The CMO Podcast

Recent Episodes

1. Beyond Football: How Ethan Braden Is Building the Texas A&M Brand

   Sep 16, 2026

   Ethan Braden, Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Texas A&M University, discusses his journey from over a decade at Eli Lilly to five years leading marketing at Purdue University, and now three years transforming Texas A&M's national brand perception. He shares how he repositioned Texas A&M from a regionally dominant but nationally misunderstood institution—where 40% of Americans had never heard of it—into a nationally recognized brand through disciplined marketing strategy, authentic brand platform development, and innovative partnerships with organizations like NASCAR, IndyCar, Dude Perfect, and Buc-ee's.

2. Why AI Still Needs Human Wisdom with Jacqueline Corbelli (Brightline)

   Sep 9, 2026

   Jacqueline Corbelli, founder and CEO of BrightLine, discusses her career spanning adtech, supply chain resilience, and humanitarian work with the UN and Vatican. The conversation explores how AI and technology must be balanced with human wisdom and creativity, the evolution of connected TV advertising over 23 years, and her framework for meaningful impact outlined in her book Changemaker.

3. PepsiCo's Formula for Building Enduring Brands with Mark Kirkham

   Sep 2, 2026

   Mark Kirkham, Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Beverages U.S., discusses building enduring brands across a $28 billion portfolio including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Starbucks Ready-to-Drink, Lipton, and poppi. Recorded live at Cannes Lions, the conversation explores how PepsiCo reinvents iconic brands in an era of AI, changing consumer behavior, and rapid innovation, while emphasizing leadership fundamentals like trust, transparency, and developing future marketing leaders.

4. Helping People Live Better: Marketing's Role in the Future of Health with Google, Novo Nordisk and Bayer

   Aug 26, 2026

   Recorded live at the Havas Café during Cannes Lions, Jim Stengel hosts three CMOs leading health and wellness innovation: Yvonne Bryant (Hemoglobinopathies Commercialization Head at Novo Nordisk), Lauren Gellman (CMO for Health and Home at Google), and Samantha Avivi (Global CMO for Consumer Health at Bayer). The conversation explores how marketing can help people live better, longer, and more fulfilling lives, centered on personalization, trust-building in the age of AI, and the role of empathy in healthcare marketing.

5. Beauty Doesn't Have a Language // A Conversation with Ulta Beauty, Made by Mitchell and Cymbiotika

   Aug 19, 2026

   Recorded live at Cannes Lions Festival, this episode features three leaders redefining brand loyalty through community and purpose: Kelly Mahoney (CMO of Ulta Beauty), Mitchell Halliday (founder of Made by Mitchell), and Durana Elmi (founder and Chief Creative Officer of Cymbiotika). The conversation explores how authentic purpose, inclusive representation, and genuine partnerships create brands people choose to belong to, examining the intersection of beauty, wellness, and experiential marketing.

6. Stop Chasing Attention. Start Creating Desire // Lessons from Best Buy, AB InBev and Reckitt

   Aug 12, 2026

   Recorded live at the Cannes Lions Festival, this three-part panel discussion explores creativity and desire with leaders from Reckitt, Best Buy, and AB InBev. The conversation focuses on how brands create genuine desire rather than simply capturing attention, examining the cultural conditions that enable creative excellence, and the role of human insight in an AI-enabled world. Panelists share lessons from winning AB InBev the Cannes Lions Marketer of the Year award three times and discuss how to build internal creative cultures that produce iconic, beloved brands.

7. Behind Latin America's $90 Billion Marketing Success with Sean Summers (Mercado Libre)

   Aug 5, 2026

   Sean Summers, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Mercado Libre, discusses his 30-year marketing career and the company's transformation from a $3 billion market cap startup to a $90 billion Latin American e-commerce and fintech ecosystem. He shares leadership principles including building lasting marketing capabilities, embracing calculated risk-taking, and maintaining curiosity, while reflecting on his experience as a jury member at Cannes Lions 2026 for a new creative capabilities category.

8. What Racing Wienermobiles Can Teach Every Marketer with Todd Kaplan (Kraft Heinz)

   Jul 29, 2026

   Todd Kaplan, Chief Marketing Officer of Kraft Heinz North America, discusses his journey transforming one of the world's largest food and beverage companies. Since joining in August 2024 from nearly 18 years at PepsiCo, Kaplan has been leading a cultural shift toward brand-led marketing, balancing fundamental brand building with agile, culture-responsive creativity. The conversation covers his philosophy of 'collaborativity,' moving at the speed of culture, and how Kraft Heinz is proving that creative impact doesn't require massive budgets—evidenced by campaigns like the Oscar Meyer Wiener 500 and the Heinz-DJ Mustard Super Bowl activation.

9. Beyond "Priceless" // Mastercard's Next Chapter with Jill Kramer

   Jul 22, 2026

   Jill Kramer, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mastercard, discusses her first six months leading the iconic brand's global marketing strategy. She shares her onboarding philosophy—traveling to see sponsorships and customers in action, earning team trust through listening, and balancing transformation with appreciation for the brand's storied past under predecessor Raja Rajamannar's 12-year tenure. Kramer emphasizes her signature approach of 'early, ugly, often' creative feedback, the importance of infrastructure supporting great creative, and how advertising's role continues to evolve for a beloved, expansive global brand.

10. How Gap Became Cool Again with Fabiola Torres | Live from the Tubi Cabana at Cannes Lions

    Jul 17, 2026