The Marketing Share: What leaders need to know to run marketing

What does it actually take to succeed as a CMO today?

In this episode of The Marketing Share, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren continue with the Marketing Leader Series, and this time they are joined by Karl Van Den Bergh, CMO at Illumio, about the reality behind one of the most complex roles in the C-suite.

Karl’s path into marketing wasn’t traditional. From physics and computer science to product, strategy, and eventually the CMO seat, his perspective challenges how most people think about marketing leadership.

Early in the conversation, he introduces a concept that sticks: the “complexity to appreciation ratio.” Marketing sits at the top of that scale, which helps explain why the role is both powerful and often misunderstood.

From there, the conversation moves into what great CMOs actually do differently.

Karl breaks down how he has led his role as a Chief Market Officer in Illumio from a technical category into a clear, market-facing story. He also shares why simplicity matters more than ever in complex industries, and how marketing leaders can better connect their work to real business outcomes.

If you're leading marketing, stepping into a CMO role, or working toward it, this episode will give you a clearer picture of what the job really demands.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Karl Van Den Bergh
02:30 From physicist to CMO: an unconventional path
05:00 Why the CMO role is so complex (and misunderstood)
08:00 Chief Marketing Officer vs Chief Market Officer
10:30 Repositioning Illumio: from technical to clear storytelling
15:00 Why simplicity wins in complex markets
18:30 Bringing sales rigor into marketing (pipeline, forecasting, bookings)
23:30 How to prove marketing’s value to the board
27:00 Why brand still matters (and how to justify it)
31:00 The power of storytelling inside your company
34:00 A simple marketing planning framework (plan on a page)
37:00 How Karl is implementing AI across his team
43:30 Advice for first-time CMOs and marketing leaders

🎧 Subscribe to The Marketing Share Podcast to get unfiltered conversations with marketing leaders about growth, strategy, and the future of digital.

Connect with our guest: 
👉Karl Van den Bergh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlvandenbergh/

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

To all marketers leading GEO SEO:

What if we told you that reviews are actually one of the most powerful marketing and conversion channels out there? 

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren talk with George Swetlitz, co-founder of Right Response AI and former CEO of a multi-location healthcare business, about how reviews really influence buying decisions, especially in B2C environments where trust is everything.

George breaks down how reputation management and the key role the responses from companies play when it comes to driving revenue from reviews. 

You’ll also hear how personalized responses can increase conversion, why generic replies actually hurt trust, and how AI can help teams turn reviews into something far more strategic than just customer support.

This interview also dives into the reality of managing reputation across multiple locations, how to think about competition at a local level, and why reviews can act as an early warning system for deeper business problems.

If you’re in a B2C business, managing multiple locations, or just trying to understand how AI is changing the way customers make decisions, this episode will change how you think about reviews.

Connect with George via LinkedIn

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

AI is reshaping marketing as we know it, and its impact is reaching the CMO role.

In this episode of The Marketing Share, our co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren talk with Kate Johnson, CMO at Dscout, about her transition from VP of Marketing to CMO, and why that shift looks very different today than it did even a year ago.

Kate dives into her experience as a first-time CMO in the era of AI, and how this new technology is reshaping everything at once: how teams operate, how products are built, how fast companies move, and how marketing shows up in the business.

If you're stepping into a leadership role or already in one, this episode offers a grounded look at what’s actually changing behind the scenes, and what it takes to keep up.

Timestamps 

00:00 Introduction, Alec and Barb
02:00 Kate Johnson’s journey from VP of Marketing to CMO
05:40 What surprised her most about becoming a CMO
10:00 How AI is changing marketing, products, and customer expectations
13:00 AI inside the marketing team: faster product cycles, new bottlenecks
16:00 Using AI tools in real workflows (automation, research, sales enablement)
20:00 Decision-making as a CMO when you’re not the expert
24:00 Hiring for new roles and evaluating talent outside your experience
28:00 What she had to let go of moving into the CMO role
36:00 Navigating brand messaging in an AI-driven market
40:00 Final thoughts and where to connect with Kate

🎧 Subscribe to The Marketing Share Podcast to get unfiltered conversations with marketing leaders about growth, strategy, and the future of digital.

