Reflections on the Journey to Chief Marketing Officer with Jim Stengel

We’re on the verge of summer, so you’re probably dreaming of that ice-cold beer—whether at the beach, the ballpark, or on your back porch. This week, Jim welcomes Sofia Colucci to the podcast. She’s the Chief Marketing Officer for North America at Molson Coors, the fourth-largest brewer in the world, with about $12 billion in revenue.Molson Coors traces its roots back to 1786, when John Molson founded Canada’s oldest brewery on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. Today, the company’s portfolio includes Molson, of course, along with the Miller and Coors families of brands, and a wide range of other beverages, including Peroni, Madri, Pilsner Urquell, ZOA Energy, and Arnold Palmer Spiked.Sofia has been with Molson Coors for eight years and has served as CMO for about two and a half years. Prior to that, she spent six years at Maple Leaf Foods in Canada—where she met her husband—and nearly eight years at PepsiCo, working in both Canada and the U.S.Tune in for a conversation with a CMO who brings serious muscle to her marketing strategy!---This week's episode is brought to you byDeloitte and StrawberryFrog.Learn more: https://strawberryfrog.com/jimSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's episode is something a little different. Jim returns to the beautiful Miraval Berkshires — a place known for reflection, intention, and growth. And that spirit is exactly what this conversation is all about: Jim's own Reflections on the Journey to Chief Marketing Officer. We each have our own journey, but today, Jim will take you through his — including an internal viral campaign within P&G that ultimately led to him being offered the role. Then, he walks us through my version of the CMO To-Do List: ten key characteristics to help you ascend the ladder. So whether you're aspiring to the CMO seat, just starting your marketing journey, or simply curious about how leaders grow — this one’s for you. Let’s jump in!Head over to our LinkedIn to complete your own Marketer’s Self-Evaluation.---This week's episode is brought to you byDeloitte and StrawberryFrog.Learn more: https://strawberryfrog.com/jimSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we are celebrating the Class of 2025 inductees into the Advertising Hall of Fame, as Jim welcomes three of this year's honorees for a roundtable discussion. Recorded live the morning after "The Biggest Night in Advertising"—the American Advertising Federation’s annual Hall of Fame induction and celebration—the conversation highlights a few individuals each year who have made an indelible impact on the advertising and marketing industry, as well as exceptional philanthropic contributions. Since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 1948, only 296 people have been inducted.Joining Jim are:David Lubars, the recently retired Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of BBDO. David has won an astonishing 600 Cannes Lions and is the only creative head ever to win Network of the Year at Cannes for seven consecutive years.Linda Boff, the former long-standing Chief Marketing Officer of GE, who, among many other achievements, helped guide the company through its split into three separate public entities.Rishad Tobaccowala, who served in a variety of roles at Publicis Groupe over a 40-year career. Rishad is impossible to put in a box—he is an innovator, a pioneer, a mentor, a teacher, and an advisor. His weekly thought letter, The Future Does Not Fit into the Containers of the Past, is read by 30,000 people.Tune in for a funny, warm, reflective, and poignant conversation with three people who have just experienced one of the most special evenings of their lives.---Learn more about the entire class of inductees:https://www.aaf.org/Public/Public/Events/Advertising-Hall-of-Fame/AHOF_Home.aspxPlus catch up of videos from the past celebrations: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7609857---This week's episode is brought to you byDeloitte and StrawberryFrog. Learn more: https://strawberryfrog.com/jimSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Jim is coming to you from the serene and stunning Miraval Berkshires, nestled in Western Massachusetts, where Vayner hosted the Future CMO Summit. We welcomed twenty next-gen marketing leaders for a perfect setting that inspired a candid, energizing roundtable with some of the brightest minds in the industry today.Joining Jim are four standout leaders who participated in the Summit:Melissa Madaio Colleluori, Global Head of Social & Influencer Marketing at General MotorsDanielle Wallis, Chief Marketing Officer of Connected Commerce and Head of Card Customer Marketing at JPMorgan ChaseKatie Berry, Director of Global Brand Marketing at CoachSteven Saenen, Vice President of Marketing at Mondelēz InternationalFrom financial services to fashion, from autos to snacks, these leaders bring bold perspectives, creative strategies, and a shared passion for connecting with customers in meaningful ways.So grab a coffee—or a glass of wine—and settle in. You’re about to hear an honest, inspiring conversation straight from the heart of the Berkshires.---This week's episode is brought to you by StrawberryFrog and Deloitte.Learn more: https://strawberryfrog.com/jimSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, The CMO Podcast is on a field trip, as Jim recently attended the Adobe Summit Digital Experience Conference in Las Vegas. The three-day event featured over 200 sessions, hands-on labs, sneak previews of new products, and plenty of opportunities for fun networking. So, it’s fitting that his guest is someone at the heart of the Adobe Summit: Rachel Thornton, Chief Marketing Officer of Adobe Enterprise.Adobe is, of course, a company renowned for its creativity, innovation, and strong employee- and customer-centric culture. Its purpose is to change the world through personalized digital experiences, with offerings that include Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, Experience Cloud, and Adobe Express. Founded in 1982, Adobe now generates about $22 billion in annual revenue, thanks to groundbreaking innovations such as Photoshop, Acrobat, PDF, Flash, and