A CMO Confidential Interview with Jim Lecinski, Clinical Professor of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, author, and former Google VP. Jim discusses why he believes marketers are often overly focused on using AI for productivity improvements versus business growth, the gaps between marketers and the C-Suite highlighted by recent Gartner research, and the difference between "big frontier models" and "shiny objects." Key topics include: why you should avoid "gray market AI", how to manage the 5 AI risks (privacy, accuracy, regulatory, personnel, and reputation), and the false precision that accompanies a focus on intermediate measures like Click Through Rate (CTR). Tune in to hear why he's not a fan of Cannes and how AI helped figure out a wedding invitation calling for "casual to semi-formal beach attire."

What should CMOs actually do with AI right now—and how do you avoid chasing shiny objects? Mike Linton sits down with Jim Lecinski, Professor of Marketing at Northwestern’s Kellogg School (and author of The AI Marketing Canvas and Winning the Zero Moment of Truth) to unpack the AI application layer: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Jim explains why CEOs-CFOs obsess over growth (not merely efficiency), how to reframe marketing dashboards around business outcomes, and his simple two-by-two for AI use cases (internal productivity vs. external value creation). We cover privacy, legal/regulatory, personnel, and reputational risks—and how to mitigate them—plus a pragmatic roadmap: center on a leading frontier model and layer vetted apps instead of stitching together fragile point solutions. Jim also shares candid takes on Cannes vs. Effies and ends with a challenge: personally build something with AI before year-end.

You’ll learn:

* Growth over cost-cutting: aligning with CEO-CFO priorities and measuring ends, not means

* The AI use-case 2×2: internal productivity vs. external, customer-facing value creation

* Practical examples (e.g., apparel personalization) that lift CSAT, CLV, and revenue

* The 5 risk buckets (privacy, accuracy, regulatory-IP, personnel, reputation) and guardrails

* How to choose core models (GPT, Gemini, Claude) and avoid “tool soup”

* Why awards that honor outcomes beat awards that celebrate activity

Guest: Jim Lecinski — Professor of Marketing, Northwestern Kellogg; former VP Customer Solutions (Americas) at Google; author of The AI Marketing Canvas (2nd ed.) & Winning the Zero Moment of Truth.

Host: Mike Linton — former CMO of Best Buy, eBay, Farmers Insurance; CRO of Ancestry.com.

Sponsor: Better marketing is built on Quad. See how better gets done at (https://www.quad.com/resources/research-and-tools/return-of-touch-consumer-engagement-has-an-omnichannel-revival?utm_source=cmoconfidential&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=001_brand&utm_id=podcastnl1031&utm_content=a-paidemail&utm_vp=)

If you’re enjoying the show, please like, subscribe, and share with your leadership team. New episodes every Tuesday; companion newsletter on Fridays.

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A CMO Confidential Interview with Abhay Parasnis, Founder & CEO of Typeface, Board Member of Dropbox and Schneider Electronic, formerly EVP of Adobe. Abhay discusses the large gap between AI expectations and execution, the human and cultural issues in the way of adoption, and the C-Suite's responsibility to "guide the change" versus demand and monitor progress. Key topics include: recognizing and managing the 3 types of resistance; why specific targeted use cases are the best way to begin; the difference between Moore's Law and Amara's Law; and how to determine if you are a resistor or a pragmatic business leader. Tune in to hear an analogy of why AI is similar to Formula One where everyone has a powerful vehicle and winning is driven by how teams master and manage that power.

AI is the biggest shift of our careers—but most companies are stuck at the “cool demo” stage. In this episode, former Adobe CTO/CPO and Typeface founder/CEO Abhay Parasnis joins Mike Linton to unpack the AI cold start problem: how to move from experiments to enterprise impact. We cover where the C-suite is pushing, why practitioners are hesitating, and how to design lighthouse wins that change the org—not just the deck.

Abhay shares hard numbers (a 93% lift from email personalization in 120 days), why “watermelon metrics” derail programs, and the new reality that as agents/bots consume more content, your brand narrative must be built for machines and humans. We dig into the accountability shift from agencies to in-house teams, how to evaluate vendors without boiling the ocean, and the culture moves leaders need to close the gap between ambition and adoption.