Connect with our guest: 
👉Kate Jhonson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateathmer/
👉 Sign up to be a Scout and get paid to participate in research! https://www.dscout.com/participate-in-research-studies

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

What happens when a company has great technology but struggles to explain why it matters?

In this episode of The Marketing Share, our co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren explore, in a conversation with Virtual CMO Mark Donnigan, what tends to break down when technical companies try to scale their marketing.

In this interview, they unpack the reality many founder-led companies face: they know their product deeply, but that doesn’t always translate into a clear story for the market.

Mark shares what he looks for when stepping into these environments and why the first step is often helping teams reconnect with the real problems their customers are trying to solve.

Along the way, the conversation touches on why marketing execution matters more than marketing theory, how small teams can move faster than large organizations, and why many companies still rely too heavily on outdated lead generation tactics.

If you're a founder, a first marketing hire, or a marketing leader working inside a technical company, this episode gives you a practical perspective on how to turn product expertise into messaging that resonates with the market.

🎧 Subscribe to The Marketing Share Podcast to get unfiltered conversations with marketing leaders about growth, strategy, and the future of digital.

Connect with our guest: 
👉Mark Donnigan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdonnigan/

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

Welcome back to The Marketing Share Podcast.

In this kickoff interview episode of 2026, hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren are joined by Michael Barber, CMO at StarTech, to talk about what it’s really like stepping into a CMO role for the first time.

Michael brings a unique perspective shaped by an entire career on the agency side, with experience across creative, media, and account strategy.

After years of advising brands from the outside and working early in his career alongside Jay Baer, Michael recently made the transition into an in-house executive role and is now navigating the realities of leading marketing from the inside.

This episode unpacks the real challenges of marketing leadership, especially for those newly stepping into the CMO seat. You’ll hear:

• What changes when you move from agency partner to internal marketing leader
• How broad agency experience across creative, media, and strategy shows up in a CMO role
• The mindset shift required when you go from advising to owning outcomes
• Early reflections from Michael’s first year as a CMO
• Why more marketing leaders are navigating similar transitions today

This episode is a must-listen if you’re a first-time CMO or considering a move in-house as the next stage of your career as a marketing leader.

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

As we kick off 2026, co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren take the stage to reflect on the biggest lessons from 2025 and what those lessons are telling us about the year ahead.

This episode has been shaped by dozens of interviews with CMOs, business founders, marketing experts, strategists, and growth leaders over the past year.

In this half an hour of value-packed content, Alec and Barb share with us why the most effective leaders in 2026 won’t be the ones who claim to have everything figured out, but the ones who know how to learn in public, adapt in real time, and make thoughtful trade-offs as the landscape keeps shifting.

You’ll hear their perspective on:

• The continued rise of fractional, interim, and advisory CMOs and why this model is expanding beyond marketing into the broader C-suite
• Why sizing marketing investments correctly is becoming one of the most valuable leadership skills
• Why the CMO CFO relationship is no longer optional and how it elevates marketing’s influence
• What’s really happening with AI in marketing, from search behavior to internal team adoption
• Why 2026 will reward leaders who embrace continuous learning over chasing expertise

Whether you’re a CMO, a VP of Marketing, a founder, or a growth leader navigating change, this conversation will help you think more clearly about what matters most in 2026.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to 2026 and why this episode is different
01:30 Reflecting on 2025 and the themes that kept coming up
02:05 The rise of fractional, interim, and advisory CMOs
06:00 Why sizing marketing investment is now a critical skill
08:20 Building a portfolio of marketing leadership skills
09:05 Marketing inside PE and VC owned companies
12:30 The growing importance of the CMO CFO relationship
15:45 Why CMOs still have the shortest C-suite tenure
17:20 AI in marketing: search impact vs internal adoption
19:00 Writing for humans again in an AI-driven world
21:45 From AI hype to measured evaluation
24:00 Creating a culture of continuous learning
26:40 Tool sprawl, ROI, and smarter tech adoption
28:40 Final thoughts and what excites us about 2026

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

In this episode of The Marketing Share, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren have a conversation with returning guest Noah Goldfarb, Head of SEO at Fire and Spark, to unpack what’s actually happening to SEO in an AI-driven world, especially in digital health and B2C-heavy industries.

