Before 'sleeping giant' Iron Mountain got loud, it had to be believed | CMO Karen Feldman on earning that trust

Before 'sleeping giant' Iron Mountain got loud, it had to be believed | CMO Karen Feldman on earning that trust

September 8, 2026 · 40 min · Season 1 · Episode 73

About this episode

Karen Feldman discusses her role as the first CMO of Iron Mountain and the strategies she employed to build trust within a legacy business.

Iron Mountain is nearly 75 years old, built on physical records storage, and structured as a real estate investment trust — known for most of its history for warehouses and shredding trucks, not brand campaigns. Then Karen Feldman arrived as the company's first-ever Chief Marketing Officer. Karen joins Joel Harrison to explain what it actually means to become a legacy business's first CMO when marketing already exists, just without a seat at the top table — and the trust-building playbook that got her there. We cover the brand health study that reshaped her budget priorities, the McLaren Racing partnership that mirrors Iron Mountain's own value proposition, how AI is reshaping B2B search behaviour, and her advice for any marketing leader walking into a legacy business. If you find this valuable, please subscribe and leave a rating or review — it really helps other B2B marketers find the show. Guest Karen Feldman, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Iron Mountain Karen Feldman is SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Iron Mountain, a role she took on in November 2024 as the company's first-ever CMO. She joined from IBM Consulting, where she spent over 25 years at IBM, including as CMO…

People in this episode

Host: Joel Harrison

Guest: Karen Feldman

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Iron Mountain, IBM Consulting, McLaren Racing

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