CMOtalk USA

Recorded live at HubSpot's Unbound conference in Boston, this episode features Kipp Bodnar, CMO at HubSpot and co-author of "Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow." Kipp explains why this is one of the best times ever to be a marketer: as AI takes over targeting and data plumbing, creative storytelling and high-taste writing matter more than ever. He shares why marketers should scale their taste with AI instead of outsourcing it, how AI search is changing the buyer journey, and why brands that aren't represented correctly in AI conversations are in real trouble. He also compares Europe and the US: more alike than people think, but with different buying criteria. Plus, Kipp answers Grace Kao's (CMO at Snap Inc.) question on participation over reach.

In this episode, Grace Kao shares how Snapchat evolved from a camera company into a "friendship utility app" for a generation that values co-creation over passive consumption. She breaks down the differences between traditional marketing funnels and the new "marketing cylinder," where continuous feedback loops and community participation drive brand engagement. 609232 Drawing on her experience leading global brand strategy, Grace unpacks the balance between maintaining universal human truths, like the need for real connection, and embracing hyper-local cultural relevance, such as Snap's recent AR activation at the Louvre in France. She also opens up about the tension between AI and human intuition. While algorithms push for digital efficiency, Grace explains her deliberate choice to invest heavily in IRL (in real life) experiences to foster genuine human connections, emphasizing that human "taste" and the ability to "surprise and delight" will always be a marketer's ultimate advantage. ada2bc10-b2c9-11f1-89a3-bd57236e9165 609232

In this episode, Alessandro shares why Amplifon's toughest competitor isn't another hearing care provider, but consumer denial itself, and what it takes to shift marketing from a transactional engine into a psychological journey that helps people confront a decision they've often been avoiding for years. He also breaks down how Amplifon builds one coherent global brand across more than 25 countries, holding a consistent emotional promise everywhere while letting local tactics flex with cultural nuance. Drawing on experience leading the business on both sides of the Atlantic, Alessandro unpacks a striking difference in buyer psychology: American customers seek hearing care to protect their independence, while European customers are more often driven by a desire to stay rooted in family and community. He also opens up about the role of AI and data in turning everyday interactions, from call centers to in-store conversations, into structured insight that can flag a customer's changing needs before frustration sets in. But he's clear-eyed about the risk: over-automating marketing workflows threatens to strip out the trust that healthcare communication depends on.

In this episode, Keith shares how he consolidated 18 separate brands into one unified Xebia identity, and what that taught him about change management and stakeholder buy-in. He also opens up about what AI is really doing to the marketing function, introducing the concept of "AI cubed": marketing about AI, marketing with AI, and increasingly, marketing to AI - reshaping how B2B teams operate and where human oversight still matters most. And through all of it, Keith keeps coming back to storytelling. In a world where AI generates content at scale, genuine differentiation still comes from the humans behind the brand. He also touches on transatlantic marketing differences, the balance between Dutch pragmatism and American acceleration, and why some human experiences – concerts, vinyl, art – may be the ones AI never replaces.

In this episode, Teresa Barreira, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer at Publicis Sapient, sits down with hosts Professor Koen Pauwels and international marketeer Wilbert Kragten to discuss how she spearheaded a massive internal transformation right after the launch of ChatGPT. Moving past the superficial hype of "random acts of AI," Teresa explains why true enterprise transformation relies entirely on people and process rather than the technology itself. She shares the exact blueprint her team used to catalog over 1,000 individual tasks, allowing them to shift from merely automating broken workflows to completely redesigning the work itself. By deploying over 150 custom AI agents built by internal experts, her team entirely eliminated tasks like writing first drafts or brand governance. This strategic shift successfully freed up massive amounts of time, allowing roles to be completely rewritten around the 20% where humans add the highest cognitive value. Teresa also dives into the evolving role of the CMO, illustrating how modern marketing leaders must transition from the "business of marketing" to the "business of the company". Finally, she, Koen, and Wilbert address how brands can escape a homogenized "sea of sameness" in an era of unlimited content creation by leaning heavily into human bravery, intuition, and asking the right questions.

Today, CMOtalk officially crosses the Atlantic. In this special episode, founder Klaas Weima hands over the platform to the newly established US team: lead host Koen Pauwels, Distinguished Professor of Marketing at Northeastern University, and co-hosts Nathalie van Doorne and Wilbert Kragten. We talk about why now, why Boston, what stays the same and what's new. The format you know: one CMO, one theme, one take. The new twist: every episode explores the transatlantic angle. What can US-marketing leaders learn from Europe? And the other way around? Season 26/27 launches in June.

Today, we welcome Dara Treseder, Chief Marketing Officer at Autodesk. This leading technology company develops software for design and manufacturing, with its most well-known product being AutoCAD – one of the most widely used design programs in the world. Since joining the company in 2022, Dara has been spearheading Autodesk’s global marketing strategy, overseeing areas such as e-commerce, brand development, communications, digital growth, and education. In this episode, we talk with her about B2B marketing, the role of artificial intelligence, her position as CMO, and the importance of education. An inspiring conversation with a powerful leader in the world of technology and marketing.

Microsoft plays a leading role in the development and application of artificial intelligence. By integrating AI into products like Microsoft 365 (including Word, Excel, and Outlook), the company is making smart technology accessible to millions of users worldwide. Through its partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft has integrated advanced AI models such as ChatGPT into tools like Copilot. These innovations help businesses and individuals work more efficiently, gain insights faster, and boost creativity. Jennifer Kattula, GM and CMO of Microsoft Advertising, has been a long-time advocate for AI. We speak with Kattula during the Cannes Lions Festival.

Zespri is the world’s largest Kiwi producer selling over 180 million trays of the green fluffy fruit each year. But how does the Chief Marketing Officer at a fruit company compete with fast food chains and candy brands for consumers’ attention? And: due to Global Warming, it has become more challenging to grow produce all over the world. How does Jiunn align his marketing efforts with the uncertainty of Zespri’s harvest? In this episode Klaas Weima is going to talk Jiunn Shih, Chief Marketing, Innovation & Sustainability Officer at Kiwi producer Zespri.

Marketeers all over the world can’t avoid exploring the opportunities of AI. How will technology change the advertisement industry in the near future? In this episode Klaas Weima is going to talk with Nuno Pena, global marketing director of AkzoNobel and Victoria Sjardin, former vice president marketing EMEA at the Kraft Heinz Company. Victoria Sjardin has been around for a while and has seen buzzwords (like big data & metaverse) come and go. She believes that “brands that are being well constructed are timeless”. Marketeer Nuno Pena (formerly AkzoNobel) explores the opportunities of the upcoming technology with a few pilots while expressing his beliefs that marketeers shouldn’t forget about sustainability.