How to Grow a CMO

Standing out in a market that won’t sit still.

Part 2 picks up the pace. Recorded live at RSAC, this half of the conversation gets into the work itself. Topics range from what makes cybersecurity marketing hard, what makes it exciting, and why so much of the job now sits in the tension between clarity and change.

Listen to Part 2 for a smart, candid conversation about what cybersecurity marketers are really up against — and how to find your edge when the market keeps shifting.

Host Alastair Hussain interviews:

• Sunil Frida, CMO at Zscaler

• Genefa Murphy, CMO JFrog

Part of the How to Grow a CMO cyber mini-series, from tmp

Curiosity, grit, and the mindset to build.

Recorded live at RSAC, this conversation starts in a familiar place for the podcast, not with strategy, but with the instincts that shape how people lead.

Listen to Part 1 for a grounded look at the traits that shape modern marketing leaders and why they still matter in a changing industry.

Host Alastair Hussain interviews:

• Sunil Frida, CMO at Zscaler

• Genefa Murphy, CMO JFrog

  
  

Part of the How to Grow a CMO cyber mini-series, from tmp

How cybersecurity CMOs cut through the noise

The second half of the panel shifts gears. Less about background, more about the reality of the job right now. And it’s not straightforward.

Host Alastair Hussain interviews:

• Jennifer Johnson (CMO at CrowdStrike) 

• Sara Varni (CMO at Datadog)

• Brett Theiss (CMO at Check Point Software) 

• Shannon Duffy (CMO at Okta) 

Listen to Part 2 for a candid take on how CMOs are navigating that tension and what it takes to stand out right now. 

Part of the How to Grow a CMO cyber mini-series, from tmp

The making of a modern CMO

There’s something different about hearing four CMOs in one room, live, talking less about marketing and more about how they got there.

This first session from RSAC leans into the human side of leadership. Before the frameworks and strategy, it’s about what shapes how people lead when the stakes are high and the pace doesn’t let up.

Host Alastair Hussain interviews:

• Jennifer Johnson (CMO at CrowdStrike) 

• Sara Varni (CMO at Datadog)

• Brett Theiss (CMO at Check Point Software) 

• Shannon Duffy (CMO at Okta) 

  
  

Listen to Part 1 for a more personal look at what shapes today’s CMO and how that shows up in the job.

Part of the How to Grow a CMO cyber mini-series, from tmp

Tom Giles, Senior Executive Editor, Global Technology, Bloomberg News kicks off the How to Grow a CMO cyber mini-series, from tmp. Recorded live at RSAC, this opening conversation sets the tone for everything that follows.

The headline? Cybersecurity is growing but not without friction. As Bloomberg’s Tom Giles points out, the market is sending mixed signals. Stocks have taken a hit, sentiment has wobbled, and there’s a lingering question over how AI will reshape the category, whether by disrupting it or simply diverting budget elsewhere.

Listen to the introduction for a clear-eyed view of where the market stands and where it’s heading next.

In this special live edition of How to Grow a CMO, host Ali Hussain (Chief Strategy Officer at tmp) sits down with four standout marketing leaders for a wide-ranging conversation on career growth, the evolving role of marketing, and the power of humanity in an era of AI. 

Joining the panel:

Brendan McCarthy, CMO at Criteo

Tricia Stinton, CMO for Cloud Infrastructure Services at Capgemini

Rachel Lockwood, Global Marketing Director at AWS

Leah Silverlock, Head of Global Brand Communications at American Express Global Business Travel

Together, they explore their personal journeys, what’s keeping marketers excited (and up at night), and - because it’s the season - how to survive annual planning with sanity intact.

This episode was recorded live at the Century Club in Soho, London on November 20th 2025. 

In the first ever live edition of How to Grow a CMO, we bring together four heavyweight marketing leaders to unpack career journeys, the realities of modern B2B marketing, and how to survive (and improve) annual planning season. Host Alastair Hussain interviews:
Carolyn Henry - most recently Regional CMO of the Americas at Intel, leading 60+ marketers across consumer, commercial, gaming, data centre, AI, telco and enterprise, and a board member of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation.
Kelly Waldher - CMO at Palo Alto Networks, responsible for global brand, demand, field and comms, formerly CMO at Zendesk with prior leadership roles at Google, Microsoft and Qualtrics, and an HBS MBA.
Negin Kamangar - a career CMO with 20+ years in high-growth SaaS, including leading Parchment through an $835m acquisition by Instructure, now also a limited partner at Stage 2 Capital and a Chicago Booth MBA.
Jon Miller - co-founder of Marketo and Engagio, now building a new stealth AI-era marketing platform. He writes extensively on LinkedIn about buying groups vs MQLs, brand as a revenue driver, and hosts the Marketing on the Rocks video series.

In part two of our conversation with Jean Lawrence, CMO at Nokia Cloud & Network Services, we focus on her career journey and marketing philosophy—from learning the ropes at startups to leading global teams at Motorola, Oracle, and now Nokia. Jean shares how an MBA at Kellogg shaped her analytical approach, why product marketing is still underrated, and what it really takes to align with a CFO.

How to Grow a CMO is brought to you by TMP - the global marketing agency for B2B technology brands. To find out more, visit ⁠https://www.tmpb2b.com

In Part 1 of our conversation with Jean Lawrence, CMO of Cloud & Network Services at Nokia, we explore the early forces that shaped her - growing up in a tight-knit Chicago family, inventing games before screens took over, and following in the footsteps of her MBA-trained father… who also happened to be a former priest. Jean shares how pattern recognition shaped her childhood, why ambition should never be suppressed, and what historical fiction and The Sound of Music have in common.  

How to Grow a CMO is brought to you by TMP - the global marketing agency for B2B technology brands. To find out more, visit ⁠https://www.tmpb2b.com 

In Part 2 of our conversation with Dave Carrel, Global CMO at Thomson Reuters, we explore what it takes to lead in a company at an inflection point. Dave shares how his early days teaching himself HTML mirror today’s challenge of mastering AI, and why staying close to the work still matters—even at the top. He also talks through building effective marketing orgs, launching transformative products like CoCounsel, and the importance of setting a high creative bar.  

How to Grow a CMO is brought to you by TMP - the global marketing agency for B2B technology brands. To find out more, visit ⁠https://www.tmpb2b.com