What you’ll learn

A practical AI playbook: pick one revenue-adjacent use case, rewire the process, measure before/after, then scale

How to align the board, C-suite, and operators to avoid “innovation theater”

Where AI drives top-line growth vs. simple cost takeout—and how to prove it

Spotting resistance (job loss fears, “new thing” fatigue, agency incentives) and converting it into momentum

The right vendor questions (and red flags) to separate sizzle from outcomes

Why authenticity, governance, and legal guardrails must ship with your AI stack

About Abhay

Founder & CEO of Typeface (AI-powered personalized marketing). Former CTO & CPO at Adobe; leadership roles at Microsoft and Oracle; board member at Dropbox and Schneider Electric.

Sponsor — Quad

Marketing only works when everything works together. That’s why Quad is obsessed with reducing friction and integrating smarter—so your marketing machine runs faster with better ROI. See how better gets done: https://www.quad.com/buildbetter

Chapters (38:00)

00:00 Intro & sponsor

01:10 Guest intro & topic setup

03:10 The AI cold start problem & Amara’s Law

07:00 C-suite urgency vs. practitioner reality

11:30 Beyond efficiency: driving top-line growth

15:10 Content demand, bots/agents, and “watermelon metrics”

19:20 Case study: 93% lift from email personalization

23:30 Resistance patterns: job loss, new-thing fatigue, agency economics

29:10 Vendor questions & lighthouse projects that actually ship

33:10 Legal, authenticity, and governance considerations

35:30 Closing advice: beginner’s mindset + bet on people

37:30 Wrap

Subscribe

New episodes every Tuesday on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify. If you’re a CMO, CEO, CFO, COO, founder, or rising marketing leader—hit subscribe for executive-level conversations that translate directly to results.

Host: Mike Linton

Guest: Abhay Parasnis ( @typefaceai  )

Tags:

CMO Confidential,Mike Linton,Abhay Parasnis,Typeface,Adobe,AI in marketing,AI cold start,Generative AI,Amara’s Law,Marketing leadership,Change management,C suite,Board of directors,Agency model,Marketing efficiency,Top line growth,Email personalization,Content at scale,Marketing ROI,Measurement,Watermelon metrics,MarTech,CDP,Vendors,Quad,Sponsor,Marketing podcast,Digital transformation,Creative operations,Personalization

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"Dissecting Compensation - A Primer on Understanding, Negotiating and Managing Pay"

A CMO Confidential Interview with Richard Sanderson, the Marketing, Sales, and Communications Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart. Richard starts with the basics of salary, bonus and equity and branches out to compensation mix, the various types of equity, negotiating best practices, and the "other" elements of an offer. Key topics include: why the devil is in the details; when and how to discuss compensation; the difference between dumb luck and bad luck; and why everyone should do a "multi-year cash flow analysis." Tune in to hear why you should always read the proxy statement and the importance of being prepared to explain how you are using AI.

In Part 2, host Mike Linton sits back down with Spencer Stuart Practice Leader Richard Sanderson to get tactical about comp negotiations, severance, equity, and managing your team through pay anxiety. If you’re a CMO (or headed there), this episode is your field guide to securing a fair offer and stewarding compensation conversations with your org.

Points of interest:

• Your moment of maximum leverage: why the verbal offer is the prime time to align on comp—and how to use that window without damaging trust.

• How different companies negotiate: spotting “full & fair” one-shot offers vs. multi-round negotiators—and how to work the process with your recruiter as a broker to keep heat and emotion out.

• Beyond base and bonus: what’s often negotiable (e.g., severance, sign-on/bridge, relocation, start date, work location, travel, even one-offs) and how to prioritize your asks.

• Severance norms & timing: what policies typically look like (e.g., 6–12 months in many cases), when to ask, and why it’s safest through the recruiter.

• Feeling underpaid? Building a data-backed case with market signals, peer benchmarks, recruiter insight—and how proxy statements can ground internal conversations.

• Underwater equity & team morale: acknowledging pain, reframing to a long-term vision, and understanding annual equity refresh dynamics (timing matters).

• Do the 5-year cash-flow analysis: compare current state vs. new offer (vesting, cliffs, bridge needs) so you don’t get surprised in Year 1–2.

• Today’s relocation reality: mortgage-rate math and why moves can be financially punitive—plan your package accordingly.

