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CMO Confidential

CMO Confidential

By: Mike Linton // I Hear Everything Podcast Network
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Wonder what it's like to control millions of dollars of marketing budget? Manage hundreds of people? Make the decisions on which ideas get to market?

The CMO Confidential podcast shares how it feels to be in that chair of the shortest-tenured position on the C-suite.

We detail the long, hard road most ideas take to get to market & how challenging it is to get the best ones through.

Hosted by Mike Linton -- the former P&G Brand Manager who went on to be the Chief Marketing Officer of Best Buy, eBay, and Farmers Insurance, as well as the Chief Revenue Officer of Ancestry.com and the head marketer at Remington -- this show serves as an ongoing lesson plan for how to get, do, keep, and handle the pressures of the CMO job.



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Episodes
  • Aarron Spinley | The Concept of Customering - Is Technology Overwhelming the Customer Experience?

    Aarron Spinley | The Concept of Customering - Is Technology Overwhelming the Customer Experience?
    Jul 14 2026

    A CMO Confidential Interview With Aarron Spinley, Director at the Field Bell Institute and Author of "The Customering Method."


    Aarron discusses his belief that customer management deserves its own discipline as part of marketing, that understanding customer needs is the foundation of sales, and why popular metrics can be misleading.


    Key topics include:

    - Why you should "learn the asset versus learn instead of the measures"

    - The need to focus on "unnatural churn"

    - The difference between automation and service


    Tune in to hear why he's not fully on board with NPS and a story about "trendy rabbit holes."


    ⏱️ Chapters


    00:00 - Introduction to CMO Confidential and Guest Aarron Spinley

    01:23 - Defining Customer Experience and "Customering"

    04:35 - Limitations of Marketing Concepts and Survey Data in Customer Management

    06:53 - Drivers of Customer Loyalty vs. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

    10:11 - The Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Banking

    12:30 - The Correct Sequence of Customer Management: Asset, System, Measurement

    13:59 - Market Orientation vs. Sales Orientation within a Customer Base

    27:28 - What Effective Customer Interaction Looks Like

    30:02 - The Role of AI and Centralized Decisioning/Orchestration

    32:52 - Career Advice: Focus on Fundamentals Over Tools

    34:36 - Conclusion and Closing Remarks


    Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.


    #CMOConfidential, #MarketingLeadership, #BrandStrategy, #CorporateActivism, #MarketingStrategy, #CMO, #AIinMarketing, #ExecutiveLeadership, #BrandReputation, #ConsumerTrust, #DigitalMarketing, #MarketingInsights, #ThoughtLeadership, #BusinessStrategy, #CustomerCentric

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    37 mins
  • Rob Ward | A Top Venture Capitalist Analyzes the AI Landscape

