The CMO Podcast

What does the future of marketing look like when AI is transforming how customers discover brands, make decisions, and connect with businesses? And how can marketers embrace this shift while keeping human connection at the heart of everything they do?This week, Jim is joined by Erin Oles, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Salesforce, for a special conversation recorded at the Salesforce Podcast Studio during Advertising Week New York.Fresh off Salesforce's annual Dreamforce event and stepping into her expanded leadership role, Erin shares her perspective on one of the most exciting transformations happening in marketing today. From deploying AI agents across Salesforce's own marketing organization to rethinking the traditional marketing funnel, Erin explains why the future isn't about replacing human creativity, but empowering marketers to do more meaningful work.Erin also reflects on her unconventional journey to the CMO role, from studying hospitality and beginning her career in sales to leading some of the world's largest corporate experiences. She shares lessons on building high-performing teams, embracing failure, staying close to customers, and the leadership philosophy she's learned from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.Jim and Erin explore why brand values, creativity, judgment, and human connection may become even more important as AI continues to reshape the industry.A thoughtful conversation about embracing change, leading with curiosity, and remembering that great marketing has always been about people.—Meet The CMO Podcast On the RoadThe CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22CES | January 5-7—Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.Email us at [email protected]—Produced by vYveThe CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences. vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marketers are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, and confidence in its potential is soaring. But are organizations truly ready to turn that investment into meaningful business results?Recorded live at TransUnion’s annual Marketing Summit in Chicago, Jim sits down with Liz Bacelar, a technology and innovation leader whose career has taken her from Emmy-nominated journalism and entrepreneurship to senior roles at global brands including The Estée Lauder Companies and Under Armour.Inspired by new research from TransUnion on the AI Confidence-Readiness Paradox, Jim and Liz explore the growing gap between marketers' enthusiasm for AI and their organizations' ability to put it to work. Liz shares her perspective on what's working, what's holding companies back, and why successful AI transformation depends less on the technology itself and more on people, leadership, and organizational culture.It's a timely conversation about navigating change, challenging conventional thinking, and building organizations that are ready for what's next.A special thank you to TransUnion for welcoming The CMO Podcast to Chicago and making this live conversation possible.—Meet The CMO Podcast On the RoadThe CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22CES | January 5-7—Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.Email us at [email protected]—Produced by vYveThe CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences. vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when the very definition of “workplace” changes almost overnight?This week, Jim sits down with Benji Baer, Chief Marketing Officer of CBRE, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate and investment services companies. Operating in more than 100 countries, CBRE helps companies and investors buy, sell, lease, finance and manage everything from office towers and logistics centers to data centers, hotels and major urban developments.Benji joined CBRE in 2019, just months before the pandemic fundamentally reshaped how we think about offices, cities, flexibility and human connection at work. But her career has long been built around navigating complex businesses and industries rooted in trust. Before CBRE, she held senior marketing leadership roles at J.P. Morgan Chase, Legg Mason and AllianceBernstein.Tune in as Benji and Jim explore how CBRE is rethinking the workplace as a place people actively want to be, why employee experience and customer experience are deeply connected, and how the role of the modern CMO is evolving from storyteller to strategist and transformation leader.Benji also shares how she’s built and developed her marketing organization, why outside inspiration and continuous learning are essential for leaders, and the importance of “bringing people with you” through periods of change. It’s a conversation about growth, culture, ambition and why, even as technology transforms how we work, human connection matters more than ever.—Meet The CMO Podcast On the RoadThe CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!Advertising Week New York | October 5-7BLINK Cincinnati | October 8ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22CES | January 5-7—Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.Email us at [email protected]—Produced by vYveThe CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences. vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you take a brand that inspires extraordinary loyalty on the inside and make the rest of the world understand why it matters?That’s the challenge Ethan Braden took on when he became Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Texas A&M University three years ago.Texas A&M was already one of the largest and most influential universities in the country, with generations of fiercely loyal Aggies. But outside Texas, the story was very different. Research showed that 40% of Americans had either never heard of Texas A&M or had no association with it, and when asked what came to mind, the most common answers included football, sports and, remarkably, “nothing.” And Ethan saw an enormous brand opportunity.Tune in as Jim talks with Ethan about the playbook he has used to help transform the reputation of Texas A&M, building on lessons from more than a decade at Eli Lilly and five years leading marketing at Purdue University.Ethan shares why marketing should be an enterprise value creator rather than a communications function, how Texas A&M turned YouTube into a strategic storytelling engine generating more than 150 million views, and why unconventional partnerships with NASCAR, IndyCar, Dude Perfect, Buc-ee’s and others are helping introduce the university to entirely new audiences.Plus, Ethan reflects on his unlikely journey from childhood gymnast to college football player to marketer, the career opportunity he didn’t get that ultimately led him to Texas A&M, and why becoming a husband and father fundamentally changed his definition of ambition and success.—Meet The CMO Podcast On the RoadThe CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!Advertising Week New York | October 6BLINK Cincinnati | October 8ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22CES | January 5-7—Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.Email us at [email protected]—Produced by vYveThe CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences. vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.