• Offer etiquette & reputation risk: why turning down a written offer is a red flag on process—and why reneging after signing can follow you.

• Be ready for the AI question: every senior marketing interview now probes AI use cases, impact, and CFO alignment—have crisp examples.

Sponsored by Quad

Marketing only works when everything works together. Quad helps your marketing machine run with less friction and smarter integration—so you get speed, efficiency, and ROI. Better marketing is built on Quad. See how better gets done at www.quad.com/buildbetter.

If you missed Part 1, go watch that next—then subscribe for weekly conversations with leaders who’ve sat in the CMO chair.

#CMOConfidential #CMO #ExecutiveCompensation #MarketingLeadership #Negotiation #Equity #Severance #AIinMarketing #SpencerStuart #MikeLinton #RichardSanderson #Quad

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A CMO Confidential Interview with Richard Sanderson, the Marketing, Sales, and Communications Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart. Richard starts with the basics of salary, bonus and equity and branches out to compensation mix, the various types of equity, negotiating best practices, and the "other" elements of an offer. Key topics include: why the devil is in the details; when and how to discuss compensation; the difference between dumb luck and bad luck; and why everyone should do a "multi-year cash flow analysis." Tune in to hear why you should always read the proxy statement and the importance of being prepared to explain how you are using AI.

What should CMOs (and aspiring CMOs) know about salary, bonus, and equity—and how do you actually negotiate it? Mike Linton sits down with Richard Sanderson, Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart, to demystify executive compensation for marketing leaders. They cover base pay vs. bonus, RSUs vs. options vs. PSUs, vesting mechanics, event-based triggers, how and when to negotiate, and what new pay-equity laws mean for candidates. Real talk on forfeitures, bonus history, and why your “one big ask” matters when the offer finally comes.

What we cover

• Why CMO pay data is scarce (and what that means for “market rate”)

• Compensation mix: public vs. private/PE, U.S. vs. Europe, and “CMO+” roles

• Equity 101: RSUs, options (strike prices/underwater risk), and PSUs (accelerators/decelerators)

• Vesting models: time-, performance-, and event-based—and what you can/can’t negotiate

• Bonuses: how targets are set, why they’re harder to move, and the 3-year payout history test

• Negotiation timing: expectation-setting, handling the “what are your expectations?” question, and using information asymmetry to your advantage

• Pay-equity & transparency laws: what recruiters can ask (expectations) vs. can’t (history), and how to discuss forfeitures

• Offer strategy: why you typically get one high-leverage counter—and how to use it

Sponsor

 @quadgraphics  — Better marketing is built on Quad. When everything in your marketing machine works together, efficiency, speed, and ROI go up. See how better gets done: www.quad.com/buildbetter

⸻

🎧 New episodes every Tuesday.

📰 Companion newsletter every Friday with the top insights.

⸻

CMO Confidential,Mike Linton,Richard Sanderson,Spencer Stuart,CMO compensation,executive compensation,marketing leadership,base salary,bonus structures,equity compensation,RSUs,stock options,PSUs,vesting schedules,performance shares,forfeitures,compensation negotiation,pay transparency laws,pay equity,offer strategy,total rewards,chief marketing officer,chief growth officer,chief commercial officer,chief revenue officer,recruiter advice,board expectations,public vs private equity,marketing careers,Quad sponsor

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A CMO Confidential Interview with Dwight Hutchins, Senior Managing Director of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and a Northwestern Adjunct Professor, previously Managing Director at Accenture focused on Consumer Products, Health Care and Public Service. Dwight shares his thinking on why marketers should be prepared to reduce expenses and shift resources into a re-imagined future versus incrementally evolving spend and structure. Key topics include: his belief that the complexity of marketing has resulted in many instances of wasted spending; the importance of "unaided first brand response;" why it's important to be "ahead of the expense reduction game;" and how to focus on working versus non-working dollars. Tune in to hear how about reducing $1B in spend to fund new initiatives and a "wild west" story about a battery on-pack promotion.

The Fine Art of Reducing Marketing Expense in an AI World

This week on CMO Confidential, Mike Linton sits down with Dwight Hutchins—Senior Partner & Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group and adjunct professor at Northwestern—to tackle the question every CMO hears from the CFO: “Keep the top line growing… and cut your budget.”

