The CMO Whisperer

My guest today is Jonathan Hamm, a former number one-ranked amateur boxer in the United States and 2011 US national champion. Jonathan was one of the top super heavyweight fighters of his era and an Olympic team alternate heading into the 2012 London games. Before that, he was a standout college football player who earned a shot with the New Orleans Saints and later transitioned into mixed martial arts, training alongside such legends as Jon Jones. But what makes Jonathan different isn't just his path. It's how he thinks about it. Because beyond the physicality, beyond the competition, Jonathan has developed a deep interest in philosophy, identity, and the mental frameworks that shape how we perform, adapt, and evolve. From the ring to business to life, this is a conversation about pressure, decision making, reinvention and the mind behind it all.

My guest today is Kris Lande. Kris is the Chief Marketing Officer at OutSystems, an AI-powered development platform where she leads global marketing, brand and growth. She's built her career at the intersection of product, marketing and community with the rare ability to take complex, highly technical ideas and turn them into stories that actually resonate not just with developers, but with business leaders driving real outcomes. Before OutSystems, she spent more than 13 years at Salesforce, holding leadership roles across product marketing, community, and Trailhead, the learning platform that became a cornerstone of Salesforce's ecosystem. She helped build one of the most powerful communities in enterprise tech, turning education and engagement into a true engine for growth. Kris brings a perspective rooted in clarity, team building, and the belief that companies that win are the ones that connect great products to real human impact.

My guest today is Katherine Melchior Ray, one of the world's leading voices in global marketing. Her career includes senior leadership roles at some of the most iconic brands in the world, including Nike, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Hyatt. Today, Katherine is the president of Globe Ally Consulting and also teaches global marketing at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Fluent in French and Japanese, she has built a reputation for helping brands navigate the delicate balance between global scale and local cultural relevance. She's also the co-author of the book Brand Global, Adapt Local, written with Nataly Kelly, CMO of Zappi. It's a book that offers marketers a practical framework for balancing global brand consistency with local cultural relevance. Katherine is a much sought-after voice on marketing, culture and leadership, speaking at global stages like Cannes Lions and her insights have been featured in major media, including 60 Minutes, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and CNN. When you sit down with someone who has operated at the highest levels of global marketing and understands culture the way Katherine does, you're going to walk away smarter than when you started.

My guest today is Christopher Wallace. Christopher spends his days helping companies close one of the biggest gaps in business, the space between what gets set in the boardroom and what actually happens in front of the customer. He's the president of InnerView, where he works closely with sales organizations to make sure their go-to-market strategies don't just live in slide decks, but actually show up in the moments that matter most - when customers are making buying decisions. Under his leadership, InnerView has helped companies drive meaningful improvements in revenue performance and customer satisfaction across millions of frontline interactions. Christopher is also an adjunct marketing professor at Villanova University, and his insights have been featured in Harvard Business Review and Forbes, to name a few. He's a frequent keynote speaker, panel moderator and podcast guest, appearing on more than 70 business shows.

My guest today is Scott Davis, Chief Growth Officer at Prophet. Scott is one of the architects behind Prophet's evolution from a 35-person brand shop into a global growth consultancy with 500+ people across 16 offices, partnering with CEOs and CMOs who are serious about turning brands into a real growth engine. He leads Prophet's global go-to market, the CMO practice, and corporate marketing, sitting squarely at the intersection of strategy, execution, and results. Over his career, Scott has worked with some of the most iconic brands on the planet. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Pfizer, IBM, the NBA, J&J, and Hershey's while also advising PE and VC firms and their portfolios on how to scale with intention.

My guest today is Maxime Girouton, Vice President and Global Head of Marketing and Sales Development at Visa, where he's helping power the engine behind Visa Direct and driving demand across markets, regions and time zones. Before Visa, Maxime was the CMO at Currencycloud, the cross-border payments platform that Visa acquired. And earlier in his career, he led major brand and growth work at Samsung Electronics and JLL. He's lived inside global enterprises, high-growth tech and complex B2B ecosystems, and he knows what it takes to build brands that actually move revenue. He's also the cohost of Visa's "Money Travels" podcast, where he sits down with industry leaders to unpack the future of money movement and marketing innovation.

