CMO Confidential

13 episodes scanned. 50% of ad slots promote the show's own products.

Recent Episodes

1. Dr. Dan McCarthy | The Analytical Edge of Marketing: A Look at Loyalty Programs, Gambling and AI

   Nov 3, 2026

   Marketing professor Dan McCarthy of the University of Maryland joins CMO Confidential host Mike Linton to discuss customer lifetime value (CLTV) and customer-based corporate valuation. The conversation covers how subscription and loyalty programs such as DashPass and Instacart+ affect consumer savings and firm profits, how AI agents could help consumers cancel subscriptions, and what card-transaction data show about gambling after state sports-betting legalization. It also examines the valuation and customer-acquisition economics of Oura and Rent the Runway ahead of their IPOs.

2. Tim Huelskamp | The Power of Serendipity in an AI World

   Oct 27, 2026

   Tim Huelskamp, CEO and co-founder of 1440, discusses the company's human-curated knowledge platform and why curiosity-driven discovery matters in an AI-saturated content environment. He covers the parallels between the printing press and AI, how his editorial team selects topics by combining search and audience data with editorial judgment, and how brands can use curiosity-inducing content in the middle of the marketing funnel. The episode also includes his fact-checking process, measurement approach for partner brands, and a story from his private equity career.

3. Dr. Peter Fader | The 2nd Moneyball Revolution: Bringing Customer Analytics to the Business of Sport

   Oct 20, 2026

   Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader discusses how customer lifetime value (CLTV) analytics applies to the business side of professional sports, drawing on his work with Major League Baseball on StubHub contracts, dynamic pricing, loyalty programs, and fan engagement. He also covers how Sam Fuld's move from general manager to Phillies president of business operations relates to his teaching, and how customer analytics can be applied across industries such as Spotify and Electronic Arts. The conversation closes with his view that customer patterns are more universal than most businesses assume.

4. Kip Knight | What B2B and B2C Marketers Can Learn From Each Other

   Oct 13, 2026

   Kip Knight, founder of CMO Coaches and operating partner at Thomvest Ventures, argues that B2B and B2C marketers silo themselves unnecessarily and can learn from each other. He covers B2B buyers' emotional drivers, the role of storytelling and brand building, how AI fits into B2B personalization, and how marketing should work with sales. He also explains why B2B companies underinvest in marketing and urges marketers to spend more time in the field.

5. Bob Liodice | 31 Years, 1 Industry: Bob Liodice Looks Back and Shares His Future Perspective: Part 2

   Oct 6, 2026

   Bob Liodice, long-time CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), discusses his 31-year tenure and reflects on critical challenges facing modern marketing. Part 2 covers the ANA's investigations into media transparency and programmatic waste (up to 25% inefficiency), the importance of measuring brand economic value, the evolving agency landscape amid in-housing trends and AI disruption, and his framework of 8 modern marketing practice areas to replace the traditional Four Ps.

6. Bob Liodice | 31 Years, 1 Industry: Bob Liodice Looks Back and Shares His Future Perspective: Part 1

   Sep 29, 2026

   Bob Liodice, CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) for 23 years, reflects on 31 years in one industry and shares his perspective on the rapidly evolving marketing landscape. He discusses why AI alone won't necessarily drive growth, the unprecedented complexity of the CMO role, and the convergence of B2B and B2C marketing strategies. Liodice also details the ANA's pioneering work on cross-media measurement through the Aquila system, a consortium effort with global partners to solve the industry's most pressing measurement challenge.

7. Kipp Bodnar | Why Judgement & Taste are Key Advantages in an AI World

   Sep 22, 2026

   Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot for over 11 years and author of "Loop: A New Growth Model for an AI-First World," discusses how AI has disrupted the traditional marketing funnel and why judgment and taste are now critical competitive advantages. He explores the shift from visitor-to-customer conversion metrics to mentions and citations in AI search engines, explains how marketers must balance quality and prolific output, and details how to evaluate risk-taking ability in hiring.

8. Michael D'Esopo | Why CMOs are Losing Influence: The Trust Trade-Off

   Sep 15, 2026

   Michael D'Esopo, CEO of Lippincott, discusses findings from a study of 500+ senior marketing leaders that reveals a critical "trust trade-off" facing CMOs. The research shows that while short-term performance pressures are reshaping the CMO role and earning near-term credibility, they risk underinvestment in long-term brand building and customer experience. D'Esopo emphasizes that the most successful organizations prioritize alignment across the C-suite and translate marketing objectives to CEO, CFO, and board priorities rather than relying solely on marketing-specific metrics.

9. Emily Frager | Communications and PR are Having a Moment

   Sep 8, 2026

   Emily Frager, Chief Client Officer at FleishmanHillard and former CMO of Lennar Ventures, discusses why communications and PR have become critical business functions rather than downstream publicity channels. She explores how AI, social media fragmentation, and real-time reputation risks are forcing organizations to embed PR into strategic decision-making, emphasizing the importance of speed, governance, data-driven insights, and senior-level leadership in managing reputation.

10. Aneesh Dhawan | The AI Trust Gap in Research and What to Do About It

    Sep 1, 2026

    Aneesh Dhawan, Co-Founder and CEO of Knit, an AI-native research firm, discusses findings from Knit's AI Trust Survey of 150+ enterprise research leaders. The conversation explores how researcher fears have shifted from job displacement to concerns about AI outputs being used without expert judgment and proper governance. Key topics include the differences between data, insights, and storytelling; the importance of human judgment in research; and vendor selection criteria for AI research tools.