Dwight explains how to find waste without hurting performance, where AI actually improves efficiency (and where it doesn’t), how to test into cuts with confidence, and why many brands still miss “sufficiency” by spreading spend like peanut butter. We dig into frequency capping, working vs. non-working ratios, zero-based budgeting (used sanely), org design, insource vs. outsource, and a real-world case where a company freed up billions and redeployed it to growth channels. Stay for his “Wild West” in-store marketing story—complete with batteries taped to milk.

Sponsored by Typeface — the AI-native, agentic marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets across channels, safely integrated with your MarTech stack. See how leaders like ASICS and Microsoft scale personalized content with Typeface.

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⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Intro & guest: Dwight Hutchins (BCG)

02:05 – The market reality: uncertainty, shifting buyer values

06:10 – CFO pressure: “grow and cut” in the same breath

09:20 – AI spend vs. payoff: recalibrating expectations

12:25 – Media fragmentation & the “peanut butter” budget problem

15:55 – Where AI helps most: measurement, targeting, creative ops

19:10 – Forensic cuts case study: freeing up massive dollars

23:10 – Finding waste: frequency caps, ad length, quality controls

27:05 – “First Fast Response”: demand spaces & brand power

30:20 – Sufficiency & focus: stop starving campaigns

33:05 – Working vs. non-working: ratios that actually move results

35:20 – Zero-based budgeting (in moderation, with data)

37:10 – Org & ops: redesigning execution, in/outsourcing lines

38:55 – Fun story: the “batteries-on-milk” promo & promo ROI

40:00 – Final takeaways & sponsor

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CMO Confidential, Mike Linton, Dwight Hutchins, Boston Consulting Group, BCG, marketing efficiency, reduce marketing spend, AI in marketing, marketing analytics, media mix optimization, frequency capping, working vs non-working, zero-based budgeting, ZBB, demand spaces, brand strategy, executive leadership, CFO CMO alignment, budget cuts, marketing operations, insource vs outsource, creative operations, measurement and attribution, marketing governance, content at scale, Typeface, Typeface AI, generative AI for marketing, agentic AI, MarTech integration, CMOs, marketing leadership, board expectations, growth and efficiency, case study, social media shift, campaign sufficiency

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A CMO Confidential Interview with Kate Bullis and David Wiser, Managing Partners and Global Marketing Practice Leaders for ZRG Partners. Kate and David translate their extensive search experience into a pre-game, game time, and post game look at the errors candidates make during the recruiting process. Key topics include: why thorough preparation includes self awareness, a "shopping list" and pattern recognition; how "playbooking," talking too much, and disengagement can doom your interview; and best practices for turning down an offer, handling a disappointment, negotiating an offer, and accepting the opportunity. Tune in to hear why you should never turn down a written offer and other things to avoid if you want to stay off of the search firm's "Do Not Call List."

What are the biggest mistakes CMOs make during the interview process?

This week on CMO Confidential, host Mike Linton sits down with Kate Bullis and David Wiser, Managing Partners at ZRG and two of the most experienced executive search leaders in marketing. Together, they break down the interview process into Pre-Game, Game Time, and Post-Game—sharing where CMOs most often stumble and how candidates can set themselves up for success.

If you’re a C-Suite executive, board member, or aspiring marketing leader, this episode delivers unfiltered insights into how top recruiters evaluate CMOs and what separates successful candidates from the rest.

Sponsored by  @typefaceai  — the generative AI platform helping the world’s biggest brands scale personalized marketing in hours, not months.

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⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Welcome and introduction

03:15 – Why interviewing for a CMO role is uniquely challenging

07:40 – Pre-Game: Preparing beyond the résumé

13:05 – What search firms and boards are really looking for

17:50 – Game Time: How to manage the actual interview

23:30 – Mistakes CMOs make when telling their career story

29:10 – Post-Game: Following up and maintaining momentum

34:20 – The role of references and backchannel checks

37:50 – Final advice for candidates and boards

40:00 – Wrap-up and sponsor message

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📌 Tags

CMO Confidential, Mike Linton, Kate Bullis, David Wiser, ZRG Partners, CMO interview tips, marketing executive search, chief marketing officer, CMO mistakes, CMO hiring process, how to become a CMO, executive interview prep, board expectations for CMOs, marketing leadership, CMO role design, interview strategy, executive recruiters, marketing careers, marketing C-Suite, executive search firms, leadership hiring

