The New CCO

Following our interview with the 2024 Page and IPR Case Study Competition winners, we bring you an extended conversation between the students and Katherine Frymark, EVP of Corporate Communications at Mattel, getting an insider perspective on the success behind Barbie’s brand transformation. The insightful conversation, led by IPR President Tina McCorkindale, covered brand authenticity, risk-taking and how it takes bold decisions for iconic brands to reinvent themselves.

While the outcome of this unusual election cycle is uncertain, one thing is clear: CCOs will be treading carefully between two political minefields. At our recent Annual Conference, Bruce Mehlman, a renowned expert on the intersection of business, politics and technology, delivered a compelling session on the key drivers of today’s political climate and its implications for business leaders. We’re excited to bring you this highly-rated talk.

When it came out, Barbie dominated the box office, grossing nearly $1.5 billion at the box office. But what many don't realize is the movie was part of a larger strategy, to reposition the iconic doll in the minds of consumers. The Grand Prize Winners of the 2024 Page and IPR Case Study Competition focused on how Mattel managed this effort, and what risks they encountered along the way. For this episode, we brought in the four winning authors, Rebecca Wolff, Mariela Dothe Marcial, Katrina White, and Chloe Oakes, from University of Florida, to dive deeper into their research.

In this episode, we’re joined by Stacey Tank, former CCO, Page member and the founder of this podcast, about her new role as CEO of a rising beauty brand. She recounts the path she took to become a CEO, and what skills were essential as she moved from CCO to Chief Transformation Officer, among other roles. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it!

Award-winning author and journalist Simon Kuper joined Brian Lott, CCO of Mubadala Investment Company, on stage at our spring seminar conference in Paris last spring. He described a new point of view on Paris, one of a dynamic city amid a huge transformation, beyond the role as an Olympic host city. In this episode, we’re bringing you this highly-rated session titled, Paris, the impossible city in an impossible world.

Earlier this year, Page Up Chair Umayma Abubakar had the opportunity to interview Étienne Thobois, the Paris 2024 CEO, about the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games at our Spring Seminar. For this episode, we bring you their conversation, which covered topics ranging from stakeholder engagement, project management and cross-cultural collaboration. Their tête-à-tête was rife with insights for leaders and communicators, Olympic or otherwise. 

In this episode, we explore the findings from IRG’s new research, which Page participated in, and their implications for Chief Communications Officers. We also hear Dana Holmes's practical experience at Blue Cross Blue Shield and Marc de Swaan Arons's insights from the Institute for Real Growth.

Please enjoy this episode of G&S Communications' podcast Building Brand Gravity titled The Specifics Matter: Reinforcing Credibility in a Multi-Stakeholder Environment. It featured a wide-ranging conversation with Page Up members Steve Halsey and Rob Jekielek with our very own Eliot Mizrachi.

In this special episode of the New CCO, Jesse Betend, our longtime producer, flips the script on Eliot. Together, they dive deep into the history of the New CCO Podcast, and recount some of the more profound lessons they've learned.

At our 2023 Page Annual Conference, Dahabo Ahmed-Omer, CEO of Black North, joined a panel to share her experiences as a CEO and as a black, Muslim woman in Canada as well as actionable, candid advice on having tough conversations on DEI. If your organization’s DEI efforts have waned or are being impacted by the recent wave of anti-DEI sentiment, let this episode be the bolt of inspiration to recharge your efforts.