productivity improvements versus business growth, the gaps between marketers and the C-Suite highlighted by recent Gartner research, and the difference between "big frontier models" and "shiny objects." Key topics include: why you should avoid "gray market AI", how to manage the 5 AI risks (privacy, accuracy, regulatory, personnel, and reputation), and the false precision that accompanies a focus on intermediate measures like Click Through Rate (CTR). Tune in to hear why he's not a fan of Cannes and how AI helped figure out a wedding invitation calling for "casual to semi-formal beach attire."What should CMOs actually do with AI right now—and how do you avoid chasing shiny objects? Mike Linton sits down with Jim Lecinski, Professor of Marketing at Northwestern’s Kellogg School (and author of The AI Marketing Canvas and Winning the Zero Moment of Truth) to unpack the AI application layer: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Jim explains why CEOs-CFOs obsess over growth (not merely efficiency), how to reframe marketing dashboards around business outcomes, and his simple two-by-two for AI use cases (internal productivity vs. external value creation). We cover privacy, legal/regulatory, personnel, and reputational risks—and how to mitigate them—plus a pragmatic roadmap: center on a leading frontier model and layer vetted apps instead of stitching together fragile point solutions. Jim also shares candid takes on Cannes vs. Effies and ends with a challenge: personally build something with AI before year-end.You’ll learn:* Growth over cost-cutting: aligning with CEO-CFO priorities and measuring ends, not means* The AI use-case 2×2: internal productivity vs. external, customer-facing value creation* Practical examples (e.g., apparel personalization) that lift CSAT, CLV, and revenue* The 5 risk buckets (privacy, accuracy, regulatory-IP, personnel, reputation) and guardrails* How to choose core models (GPT, Gemini, Claude) and avoid “tool soup”* Why awards that honor outcomes beat awards that celebrate activityGuest: Jim Lecinski — Professor of Marketing, Northwestern Kellogg; former VP Customer Solutions (Americas) at Google; author of The AI Marketing Canvas (2nd ed.) & Winning the Zero Moment of Truth.Host: Mike Linton — former CMO of Best Buy, eBay, Farmers Insurance; CRO of Ancestry.com.Sponsor: Better marketing is built on Quad. See how better gets done at (https://www.quad.com/resources/research-and-tools/return-of-touch-consumer-engagement-has-an-omnichannel-revival?utm_source=cmoconfidential&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=001_brand&utm_id=podcastnl1031&utm_content=a-paidemail&utm_vp=)If you’re enjoying the show, please like, subscribe, and share with your leadership team. New episodes every Tuesday; companion newsletter on Fridays.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Solving the AI Cold Start Problem - Managing the C-Suite & Culture Gaps | Abhay Parasnis

  A CMO Confidential Interview with Abhay Parasnis, Founder & CEO of Typeface, Board Member of Dropbox and Schneider Electronic, formerly EVP of Adobe. Abhay discusses the large gap between AI expectations and execution, the human and cultural issues in the way of adoption, and the C-Suite's responsibility to "guide the change" versus demand and monitor progress. Key topics include: recognizing and managing the 3 types of resistance; why specific targeted use cases are the best way to begin; the difference between Moore's Law and Amara's Law; and how to determine if you are a resistor or a pragmatic business leader. Tune in to hear an analogy of why AI is similar to Formula One where everyone has a powerful vehicle and winning is driven by how teams master and manage that power. AI is the biggest shift of our careers—but most companies are stuck at the “cool demo” stage. In this episode, former Adobe CTO/CPO and Typeface founder/CEO Abhay Parasnis joins Mike Linton to unpack the AI cold start problem: how to move from experiments to enterprise impact. We cover where the C-suite is pushing, why practitioners are hesitating, and how to design lighthouse wins that change the org—not just the deck.Abhay shares hard numbers (a 93% lift from email personalization in 120 days), why “watermelon metrics” derail programs, and the new reality that as agents/bots consume more content, your brand narrative must be built for machines and humans. We dig into the accountability shift from agencies to in-house teams, how to evaluate vendors without boiling the ocean, and the culture moves leaders need to close the gap between ambition and adoption.What you’ll learnA practical AI playbook: pick one revenue-adjacent use case, rewire the process, measure before/after, then scaleHow to align the board, C-suite, and operators to avoid “innovation theater”Where AI drives top-line growth vs. simple cost takeout—and how to prove itSpotting resistance (job loss fears, “new thing” fatigue, agency incentives) and converting it into momentumThe right vendor questions (and red flags) to separate sizzle from outcomesWhy authenticity, governance, and legal guardrails must ship with your AI stackAbout AbhayFounder & CEO of Typeface (AI-powered personalized marketing). Former CTO & CPO at Adobe; leadership roles at Microsoft and Oracle; board member at Dropbox and Schneider Electric.Sponsor — QuadMarketing only works when everything works together. That’s why Quad is obsessed with reducing friction and integrating smarter—so your marketing machine runs faster with better ROI. See how better gets done: https://www.quad.com/buildbetterChapters (38:00)00:00 Intro & sponsor01:10 Guest intro & topic setup03:10 The AI cold start problem & Amara’s Law07:00 C-suite urgency vs. practitioner reality11:30 Beyond efficiency: driving top-line growth15:10 Content demand, bots/agents, and “watermelon metrics”19:20 Case study: 93% lift from email personalization23:30 Resistance patterns: job loss, new-thing fatigue, agency economics29:10 Vendor questions & lighthouse projects that actually ship33:10 Legal, authenticity, and governance considerations35:30 Closing advice: beginner’s mindset + bet on people37:30 WrapSubscribeNew episodes every Tuesday on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify. If you’re a CMO, CEO, CFO, COO, founder, or rising marketing leader—hit subscribe for executive-level conversations that translate directly to results.Host: Mike LintonGuest: Abhay Parasnis ( @typefaceai )Tags:CMO Confidential,Mike Linton,Abhay Parasnis,Typeface,Adobe,AI in marketing,AI cold start,Generative AI,Amara’s Law,Marketing leadership,Change management,C suite,Board of directors,Agency model,Marketing efficiency,Top line growth,Email personalization,Content at scale,Marketing ROI,Measurement,Watermelon metrics,MarTech,CDP,Vendors,Quad,Sponsor,Marketing podcast,Digital transformation,Creative operations,PersonalizationSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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