The CMO Podcast

This week, Jim has a special bonus episode of The CMO Podcast, recorded live from one of his favorite places in the world: Penn State.
Back in Happy Valley for the Penn State Alumni Leadership Conference, Jim sits down with four remarkable Penn State alumni whose careers have taken them from entrepreneurship and healthcare to the C suite and the highest levels of the U.S. Army:
Dave Becker, CEO and co founder of CampusESP;
General Gary Brito, former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command;
Cindy Miller, former CEO of Stericycle and President of UPS Europe;
John Waldeisen, entrepreneur, scientist and founding CEO of Lucira Health.
Their careers couldn't look more different, but this conversation centers on something every leader needs to earn: trust. Together, they explore what it takes to build trust across organizations of vastly different sizes, why authenticity and transparency matter, and how listening can be one of a leader's most powerful tools. They also get practical about delegating with trust, making difficult people decisions, giving young leaders opportunities to prove themselves, and rebuilding trust when you've gotten something wrong.
Throughout it all is a lesson Jim has carried with him from Penn State, captured in a line from the alma mater: “May no act of ours bring shame to one heart that loves thy name.” How we show up matters. How we treat people matters. And whether you're leading a startup, a global company or an organization of nearly a million people, trust is built one action at a time.
From Happy Valley, this is a conversation about listening first, leading with humility, and earning the trust of the people you lead.
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Meet The CMO Podcast On the Road
The CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!
ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22
CES | January 5-7
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Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.
Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.
Email us at podcasts@vyve.co
—
Produced by vYve
The CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences.
vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.
Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marketers are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, and confidence in its potential is soaring. But are organizations truly ready to turn that investment into meaningful business results?
Recorded live at TransUnion’s annual Marketing Summit in Chicago, Jim sits down with Liz Bacelar, a technology and innovation leader whose career has taken her from Emmy-nominated journalism and entrepreneurship to senior roles at global brands including The Estée Lauder Companies and Under Armour.
Inspired by new research from TransUnion on the AI Confidence-Readiness Paradox, Jim and Liz explore the growing gap between marketers' enthusiasm for AI and their organizations' ability to put it to work. Liz shares her perspective on what's working, what's holding companies back, and why successful AI transformation depends less on the technology itself and more on people, leadership, and organizational culture.
It's a timely conversation about navigating change, challenging conventional thinking, and building organizations that are ready for what's next.
A special thank you to TransUnion for welcoming The CMO Podcast to Chicago and making this live conversation possible.
—
Meet The CMO Podcast On the Road
The CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!
ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22
CES | January 5-7
—
Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.
Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.
Email us at podcasts@vyve.co
—
Produced by vYve
The CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences.
vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.
Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Jim welcomes a guest who gave him some very good advice. When Reagan Greene met Jim at the Kellogg Marketing Leadership Summit last May, she told him, “You need more healthcare leaders on the podcast.” So, naturally, he invited her on.
Reagan is Vice President of Marketing and Experience at Blue Cross of Idaho, the state’s largest health insurer and an independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. She leads marketing, communications and customer experience, along with statewide community partnerships and engagement.
Reagan has spent nearly 25 years in healthcare, but her path to marketing began somewhere very different. She studied anthropology and sociology, lived in the Amazon rainforest, studied abroad in Europe and became fascinated by observing people and understanding why they make the decisions they do. It was while earning her MBA alongside P&G brand managers that she realized those same instincts could become a career in marketing.
Reagan and Jim explore why curiosity remains one of her most important leadership tools, how the role of marketing is moving closer to business strategy and growth, and why trust can be a powerful strategic asset in healthcare. Reagan also shares how Blue Cross of Idaho is approaching AI without losing the human experience, why local community relationships can create a real competitive advantage, and how her lifelong passion for sports has shaped the way she thinks about brand partnerships and community impact.
This is a conversation about curiosity, trust, community and finding work that brings together the things you care about most.
—
Meet The CMO Podcast On the Road
The CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!
ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22
CES | January 5-7
—
Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.
Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.
Email us at podcasts@vyve.co
—
Produced by vYve
The CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences.
vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.
Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when the very definition of “workplace” changes almost overnight?
This week, Jim sits down with Benji Baer, Chief Marketing Officer of CBRE, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate and investment services companies. Operating in more than 100 countries, CBRE helps companies and investors buy, sell, lease, finance and manage everything from office towers and logistics centers to data centers, hotels and major urban developments.
Benji joined CBRE in 2019, just months before the pandemic fundamentally reshaped how we think about offices, cities, flexibility and human connection at work. But her career has long been built around navigating complex businesses and industries rooted in trust. Before CBRE, she held senior marketing leadership roles at J.P. Morgan Chase, Legg Mason and AllianceBernstein.
Tune in as Benji and Jim explore how CBRE is rethinking the workplace as a place people actively want to be, why employee experience and customer experience are deeply connected, and how the role of the modern CMO is evolving from storyteller to strategist and transformation leader.
Benji also shares how she’s built and developed her marketing organization, why outside inspiration and continuous learning are essential for leaders, and the importance of “bringing people with you” through periods of change. It’s a conversation about growth, culture, ambition and why, even as technology transforms how we work, human connection matters more than ever.
—
Meet The CMO Podcast On the Road
The CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!
Advertising Week New York | October 5-7
BLINK Cincinnati | October 8
ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22
CES | January 5-7
—
Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.
Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.
Email us at podcasts@vyve.co
—
Produced by vYve
The CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences.
vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.
Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What turns a celebrity endorsement into genuine advocacy?
Jim is joined by Daymond John, founder and CEO of FUBU, founder of The Shark Group, and one of the original investors on ABC's Shark Tank, alongside Karen Spaeth, Chief Marketing Officer of Starkey.
Karen has spent more than 16 years at Starkey, leading across events, communications, customer experience, and global marketing before becoming CMO in 2023. Today, she oversees the company's global brand strategy and is helping reposition hearing aids as advanced, AI-powered wearable technology designed to improve connection, confidence, and quality of life.
Daymond's relationship with Starkey began through the company's hearing foundation and grew more personal when he recognized his own hearing loss. After becoming a Starkey user, he evolved from ambassador to outspoken advocate, proudly wearing custom red hearing aids and encouraging others to see hearing technology as empowering rather than embarrassing.
Together, Jim, Daymond, and Karen explore what makes a brand partnership authentic, how marketers can change deeply rooted perceptions, and why real customer stories often resonate more powerfully than traditional advertising. They also discuss AI, innovation, company culture, and the challenge of marketing a product that millions of people need but may hesitate to admit they want.
At its heart, this episode is about trust. It is a reminder that people know when they are being sold to, but they also recognize when belief is real.
—
Meet The CMO Podcast On the Road
The CMO Podcast will be on the road throughout early 2027, capturing conversations with the leaders shaping the future of marketing, leadership, and business. If you'll be attending one of these events, we'd love to connect. Let us know!
Advertising Week New York | October 5-6
BLINK Cincinnati | October 8
ANA Masters of Marketing | October 20–22
CES | January 5-7
—
Interested in partnering with The CMO Podcast?!
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we're partnering with brands to create executive content platforms that extend far beyond a single event. From pop-up podcast studios and live recordings to executive roundtables, keynote conversations, and bespoke thought leadership programs, we work with partners to build meaningful experiences that connect with senior marketing leaders.
Whether you'd like to partner with us at one of the industry's biggest marketing events or create a custom experience designed specifically for your brand, we'd love to explore what's possible. Reach out to learn how we can build something together.
Email us at podcasts@vyve.co
—
Produced by vYve
The CMO Podcast is proudly produced by vYve Production, a full-service production and content studio specializing in podcasts, executive storytelling, branded content, and live experiences.
vYve is a community of ambitious leaders dedicated to unlocking what's next in business and in life. Through executive coaching, transformative experiences, strategic content, and communities like The CMO Podcast, vYve helps entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and teams grow their businesses, strengthen their leadership, and build meaningful connections that last.
Learn more about vYve and The CMO Podcast community at www.vyve.co.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.