This week on CMO Confidential, we're revisiting our conversation with Tom Goodwin from August of 2025 - this is one of our favorites with topics just as relevant to marketers today.

Tom discusses his belief that today's CMO's are overly focused on efficiency versus marketing principles and that the contemporary playbook has been created by tech companies focused on performance metrics.

Key topics include:

-An unhealthy focus on the speed of measurement and short-term results

-Marketers having a "feeling of vulnerability" if they haven't heard of new tech

-The fact that many of the hyped direct-to-consumer brands like Casper and Ridge Wallets aren't actually doing that well

Tune in to hear the underestimated impact of "beauty" and a story about being locked out of a self-driving car.

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.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Intro: Meet Tom Goodwin

02:28 – Would 1950s Marketers Beat Today’s CMOs?

05:41 – Is Marketing Actually More Complex Today?

09:15 – Fundamentals vs Growth Hacking & Performance Tactics

11:05 – DTC vs Traditional Brands: What Actually Works

15:13 – Short-Term Metrics, AI Hype & Tech Overload

28:36 – Dark Social, Hidden Influence & What Data Misses

34:21 – Predictions, AI Reality & The Power of Simplicity

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A CMO Confidential Interview with Kim Whitler, professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, board member and former GM and CMO.

Kim shares recent research which details why the largest and best companies often get dragged into conflicts they can't win, the three main forces of pressure and how they affect different management levels, and tips on picking the right company for you.

Key discussion topics include:

- The only stance agreed on by 100% of consumers

- How to think about non-divisive activism (e.g. Dove's Real Beauty Campaign)

- The danger of in-group bias

Tune in to hear why "You don't have to get engaged," and tips for getting an unbiased view.

⏱️ Chapters

01:12 Introducing Kim Whitler

01:39 Why Corporate Activism Creates Business Risk

02:51 Inside the “Executive Flip-Flop” Study

04:11 Mapping the 3 Sources of Pressure on Leaders

06:01 Internal vs External Pressure Dynamics

11:19 The “Pressure Meter” Framework Explained

12:33 Key Insight: Pressure Varies by Level (C-Suite vs Managers)

14:18 The Myth of “You Must Take a Stand”

17:09 Flawed Research Driving Activism Decisions

21:19 When Brand Activism Works vs Backfires

27:04 Choosing the Right Company as a Marketer

31:06 AI Bias, Media Influence & Finding Truth

38:11 Practical Advice: Avoiding In-Group Bias in Leadership

43:25 Final Takeaways for Marketers

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.

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A CMO Confidential Interview with Jean English, CMO of CoreWeave, formerly the CMO of Juniper Networks, Armis, Palo Alto Networks and NetApp.

Jean discusses the dynamics driving the voracious demand for computing power, why cloud infrastructure matters so much, and the ongoing AI shift from training to inference.

Key topics include:

- How models are leapfrogging each other at speed

- The importance of B2B brands at a time when decisions are often made by teams of people

- Why marketing is a great use case for AI

- Creative uses for hackathons

Tune in to hear why "80% right" is okay and a story about using AI for parenting 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.

⏱️ Chapters

01:31 Guest Intro: Jean English (CMO, CoreWeave)

02:39 What CoreWeave Does (AI Cloud Explained)

04:20 AI Hype vs Reality

07:05 The AI Market & Competitive Landscape

09:40 Building an AI Brand

11:00 Buying Groups & Enterprise Complexity

13:01 Measuring AI Infrastructure Performance

15:32 Why Brand Matters in AI

18:11 IPO, Growth & Market Expansion

20:34 AI’s Impact on Marketing Teams

24:32 Infrastructure, Scale & Future Demand

28:26 Final Advice for Marketers + Closing

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #CMO #MarketingLeadership #B2BMarketing #AIMarketing #GenerativeAI #AIInfrastructure #CloudComputing #DigitalTransformation #MarketingStrategy #FutureOfWork #AITrends #TechLeadership #BrandStrategy #EnterpriseAI #Innovation #MarketingAI #Leadership #ContentAtScale

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