They call it the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we believe it may also be the Land of 10,000 Great Brands.

Welcome to a very extraordinary live roundtable edition of The CMO Podcast. This week Jim is coming to you from the Twin Cities, Minneapolis–St. Paul, to try to answer a big question: what’s in the water here that’s helped so many companies thrive for decades?

He is joined by four powerhouse marketers who are shaping some of the region’s most iconic brands:

 – Jennie Weber, the Chief Marketing Officer of Best Buy. Jennie is leading a customer-obsessed transformation, bringing digital innovation and human connection together across one of America’s top retailers.

 – Martin Nance, the Chief Marketing Officer of the Minnesota Vikings. A former NFL wide receiver turned CMO, Martin is shaping world-class fan experiences on and off the field — from building year-round engagement platforms that connect fans to the team, to elevating U.S. Bank Stadium as one of the premier destinations in sports and entertainment.

 – Jill Renslow, the Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer at Mall of America, which is the largest retail and entertainment destination in North America, attracting more than 40 million visitors each year. Jill leads the charge for new entertainment concepts, global brand partnerships, and community-driven experiences that is keeping the mall both a cultural icon and a shopping hub.

 – Heather Malenshek, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Land O’Lakes. Heather is reimagining marketing for a century-old cooperative while championing farmers, food, and the future of rural America — from amplifying the “All Together Better” platform to spotlighting sustainability and innovation across the agricultural supply chain.

Recorded live at Best Buy’s state-of-the-art studios, tune in for a candid, inspiring dialogue about the grit, generosity, and community spirit that make Minnesota business so unique. These leaders open up about career transitions, the shift from product-driven to experiential marketing, and how legacy brands can stay both relevant and timeless.

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Tune in each Friday to enjoy our most recent episode of The Brand Builder's Playbook...

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How do you turn customer love into business growth? In the second episode of The Brand Builder’s Playbook, the team explores how emotional connection fuels measurable results, from loyalty and repeat purchase to long-term enterprise value.

Jim, Ryan, and Lindsey dive into what it really means to build “Brand Love,” using BERA’s Love Curve to unpack how the most emotionally connected brands outperform competitors on pricing power, market share, and shareholder returns.

They’re joined by Sofia Colucci, Chief Marketing Officer of Molson Coors, who shares how her team translates brand love into bookings, loyalty, and iconic creative ideas; from beer-flavored Pringles to New Balance koozies and even a dive-bar perfume.

“Brand equity isn’t a soft metric. It’s a growth engine. The most loved brands deliver stronger loyalty, pricing power, and market performance.”

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Download this week’s worksheet here: https://bit.ly/43eFfHi

Read about upcoming episode topics and guests here: https://bera.ai/podcast/

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Whether it’s the Wolves lighting up the court or the Lynx dominating the playoffs, few understand the power of fan passion quite like Jim’s guest this week on The CMO Podcast—Mike Grahl, Chief Marketing Officer of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx. The Wolves are one of the NBA’s most dynamic rising franchises, and the Lynx—a four-time WNBA champion—are a powerhouse team that embodies the spirit of the Twin Cities both on the court and in the community.

Since 2018, Mike has led marketing for both franchises, overseeing brand strategy, creative, digital innovation, retail, and fan engagement. Under his leadership, the Wolves and Lynx have achieved record ticket sales, soaring fan engagement, award-winning campaigns, and retail growth that has set franchise records. Before coming to Minnesota, Mike spent more than 20 years with the Milwaukee Bucks, rising from account representative to Chief Digital Officer and helping drive that franchise’s digital transformation.

Tune in as Mike shares how he’s built two thriving sports brands that go beyond the game, the lessons he carried from two decades with the Bucks, and his playbook for turning loyal fans into a movement.

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This week's episode is brought to you by Deloitte and Best Buy Ads.

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We’re kicking off this week’s episode with something special — and in a city that knows a thing or two about creativity, resilience, and great music. For the next five weeks, we’re coming to you from Minneapolis, Minnesota — home of Prince, more than 10,000 lakes, and a vibrant business community. For the very first time, The CMO Podcast is recording on-site at the Best Buy Studios, in partnership with Best Buy Ads.

Jim’s guest this week is Dave Schneider, Chief Marketing Officer of Red Wing Shoe Company. Founded in 1905, Red Wing has built a legacy as America’s iconic work boot brand — boots that have supported the workers who built landmarks like the St. Louis Arch and the Sears Tower. Today, the company generates more than a billion dollars annually across its portfolio of brands and retail network, while remaining family-owned under its fourth-generation CEO — and first woman to lead the company.

Dave oversees Red Wing’s global marketing practice, from brand management and digital strategy to ecommerce, retail experience, and corporate communications. Before Red Wing, he spent years in senior leadership roles at top agencies, shaping campaigns for some of the world’s most recognizable brands.

This is Jim’s conversation with a CMO whose brand has outfitted generations of builders, dreamers, and doers — Dave Schneider of Red Wing Shoe Company.

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This week's episode is brought to you by Deloitte and Best Buy Ads.

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This week we're very excited to share with you an exciting new show we've launched this week! It’s called The Brand Builder’s Playbook…a special 8-part series created in partnership with our friends at BERA.ai.

In a world where CMOs are expected to do more with less—drive revenue, prove impact, and keep pace with accelerating change—The Brand Builder’s Playbook is your guide to what actually works.

Now, here’s the important part: you’ll hear the very first episode right here in The CMO Podcast feed. But if you’d like to hear the rest of the series, head over and follow The Brand Builder’s Playbook on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your podcasts.