My guest this week is Jon Francis, the newly appointed Chief Experience Officer at State Farm Insurance. John's career reads like a master class in how data, digital and experience converge to drive transformation. At State Farm, he's going to be focused on building smarter, more human digital experience that serves both customers and agents, a mission that sits squarely at the intersection of technology and trust. Before joining State Farm, he spent three years at General Motors as Chief Data and Analytics Officer, leading enterprise-wide data strategy and innovation. Prior to that, he served as Chief Digital and Analytics Officer at Starbucks, where he and his team built a centralized engine for analytics, machine learning, and research, powering everything from personalized marketing to AI-driven real estate decisions. If that's not enough, John's career has also spanned leadership roles at Nike, Amazon, Expedia, and T-Mobile, making him one of the few executives who's helped shape digital strategy across nearly every major industry.

My guest today is Steve Cundari, co-founder and partner of Summit House, an award-winning venture studio that's quietly become a growth engine for some of the most recognizable brands on the planet. Steve is a builder in the purest sense. He's founded companies, exited companies, scaled platforms, and now leads a collective of specialized agencies that operate as one integrated ecosystem, blending strategy, creativity, and innovation into real business momentum. From entertainment and tech to sports, hospitality and consumer brands, his fingerprints are all over modern marketing at scale, and that is not hyperbole. Under Steve's leadership, Summit House has earned top industry honors including Clio's, Emmy's and Film Festival Awards while supporting brands like Spotify, DirecTV, Live Golf, Starbucks, Dick's Sporting Goods, the NBA, NFL, Meta, Nintendo and more! He's also an active advisor and investor in early-stage companies and venture funds, extending his obsession with building and scaling far beyond a single platform.

Evan Greene is back on the CMO Whisperer Show! And if you heard his first appearance, you already know why we brought him back to the scene of the crime. Evan is widely credited as the marketing leader who helped transform the Grammy Awards into one of the world's most coveted brands during his 16+ years as CMO. Before that, he spent a decade on the marketing teams at Disney and Sony, working on some of Hollywood's biggest franchises, including Spider-Man, Men in Black, and Charlie's Angels. He's also a sought-after speaker and guest lecturer at places like Harvard, Wharton, Georgetown, USC, and Colorado University. But instead of taking a victory lap, Evan made a sharp pivot. He walked away from the comfort of a high-profile marketing career to build something far more ambitious. Today, he's the CEO and co-founder of Kwieri, an applied AI collaboration platform designed to address some of AI's biggest blind spots by blending artificial intelligence with personalized human mentorship, collaboration, and critical thinking.

My guest today is Cassie Schmid, the Chief Strategy Officer for Philadelphia International Airport and the Northeast Philadelphia Airport. She's the one shaping how millions of people will experience Philly, especially as the city gears up for the World Cup, the All-Star Game and the country's 250th birthday in 2026. Cassie leads enterprise-wide strategy, performance management, communications, guest experience, marketing and brand. If it impacts how travelers see and feel Philadelphia as it's known, it runs through her. She brings a dynamic, sharp, data-driven, customer-first mindset, turning market trends, competitive dynamics and traveler insights into strategies that actually move the needle. Before Philly, she helped guide strategy and stakeholder engagement for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and before that, she built a really strong track record for leading go-to-market strategy and high-impact partnerships across multiple organizations. Simply put, Cassie is one of aviation's top strategic voices, and she's playing a major role in the future of how people arrive in and experience Philadelphia.

My guest today is Don Sklenka, SVP of AI Optimization at Claritas and one of the rare operators who's lived at the intersection of creative media and machine intelligence long before AI became a buzzword on every deck. With nearly 25 years in digital marketing, Don built his foundation inside global agency powerhouses like Publicis and Dentsu, leading omni-channel strategies for Fortune 500 brands across retail, CPG, automotive and healthcare. Today, Don is scaling patented AI solutions that turn data into decisions and campaigns into performance engines, real-time optimization, predictive analytics, smarter, creative, better outcomes, less noise, and more signal. Finally, he's a lifelong Cleveland sports fan, which tells you everything you need to know about his resilience and commitment to the long game!

My guest today is Bonin Bough, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Portrait Media Group. He's one of the most awarded marketing leaders on the planet, a rare blend of operator, builder, and boundary pusher who has reshaped how billion-dollar brands grow. Bonin's career reads like a highlight reel of modern marketing He became one of the youngest Fortune 500 C-suite executives, led transformations that rewired global organizations and built campaigns that turned beloved brands into cultural heat engines. He's in the advertising hall of achievement. His name shows up on lists like Fortune's 40 under 40, Fast Company's most creative people in business, Ebony's Power 100. He's an author, a CNBC host and one of the most dynamic voices in the industry and just stepped into a brand new role of dad. We're gonna start there. How's it going, how much sleep he's getting, and from there, we're gonna get into the evolution of the CMO role, the rise of multicultural growth, the limits of reach, the power of resonance, and why content, culture, and AI are reshaping the playbook.