Firefly.Rachel was a speaker at this year’s Summit and is a newcomer to Adobe, having joined in December 2024. However, she’s no stranger to B2B tech marketing. She began her tech career at Microsoft and went on to hold key roles at Cisco, Salesforce, Amazon Web Services, and startups before landing at Adobe.Tune in this week for a lively chat with a curious, history-loving Chief Marketing Officer! ---This week's episode is brought to you by Adobe, StrawberryFrog and Deloitte.Learn more: https://strawberryfrog.com/jimSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we celebrate National Pet Day, Jim's guest this week on The CMO Podcast is Natalia Ball, the Global Chief Growth Officer of Pet Nutrition at Mars. This is a big business for Mars, Petcare is about 60% of its estimated $50 billion in sales. Mars was founded as a candy company by Frank C. Mars in 1911 in Tacoma Washington; it remains to this day a family-owned business. Mars Petcare brands include Pedigree, Whiskas, Royal Canin and Iams.Natalia has been at Mars Petcare about seven years, and was promoted to Global Chief Growth Officer in April 2024. Before Mars, Natalia spent about 15 years at P&G, starting as a brand manager in Venezuela; her last role at P&G was senior portfolio director in global Laundry. Tune in for a conversation with a dog-loving, London-living mom of a seven year old, and a chief growth officer!---This week's episode is brought to you by StrawberryFrog and Deloitte.Learn more: https://strawberryfrog.com/jimSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we’re bringing you a special episode, recorded live at the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas in March 2025. As we here at the CMO podcast are happy customers of Adobe, we were excited to be part of the programming at the Summit. Our topic was How CMOs can thrive in these times of rapid change, with Jim being joined on stage by Emily Silver, SVP and Chief Marketing & Athlete Experience Officer of Dick’s Sporting Goods, to join me on stage. Emily is a returning guest to the show, joining Jim last fall to talk about stepping into her first CMO role. Emily spent over 16 years at PepsiCo, in about nine roles, before she joined the sports brand in 2023. Recorded live in front of an audience, including a collection of Emily’s associates from Dick’s, Emily and Jim discuss how sports brings us together, and how she and her company are thriving in these uncertain times. This episode is brought to you by Adobe.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Happy April Fools! To celebrate the spirit of first day of April, Jim welcomes to the show one of Duo the Owl’s best friends, Emmanuel Orssaud, the Chief Marketing Officer of Duolingo, one of the hottest growth brands in the world with one of the hottest mascots in the world. Duolingo is the most downloaded education app in the history of the App Store and in 2019 became the top-grossing education app worldwide.Duolingo’s purpose is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available; its core service today is in language learning. Duolingo is only a 14-year old brand, founded in Pittsburgh by Luis van Ahn and Severine Hacker, who met at Carnegie Mellon. It is publicly traded, with a market cap of about $14 billion.Emmanuel, or Manu, has been at Duolingo nearly five years, CMO since August 2023. Prior to Duolingo, Manu worked about five years at Spotify and nine years at Playstation. Tune in for a conversation around growth marketing & more with a bi-lingual CMO (French and English) who is learning Japanese on Duolingo!---This week's episode is brought to you by StrawberryFrog and Deloitte.Learn more: https://strawberryfrog.com/jimSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Spring is time for rebirth and renewal…and today’s episode is about a relationship between a client and an agency that embodies continual rebirth and renewal. Jim's guests this week are Sherry Graziano, the EVP, Head of Digital, Client Experience & Marketing at Truist Bank, and Scott Goodson, the CEO and Founder of ad agency StrawberryFrog. Sherry and Scott are longtime partners at Truist, a top 10 US bank headquartered in Charlotte, NC. Truist has a purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities–and they mean that, as you will hear through Sherry and Scott’s stories.Sherry has been at Truist since 2011; she was part of SunTrust, which became Truist after SunTrust’s merger with BB&T. Scott and his agency have been working with Truist for many years. Many brands switch agencies frequently–this is a story of a client and agency who have learned to work together over the years, and thus discovered the magic of teamwork with a common purpose, common objectives, and a shared ambition. Tune in for a conversation on the playbook for a successful partnership!---This week's episode is brought to you by StrawberryFrog and Deloitte.Learn more: https://strawberryfrog.com/jimSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This month marks the opening of a new season for the red-hot NWSL–The National Women's Soccer League. Jim's this week is the Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer of the NWSL, Julie Haddon. Jim has known Julie for many years, going back to her years at the NFL as VP of Global Brand and consumer marketing, before joining the NWSL as its first-ever CMO.Great CMOs are growth drivers, and Julie has indeed done that with her team. Julie has been CMO for about 2.5 years and the growth rate is staggering; double the number of fans in attendance at matches; two new teams joining the league with more coming; a four-year media deal worth $240 million–the previous media deal was for three years for $4.5 million. And team valuations are increasing massively.Julie was a journalism major years ago at Indiana University in Bloomington, before launching a career in tech & entertainment that is epic: Dreamworks Animation, eBay, PayPal, Twitter, Zynga, Sofi, the NFL, and now the NWSL. Tune in for a conversation with a CMO who had a vision six years ago in France that she could help shape the future of women's soccer.---This week's episode is brought to you by StrawberryFrog, Deloitte and Adobe.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.