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A CMO Confidential Interview with Shiv Singh, CEO of Savvy Matters, former CMO of Lending Tree and author of AI For Dummies and The 5 Marketing Truths You Won't See at Cannes. Shiv shares why he believes AI is killing marketing jobs, how the CMO Role is breaking down due to overlap with other functions, and how "Big Tech is running marketing." Key topics include: how walled gardens make the job harder; why the optics of Cannes are terrible; and the reason marketers should work to fully understand technology. Tune in to hear how AI is making us less intelligent and why Cannes should move to San Francisco.

Description

What you won’t hear on the Croisette. Former LendingTree CMO and Marketing with AI for Dummies author Shiv Singh joins host Mike Linton to unpack his viral “5 marketing truths you won’t hear at Cannes”—from AI’s real impact on jobs and creativity to why the CMO role keeps breaking under overlapping scopes, walled gardens, and distorted budgets.

We dig into the zero-click search era, big tech as the new kingmakers, how to rebuild orgs AI-first, and what practical steps CMOs should take this quarter (hint: learn the tech, ship agents, and embed marketers into tech teams).

In this episode

• AI is changing performance, creative, and strategy—faster than the hype cycle

• The CMO job: too wide, too blurry, and overlapped with the rest of the C-suite

• Walled gardens & retail media: measurement theater vs. business impact

• Zero-click search & AI Overviews: when your best customers never hit your site

• “AI-native” org design: agents, code-as-deliverable, and the marketer-as-technologist

• Why Cannes optics can backfire—and what a substance-first festival could look like

• Playbook for CMOs: weekly show-and-tells, code literacy, and cross-functional embeds

About our guest

Shiv Singh is CEO of Savvy Matters, co-founder of AI Trailblazers, former CMO of LendingTree, and a longtime brand leader (Pepsi, Visa). He writes and speaks widely on AI’s impact on marketing, org design, and growth.

Sponsor — Typeface

Legacy tools weren’t built for AI. Typeface is the first multimodal platform where agentic workflows handle everything from brainstorming to launch across every channel. Transform one idea into thousands of on-brand assets—text, images, and video—at enterprise scale, with security and seamless MarTech integrations. See how brands like ASICS and Microsoft move from brief to personalized campaigns in hours: typeface.ai/cmo.

If you’re enjoying CMO Confidential, please like, subscribe, and share. New episodes every Tuesday; companion newsletter every Friday.

⸻

Chapter Markers

00:00 – Welcome & Sponsor: Typeface

01:45 – Introducing Shiv Singh & “5 Truths You Won’t Hear at Cannes”

05:10 – Truth 1: AI is changing jobs, creativity, and strategy

10:20 – The CMO role is broken: scope, overlap, and alignment

15:05 – Walled gardens & retail media: why measurement is broken

19:45 – Truth 2 & 3: Big Tech as the new kingmakers

24:20 – Zero-click search & the rise of AI-driven discovery

28:50 – Truth 4: Cannes optics and why it’s “not for everybody”

32:40 – What CMOs should do: tech fluency, coding, weekly experiments

36:00 – Superintelligence and the AI-native org of the future

39:00 – Practical advice & closing thoughts

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CMO Confidential, Mike Linton, Shiv Singh, Savvy Matters, AI Trailblazers, LendingTree, Pepsi, Visa, Cannes Lions, marketing truths, AI in marketing, agentic AI, AI agents, zero-click search, AI Overviews, walled gardens, retail media networks, big tech kingmakers, Google, Meta, TikTok, YouTube as TV, Performance Max, marketing org design, CMO role, C-suite alignment, measurement, marketing strategy, creative automation, knowledge workers, superintelligence, LLMs, large language models, marketer as technologist, code literacy, AI native organization, marketing experimentation, weekly show and tell, brand building, B2B marketing, B2C marketing, marketing leadership, executive insights, podcast for CMOs, Typeface, Typeface AI, typeface.ai/cmo, ASICS, Microsoft, customer acquisition, CAC, CLV, marketing ROI, retail media, AI transformation, marketing jobs and AI

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

A CMO Confidential Interview with Dr. Dan McCarthy, Professor of Marketing at Maryland and leading practitioner of Customer Lifetime Value. Dan shares insights from his privacy research based on Apple's "App Tracking Transparency" (ATT) initiative commonly known as "Ask App Not to Track" which include a significant impact on business results, a degradation of CAC, and a disproportionate hit to small companies. Key topics include: how the elimination of a Facebook customer ID negatively impacted revenue, why averaging marketing results can be a profit killer, and why analytical time frames matter. Tune in to hear updates on Dan's other research including Peloton, loyalty programs and "How everyone is cheating their way through college."