Follow on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/thebrandbuildersplaybook

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Welcome to the very first episode of The Brand Builder’s Playbook, a new limited series hosted by Jim Stengel (Host of The CMO Podcast) and Ryan Barker (CEO of BERA.ai), and this week joined by guest co-host Lindsey Wehking (Chief Strategy Officer at Nonfiction Research).

In this 8-part series, we’ll build a practical playbook for 2025—designed to help brand leaders navigate an era of uncertainty, constant change, and rising expectations. Each episode tackles a critical theme in sequence, offering insights and tools to strengthen your brand as a true strategic asset.

We kick things off by asking the most fundamental question: Why does brand matter?

Our featured guest is Chris Burggraeve, former Global CMO of AB InBev and a longtime champion of treating brand as a financial asset. Together, we unpack how brand drives growth, profit, pricing power, and resilience—even in turbulent times.

If you’re a marketer, founder, or business leader seeking conviction, clarity, and a new set of plays for brand building, this episode is your starting point.

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Each week we’ll offer you a worksheet to follow along and continue to learn after enjoying the episode. You can download this week’s worksheet here: http://bit.ly/4mZImdd 

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Read about upcoming episode topics and guests here: https://bera.ai/podcast/"

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School is back in session—and so is the CMO Podcast, live from Penn State’s Alumni Leadership Conference. In our annual tradition, Jim welcomes three remarkable Penn State alumni on stage to explore the art and science of decision-making. Together, they dive into the vulnerable moments that shaped their lives, the career pivots that defined their paths, and the lessons learned when decisions didn’t go as planned.

This year’s guests bring diverse experiences:

Whit Friese, VP of Creative Marketing at The Home Depot, whose career journey spans advertising, Hollywood, and Emmy-winning creative work at CNN.

Camille Chang Gilmore, Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer at Avanos Medical, who built her career leading people and driving diversity at Boston Scientific.

Jim Erickson, founder and longtime CEO of Blue Mountain Quality Resources, a leader in life sciences software solutions.

Join us for an honest, inspiring, and lively conversation about the critical choices that shape leaders—and the wisdom they pass on to the next generation of Nittany Lions.

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This week's episode is brought to you by Deloitte.

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Not many CMOs can say they’ve had just one job their entire career, but our guest this week can say he can. Joining Jim is Colin Kelton, the Global Chief Marketing Officer at Vanguard, the 50-year-old investment management giant founded by legendary investor John Bogle. Vanguard is a pioneer in asset management, with a unique investor-owned company structure. It has a simple and powerful purpose: To take a stand for our investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success. 

Colin’s story is unusual in today’s world. He started with Vanguard in 1990, fresh out of Penn State, and he never left. Over the years, he has held a number of leadership positions, including Chairman and CEO of Vanguard Australia. In 2018, he became Vanguard’s first Global CMO, and in January 2024 he added Chief Communications Officer to his responsibilities.

Recorded in person at the Next Gen CMO Academy at Deloitte University, this conversation explores Colin’s remarkable journey, what it means to lead with purpose, and how a lifetime at one company can shape both a career and a culture.

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This week's episode is brought to you by Deloitte.

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For the first time in its 122-year history, Ford Motor Company has launched a singular global campaign—Ready Set Ford. To mark the occasion, Jim Stengel and The CMO Podcast traveled to Detroit to sit down with Ford’s Chief Marketing Officer, Lisa Materrazzo, at the company’s cutting-edge NewLab near the iconic Michigan Central station. 

With two decades at Toyota behind her, Lisa joined Ford two years ago to reinvigorate the brand and prepare it for the future. So tune in as Jim goes behind the scenes of one of the most ambitious—and promising—brand relaunches of the decade, exploring what it takes to reintroduce an iconic company to the world. Ready Set Lisa!

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This week's episode is brought to you by Deloitte.

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Who doesn’t remember the Chili’s jingle—“I want my baby back, baby back, baby back…”? Or maybe you’ve seen the viral TikToks about Chili’s Triple Dipper. Chili’s is back in culture in a big way, and much of that credit goes to their Chief Marketing Officer, George Felix.

George is one of today’s most dynamic marketing leaders. He started his career at P&G—where, like me, he worked on the legendary Old Spice turnaround—before moving on to Yum! Brands with KFC and Pizza Hut. Three years ago, he took on Chili’s, and the results have been remarkable. Under George’s leadership, Chili’s has gone from not even being a national advertiser to becoming Ad Age’s Brand of the Year, with George himself named CMO of the Year.

In this episode, George shares his playbook for turning brands around, the importance of listening to frontline team members, and how to make a heritage brand cool again. And yes—we even take a detour into Taylor Swift.

This conversation was recorded in person at the Next Gen CMO Academy at Deloitte University.

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This week's episode is brought to you by Deloitte.

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Fall is here, which means back to school, football season, crisp apples, and the world’s biggest blend of tech conference and music festival: Dreamforce. Now in its 22nd year, Dreamforce 2025 returns to San Francisco on October 14th to the 16th, featuring headline speakers like the CEOs of Google and Starbucks, plus musical guests Metallica and Benson Boone.

In this week's episode, Jim welcomes Ariel Kelman, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Salesforce, to talk about the power of Dreamforce, what it’s like working under visionary founders like Marc Benioff and Jeff Bezos, and why rethinking organizational design with agentic AI at the core is critical for the future. 

With Salesforce leading the charge in cloud-based CRM and now AI innovation, Ariel shares his unique journey—from his early days at Salesforce, to Amazon Web Services, to Oracle, and back again—offering lessons in marketing leadership at scale.

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This week's episode is brought to you by Deloitte.

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