My guest this week is Lucy Markowitz, SVP and General Manager of the US Marketplace at Vistar Media. Lucy oversees it all: Sales, client services, analytics, DSP, and supply partnerships. She leads teams that power the connective tissue between agencies, brands, publishers and DSPs. Her leadership is the reason Vistar's marketplace hums, ensuring every relationship and every impression delivers value. Before joining Vistar, Lucy led hedge fund and investment bank sales at Data Miner, giving her a front row seat to how information and timing move markets. Lucy holds a BS in International Finance and Marketing from the University of Miami and has been with Vistar since 2014 through the company's acquisition by T-Mobile earlier this year.

My guest today is Perry Kamel, founder and CEO of DNA Vibe and I'm going to tell you exactly how this conversation started and where it started at CES. I walked in expecting to see a lot of shiny new tech and walked out genuinely awestruck after encountering one of the fastest-growing brands in wearable technology. That's where I first experienced DNA Vibe. That's where I was introduced to the Shine movement. And that's where I met Perry, his leadership team and an incredible community of athletes, trainers and health and wellness leaders who were deeply committed to what this brand stands for. Perry is the visionary behind DNA Vibe, a purpose-driven, regenerative wearable company built around a powerful mission, helping people overcome the life-limiting effects of injury, surgery, and the everyday wear and tear of time, activity, and gravity. That mission is now expanding with Shine, a bold, large-scale program designed to redefine not just how people heal, but how communities show up for one another. For more than 30 years, Perry has been at the forefront of transformational technology from optical networks and voiceover IP to interactive digital media and real-time distributed systems, the kind of foundational work that quietly powers modern communication, education, healthcare, and entertainment. If that weren't enough, he also serves as a fellow and chief advisor for phototherapy and bioharmonics.

My guest today is Maria Del Rio, Chief Marketing Officer at DNA Vibe. She is a builder, a scaler, and a leader who's been in the arena for over 25 years, shaping brands, launching growth engines, and helping companies move from interesting idea to real market impact. At DNA Vibe, Maria is steering brand creative and growth as the company expands across wellness, performance, and health tech. Before that, she was CMO at Chromatic Technologies, and earlier in her career, she helped drive global brand powerhouses at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Kimberly-Clark, and Molson Coors. She's seen marketing at every altitude. From scrappy scale-ups to Fortune 500 giants, from early-stage chaos to enterprise precision. And she knows exactly what it takes to build brands that actually move people and generate revenue.

My guest this week is Joseph Perrello, founder and CEO of Props. Props is a performance-based creator marketing platform built around a simple belief. The best marketing still comes from people, not metrics. Instead of chasing follower accounts, Props uses AI to match brands with creators based on storytelling strength, trust, and audience authenticity. So campaigns are both data-driven and deeply human. AI does the heavy lifting in the background, brand safety, workflow and precision, while real human creators stay in front and center. Before launching Props, Joe built and ran a digital agency serving brands like Nike, HP, Lowe's Hotels, Betterment, and even Michelle Obama. And earlier in his career, he served as New York City's first CMO under Mayor Bloomberg, helping to revitalize tourism and launching the city's first self-sustaining marketing agency. Finally, Joe sits at the intersection of brand, policy, tech, and creative. I'm so happy I spent a few minutes with him at advertising week not long ago, and we're gonna continue that great conversation.

My guest this week is Jonathan Sackett, a former D1 track athlete turned music industry insider who recorded at Paisley Park and Flight Time before moving into advertising where he built award-winning work for giants - Geico, Coca-Cola, Walmart, McDonald's, IBM, Harley-Davidson, Budweiser, and Mars. He did it at agencies like FCB, the Martin Agency, DDB, and Ogilvy. He now partners with former NBA star, Jamal Mashburn, as a board member of Mashburn Enterprises and he serves as VP head of MarCom for the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, where he rebranded to NEI and launched the NEI Pioneer podcast, which topped six million views last year.

My guest this week is Catherine Salazzo, Chief Marketing Officer at AppFire, a leading global provider of enterprise apps that connect the world's top platforms. Catherine oversees AppFire's global marketing and communication strategy, driving brand expansion, go-to-market acceleration, and deeper engagement across developer and partner communities. With more than two decades of experience at companies like Syntax, TechData, and IBM, she's led marketing transformations, built demand across multiple routes to market, and championed cloud and AI adoption worldwide. And finally, a fellow of the Marketing Academy, Catherine is also a passionate advocate for purpose-driven leadership, mentorship, and building cultures that last.