CMO Confidential: The Disparate Impact of Privacy Policy — with Dr. Dan McCarthy (UMD) on ATT, CLV & CAC

What happens to your revenue when attribution breaks? In this episode, 5x CMO Mike Linton sits down with Dr. Dan McCarthy (Professor of Marketing, University of Maryland; leading practitioner of Customer Lifetime Value) to unpack Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) and its ripple effects on marketing performance. Dan shares new research showing how the loss of a Facebook customer ID degraded click-through, CAC, and revenue—with disproportionate pain for smaller, Facebook-heavy brands.

We dig into why averages kill profit (stop using blended CAC/CLV!), how channel-specific, time-varying metrics drive smarter allocation, and the practical playbook for marketers in a post-IDFA world. Dan also updates us on his other research—Peloton, loyalty & subscription programs (DoorDash/Postmates), and the “everyone is cheating their way through college” debate and what it means for teaching and real-world readiness.

What you’ll learn

• How ATT broke cross-site attribution and raised CAC while lowering revenue yield

• Why small DTC brands took the biggest hit, and how (or if) they can recover

• The danger of blended CAC/CLV vs. channel-specific, time-varying metrics

• Subscription insights: novelty vs. maturity effects, and behavior after cancellation

• Action items to protect growth when signal quality declines

About our guest

Dr. Dan McCarthy is a professor at the University of Maryland (formerly Emory) and one of the foremost experts on CLV and customer-based corporate valuation. His work spans privacy’s impact on e-commerce, subscription economics, loyalty programs, and public-company customer metrics.

Sponsor: Typeface

Typeface helps the world’s biggest brands move from brief to fully personalized campaigns in hours, not months. With its agentic AI marketing platform, one campaign becomes thousands of on-brand experiences across ads, email, and video—with enterprise-grade security and seamless MarTech integrations. Learn more at typeface.ai/cmo.

Subscribe for more C-suite-level conversations every Tuesday, and catch our Friday newsletter with the top insights.

⸻

00:00 – Intro & sponsor: Typeface AI

01:35 – Meet Dr. Dan McCarthy & ATT explained

05:00 – How ATT broke attribution and raised CAC

09:15 – Why small brands took the biggest revenue hit

13:30 – The danger of blended CAC & CLV averages

17:20 – Practical advice: channel-specific, time-varying metrics

21:00 – Updates on Peloton & subscription research

25:00 – The “everyone is cheating in college” debate

28:00 – Final advice: beware of irrational subscriptions

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

CMO Confidential — “What Your CFO Wants to Tell You (But Won’t)” with CNA CFO Scott Lindquist

What does a great CFO really think about marketing? Mike Linton sits down with Scott Lindquist—CFO of CNA Financial and former long-time CFO of Farmers—to decode the finance side of brand building, performance spend, and the politics of the boardroom. They cover how CMOs should onboard a new CFO, why “marketing math” wins over skeptics, mistakes to avoid in board presentations, and how insurers used bold brand bets to become category killers.

What you’ll learn

• The four archetypes of CFOs—and how to work with each

• Why CFOs who are “joined at the hip” with the CEO think differently about growth

• How to explain cost of capital and present value like a marketer (and win budget)

• The insurance playbook: brand investment, DTC distribution, and lifetime value

• Why every large marketing org needs a Marketing CFO (and how to set it up)

• Boardroom pitfalls: jargon, 100-slide decks for 20 minutes, and “draining the slide”

• Practical tips for building trust: bring the data, surface bad news early, and speak in outcomes

Guest

Scott Lindquist — Chief Financial Officer, CNA Financial. Former CFO, Farmers Insurance. Started at PwC and has led finance through growth, turnarounds, and public-company scrutiny.

