Leadership, Rebranding, and Building Dynamic Teams with Rowan Tonkin of Planful

On this episode of The Next CMO podcast, host Scott Todaro is joined by 16-year marketing veteran Zosya Popick, CMO of ProPharma. Zosya shares insights into how AI can enhance efficiency within marketing teams—focusing on how it helps streamline tasks like copywriting, creative brainstorming, and data analysis. She also dives into the role of branding, emphasizing the importance of aligning mission and vision with design to create a cohesive brand identity. Don’t miss Zosya’s valuable tips on building high-performing marketing teams, the importance of simplicity, authenticity, and human connection in a world saturated with content, and her perspective on AI and the future of marketing.

On this episode of The Next CMO Podcast, Scott sits down with Jason Lyman, a three-time head of marketing with experience leading large marketing teams at companies like Customer.io, Ethos, BetterCloud, and Dropbox. Together, they dive into the complexities of scaling marketing teams, navigating the talent gap, and overcoming challenges CMOs face during high-growth phases. Jason shares his approach to prioritizing hires, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and maintaining messaging consistency. Tune in for actionable insights on balancing strategic alignment with operational efficiency and the importance of driving value for the business in a holistic, data-driven way.

On this episode of The Next CMO podcast, host Scott Todaro sits down with Rowan Tonkin, CMO of Planful. Rowan shares his unconventional journey to marketing leadership, starting with a degree in Internet Science and Technology in Australia, and his early experience in customer-facing roles that laid the foundation for his career. Rowan dives into critical topics for today's marketing leaders, including the importance of understanding the customer, effective positioning and messaging, as well as the role of cross-functional experience in shaping successful CMOs. Rowan also provides an inside look into the rebranding of Host Analytics to Planful and how he led his team through a period of intense change, ultimately winning Marketing Team of the Year. Tune in to hear Rowan’s approach to building strong, collaborative teams, the importance of being a "ballast" in times of change, and how marketing leaders can balance strategic vision with execution.

On this special episode of The Next CMO Podcast, we’re pleased to introduce our new host, Scott Todaro. Scott puts former host and Chief Commercial Officer (formerly CMO) of GoTo, Peter Mahoney, in the hot seat as Peter reflects on his extensive career, starting from his unexpected entry into sales at IBM, moving through various executive marketing roles at companies like Nuance and ATG, and eventually founding Plannuh. Peter highlights his experiences with company repositioning, handling multiple acquisitions, and the importance of understanding the business impact of marketing decisions. As Peter transitions back to a leadership role at GoTo, he emphasizes the need for CMOs to align their strategies with broader business goals.

In this episode of The Next CMO Podcast, host Peter Mahoney, an experienced CMO and executive advisor, interviews Kevin Ford, the Head of Marketing for Myriad360. Myriad360 is a leading provider of IT services, specializing in cloud transformation, AI implementation, and security systems. The discussion touches on how Myriad360 targets customers using a hospitality and event based strategy, integrating the experience of their services early in the sales cycle to help clients extract value. They also dive into Ford's approach to content creation, targeted marketing, and packaging 'technical expertise' as a product in itself. Additionally, they examine the power of referrals and networks in their marketing approach and how to strike a balance between sharing enough detail to excite potential clients and maintaining the sensitivity of projects.

In this episode, we speak to Guatam Mahandru, the CMO of Illumio, a cybersecurity company based in Seattle. They discuss the evolution of marketing in the B2B tech sphere, the creation of new categories of solutions, and the importance of targeting the right customer for their business model. Guatam explains the changing landscape of the market, the role of a modern CMO, and the importance of a strategic and data-driven approach in managing marketing operations. He also discusses the growth and expansion strategy for Illumio.

In this episode of The Next CMO podcast, I speak to Don Jeter, CMO of Torq. Torq delivers the security industry’s first enterprise-grade hyperautomation platform capable of automating the most complex security infrastructures at dramatic scale.

In this episode of The Next CMO podcast, I speak to Stephanie McCarty, CMO of Taylor Morrison. From start to finish, we create a seamless and inspired home building experience for our home buyers because we understand that your home is the most important home we can build.At Taylor Morrison, we work to earn your trust by providing the resources, support and deep industry experience to inspire you, and help you make educated decisions about your most important purchase. It’s this trust that earned Taylor Morrison the recognition of being America’s Most Trusted® Home Builder for eight years in a row.*We approach each home with a discerning eye, ensuring we select locations and amenities that fit for our homebuyers’ lifestyles. We want your home to be a place where you create a lifetime of lasting memories. With more than 100 years of experience building a lifetime of memories for our homebuyers, you can rest assured we’ll build the right home for you.

In this episode of The Next CMO podcast, I speak to Amanda Reierson, CMO of Avant. Avant (then known as AvantCredit®) was founded in 2012 with the goal of improving the borrowing experience for middle-income consumers. A byproduct of the Y Combinator startup accelerator program, Avant quickly built a reputation as an online lending platform, a reputation that continues to this day.

In this episode of The Next CMO podcast, I speak to Jeff Fleischman, CMO of Altimetrik, a data and digital engineering services company focused on helping companies transform their business to achieve better outcomes.