Noah shares insights from two recent studies: The Telehealth 20 and Fire and Spark’s AI Search in Digital Health report. 

With this wealth of data, he explores why many fast-growing telehealth brands are still over-invested in traffic-driven SEO, under-invested in conversion-focused pages, and increasingly exposed to AI-powered search results that satisfy intent without sending clicks.

This conversation reframes SEO around a core shift:
websites are moving away from being information hubs and toward becoming decision-making environments.

You’ll hear why:

• Traffic from Google is declining, while conversions are holding steady
• AI and LLM-driven traffic converts at a significantly higher rate
• Informational content alone is no longer a sustainable growth strategy
• Diversification across SEO, AI search, brand, and conversion paths matters more than ever

Noah also breaks down what winning teams are doing differently, from fundamentals like UX, internal linking, and expert-led content, to more advanced strategies like programmatic SEO, branded AI search monitoring, and aligning marketing content with real sales and enrollment questions.

If you’re a CMO or growth leader navigating declining traffic, rising AI summaries, and pressure to prove business impact, this episode offers a grounded, data-backed framework for where SEO is headed — and how to adapt without chasing hype.

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

Welcome back to The Marketing Share Podcast. 

This week, we're excited to present Part 2 of our conversation with Alan Gonsenhauser, where we dig into what it takes to move from VP of Marketing to an effective, indispensable CMO. 

Alan lays out practical advice on speaking the language of business, aligning with the CFO, and leading cross-functional teams for measurable impact.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How to focus on the three priorities that actually move the needle, and why “less is more.”
• The difference between activity metrics and business outputs, and how to present marketing as a financial contributor.
• Tactical steps for assessing a new marketing organization: relationship-first audits, six-week assessments, and the infrastructure checklist.

🔗 Connect with Alan Gonsenhauser
Website: demandrevenue.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alangonsenhauser
Email: [email protected]

🎧 Subscribe to The Marketing Share Podcast to get unfiltered conversations with marketing leaders about growth, strategy, and the future of digital.

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren have an exciting conversation with Alan Gonsenhauser, interim CMO, advisor, and trusted voice in the CMO Coffee Talk community.

Alan has decades of experience guiding marketing leaders and stepping into complex growth environments, and he brings his expertise to the show to explore why fractional and interim CMOs have become essential in today’s rapidly shifting market.

Alan shares what’s driving the surge in interim CMO demand among private equity–backed companies, how leadership gaps affect momentum, and why many organizations rely on seasoned strategic operators during periods of acquisition, transition, or stalled growth. You’ll also hear how he evaluates organizations, keeps teams aligned during uncertain transitions, and uses his deep network to stabilize and accelerate marketing functions.

🔗 Connect with Alan Gonsenhauser

Website: demandrevenue.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alangonsenhauser
Email: [email protected]

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you. 

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, hosts Barb VanSomeren and Alec Cheung sit down with Brian McHale, CEO of Brandience, a full-service marketing agency based in Cincinnati that helps national and franchise brands grow while staying true to their identity.

Brian brings decades of experience in media, production, and brand strategy, including helping leading franchise and retail brands navigate expansion, maintain brand consistency, and build genuine local connections.

During this interview, our marketing experts explore the tension every expanding brand faces. The central question: how to enter new markets without losing authenticity?

This episode covers what it is like to manage brand integrity, prepare your operations for growth, and adapt to AI-driven marketing and generative search (GEO).

You’ll learn:
 🔹 How agencies can embody the brand while entering new markets
 🔹 Why franchisees’ local insights are invaluable for brand success
 🔹 How to align marketing and operations during expansion
 🔹 What generative search (GEO) means for SEO and web design

Whether you’re leading a marketing expansion, managing franchise growth, or navigating AI’s impact on brand visibility, this episode is a masterclass in marketing leadership and adaptability.

🔗 Connect with Brian McHale

👉 Website: https://www.brandience.com/
 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmchale/
 🎙️ Podcast: Go Beyond by Brandience

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube

Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.