Host

Mike Linton — Former CMO of Best Buy, eBay, and Farmers; former CRO of Ancestry. Host of CMO Confidential, the #1 CMO show on YouTube.

Who should watch

CMOs, CEOs, CFOs, board members, founders, and marketing leaders who need tighter finance alignment and clearer ROI storytelling.

Brought to you by Typeface

Legacy marketing tools weren’t built for AI. Typeface is the first multimodal, agentic AI marketing platform that turns one idea into thousands of on-brand assets—across ads, email, and video—while integrating with your MarTech stack and meeting enterprise-grade security needs. See how brands like ASICS and Microsoft accelerate content at scale: typeface.ai/cmo.

—

If you’re enjoying the show, please like, comment, and subscribe. New episodes every Tuesday; companion newsletter with the top insights every Friday.

#CMOConfidential #CFO #MarketingROI #BrandBuilding #B2BMarketing

CMO Confidential, Mike Linton, Scott Lindquist, CNA Financial, Farmers Insurance, CFO, CMO, marketing CFO, finance and marketing alignment, cost of capital, present value, marketing math, LTV, lifetime value, CAC, board presentations, brand valuation, insurance marketing, DTC insurance, Geico, Progressive, performance marketing, media spend, marketing ROI, budgeting, enterprise marketing, MarTech, agentic AI, Typeface AI, ASICS, Microsoft, PwC, executive leadership, C-suite, category strategy, growth strategy, B2B marketing, B2C marketing, onboarding a CFO, sponsorships, vendor management, marketing governance, data-driven marketing, brand building, boardroom communication, enterprise security, AI marketing platform

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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 insights from more than a decade of research with over 500 CMO's including how 50+% of roles are misaligned, the huge gap between CEO's and CMO's, the fact that misalignment results in weaker financials, and her belief that better position matching would "prevent" the "cure" of firing the CMO. Key discussion topics include: why the CMO position has the most variance in the C-suite; the importance of matching responsibility, experience and status; and why she thinks search firms can do a better job. Tune in to hear marketing analogies to the New England Patriots line-up and James Bond movie casting.

Colonel Mustard, in the Study…with the Job Spec? Why Poor Role Design Shortens CMO Lifespans | CMO Confidential

Welcome back to CMO Confidential, the podcast that takes you inside the drama, decisions, and politics that go with being the head of marketing. Hosted by 5x CMO Mike Linton (Best Buy, eBay, Farmers Insurance, Ancestry.com).

This week, Mike welcomes back Dr. Kim Whitler, Professor of Marketing at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, former CMO, board director, and one of the foremost researchers on the CMO role. Kim has spent 14+ years analyzing 500+ interviews and hundreds of job specs to uncover why nearly 54% of CMO roles are misaligned—and what that means for tenure, effectiveness, and marketing’s reputation in the C-Suite.

From her groundbreaking research (published in HBR, Sloan Management Review, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science) to real-world board and executive experience, Kim breaks down:

* Why job specs often set CMOs up to fail

* The massive perception gap between CEOs (who think roles are well-designed) and CMOs (who don’t)

* How status, responsibility, and experience combine to drive—or derail—firm outcomes

* The practical questions every CMO candidate should ask before taking a job

* Why “throw away the job spec and write your own” might be the smartest advice you’ll hear

🎙️ Whether you’re a CMO, CEO, board member, or aspiring marketing leader, this is a masterclass in role design, negotiation, and how to set marketing up for real impact.

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📌 Episode Chapters

00:00 – Welcome to CMO Confidential

01:30 – Introducing Dr. Kim Whitler

04:00 – Why CMO job specs often fail

08:15 – Defining “misalignment” in CMO roles

13:00 – The role of status, responsibility & experience

18:30 – The CEO vs. CMO perception gap

24:00 – Practical questions every CMO candidate should ask

30:00 – Negotiating role design & avoiding pitfalls

33:30 – Kim’s closing advice & final story

- About Our Sponsor: Typeface AI

This episode is brought to you by Typeface AI www.typeface.ai/cmo — named Company of the Year by Adweek, a TIME Best Invention, and one of Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech.

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See how brands like Asics and Microsoft are transforming marketing with Typeface at typeface.ai/cmo.

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