    Rob Ward | A Top Venture Capitalist Analyzes the AI Landscape
    Jul 7 2026
    This week on CMO Confidential, we are revisiting one of our favorite conversations with Rob Ward from January of 2026.A CMO Confidential Interview with Rob Ward, co-founder and General Partner of Meritech Capital, a top Silicon Valley venture firm. Rob shares his take on what he calls a "super terrifying and exciting time" and provides perspective on AI receiving the most capital of any technology in history, the "durability of revenue" and how quickly start-ups are now reaching $100 million in revenue. Key topics include: why VC's focus on growth vs. profitability; the risks associated with massive long-term capital investment; why marketers should pick a "trusted advisor" as their AI partner; and why your data strategy needs "context. Tune in to hear how Astronomer handled the "Coldplay Concert Incident" which immediately became a PR classic and the "VC Foie Gras Effect."What happens when a top venture capitalist pulls back the curtain on AI, valuations, hype cycles, and what’s actually working?In this episode of CMO Confidential, host Mike Linton sits down with Rob Ward, Co-Founder and General Partner at Metech Capital, to unpack the realities behind the AI boom. Rob has spent more than 26 years investing in category-defining companies like Facebook (Meta), Snowflake, NetSuite, Zipcar, and Cloudera — and he brings a rare, grounded perspective to today’s AI frenzy.Together, they explore: • Why AI adoption is still early — despite explosive growth • The real risks behind inflated valuations and “AI-washing” • How VC decision-making changes during platform shifts • What marketers and executives should actually look for when choosing AI partners • Why data strategy, change management, and trust matter more than tools • What layoffs, productivity, and the future of work really look like beneath the headlines • A masterclass in crisis communications, featuring Ryan Reynolds, Gwyneth Paltrow, and ColdplayIf you’re a CMO, CEO, board member, founder, or agency leader trying to make sense of AI without getting swept up in the hype — this is a must-listen conversation.⸻Chapter Markers00:00 – Welcome to CMO Confidential00:19 – Introducing Rob Ward and today’s AI conversation01:13 – Where we really are in AI adoption02:26 – Explosive AI growth: what’s real vs hype03:35 – Why enterprise AI adoption is still a slog04:37 – Vendor spend, hyperscalers, and the trillion-dollar buildout06:12 – Is this an AI bubble? Public vs private market realities07:20 – Accelerating investment rounds and lack of diligence08:12 – AI-washing and durability of AI businesses09:46 – Proof-of-concepts, switching costs, and fragile loyalty10:55 – Big Tech vs startups: why this cycle is different11:40 – Why VCs chase platform shifts despite the risks13:05 – How AI is changing profitability and headcount math16:11 – “FOGRA” investing and capital distortion17:00 – Circular investing and data-center risk18:23 – Data centers, GPUs, and betting on the wrong future19:38 – Credit default swaps and financial warning signs21:45 – How executives should choose AI vendors22:58 – Change management and why culture matters most24:09 – Why data strategy is the real AI strategy26:36 – “Frequently wrong, never in doubt” and AI hallucinations27:01 – Practical AI use cases for marketers30:00 – Layoffs, productivity, and what’s really happening to jobs33:05 – The best questions to spot real AI fluency35:00 – AI safety, geopolitics, and long-term risks36:38 – Crisis management masterclass: Astronomer, Coldplay & Ryan Reynolds39:58 – Final advice and closing thoughts⸻Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.#CMOConfidential, #MarketingLeadership, #BrandStrategy, #CorporateActivism, #MarketingStrategy, #CMO, #AIinMarketing, #ExecutiveLeadership, #BrandReputation, #ConsumerTrust, #DigitalMarketing, #MarketingInsights, #ThoughtLeadership, #BusinessStrategy, #CustomerCentricSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    41 mins
  • Michael Treff | A Mid-Year Update From the B2B Front Lines

    Michael Treff | A Mid-Year Update From the B2B Front Lines
    Jun 30 2026

    A CMO Confidential Interview with Michael Treff, the CEO of Code and Theory. Michael shares his belief that the ambiguity in markets is here to stay, why traditional B2B playbooks aren't working like they used to, and why this is the "dawn of a new era for creativity."


    Key topics include:

    - Three key B2B questions companies are asking

    - The concepts of "stacking talent" and "forward-deployed teams"

    - The need to be truly honest about your organization and the marketplace

    - Why the future for agencies will be driven by tech, software, and service


    Tune in to hear about why you should "Keep it simple," and why the future will bring "A reckoning for the service business."


    ⏱️ Chapters

    1:12 - Guest Introduction and Overview of the B2B Marketplace

    4:35 - Technology Investments and the Changing Journey

    6:16 - Evolving Roles within the C-Suite

    7:20 - Culture Shifts and the Service Business Reckoning

    13:12 - Walled Gardens vs. Open Data Environments

    16:12 - Synthetic Data Sets

    18:40 - Advice for Traditional Clients

    26:35 - The Future of Creativity in B2B

    31:25 - Predictions for the Future

    33:37 - Closing and Final Advice


    This episode is sponsored by Typeface - the agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets. Learn more: typeface.ai/cmo.


    Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.


    #CMOConfidential, #MarketingLeadership, #BrandStrategy, #CorporateActivism, #MarketingStrategy, #CMO, #AIinMarketing, #ExecutiveLeadership, #BrandReputation, #ConsumerTrust, #DigitalMarketing, #MarketingInsights, #ThoughtLeadership, #BusinessStrategy, #CustomerCentric

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
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