Podcast
CMO Journeys
Hosted by Christian Banach · EN
CMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin featuring conversations with the marketing leaders behind today’s most recognizable brands, including Princess Cruises, White Castle, and Ruby Tuesday.
Hosted by Christian Banach, Founder and Chief Growth Officer of NextBigWin, each episode explores the personal and professional journeys that brought today’s CMOs to the C-suite — from the pivotal career decisions and mentors that shaped them to the lessons learned along the way.
The conversation then turns to the realities of leading modern marketing organizations, including the mandates CMOs are driving inside their companies and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
Through candid discussions, CMO Journeys gives agency leaders, marketers, and industry professionals a behind-the-scenes look at how modern CMOs build teams, shape brands, drive growth, and partner with the organizations helping bring their strategies to life.
19episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Mike Bell, CMO of Everspring: Why Great Marketing Starts With Strategy, Not Tactics
1w ago00:32:26Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Mike Bell, Chief Marketing Officer of Everspring, about building marketing around strategy, systems, and measurable outcomes rather than disconnected tactics. Drawing on a career that spans the Air Force, consulting, consumer brands, SaaS, and higher education, Mike shares how that broad experience shapes the way he leads full-funnel marketing in a rapidly changing environment.What the Conversation Covers• Mike’s unconventional path from the Air Force and consulting into marketing leadership, and how each chapter built a different part of his leadership style• Why he believes strong marketing starts with strategy, clear priorities, and the discipline to stay focused on outcomes• How AI is changing the way prospective students discover, compare, and choose educational programs before they ever visit a website• What Everspring is doing to improve visibility, strengthen full-funnel performance, and adapt to a world where influence happens earlier in the journey• How Mike thinks about team structure, agency partnerships, and using AI as a force multiplier rather than a substitute for strategic thinkingGuest BioMike Bell is Chief Marketing Officer at Everspring, where he leads full-funnel marketing across more than 45 higher education partners. His career spans the Air Force, consulting, consumer brands, SaaS, and education, giving him a systems-driven perspective on leadership, strategy, demand generation, and marketing transformation.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
Transcribe →Jamie Richardson, CMO of White Castle: How to Keep a 100-Year-Old Brand Culturally Relevant
2w ago00:31:08Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Jamie Richardson, Chief Marketing Officer of White Castle, about how a century-old brand stays relevant in a fast-changing culture. With nearly three decades at the company across marketing, corporate relations, and government affairs, Jamie brings a uniquely broad perspective on brand stewardship, innovation, and what it takes to grow without losing what makes a brand iconic.What the Conversation Covers• Jamie’s path from agency life into White Castle and how his experience across multiple functions shaped his approach to brand leadership• What he learned from working beyond traditional marketing, including how corporate relations and government affairs deepened his understanding of brand reputation• How White Castle is balancing heritage with innovation through menu development, loyalty, automation, and new guest experiences like the Castle of Tomorrow• Why staying culturally relevant means focusing on the right audiences, especially Gen Z, while continuing to serve loyal longtime fans• How Jamie thinks about agency partnerships, prioritization, AI, and building a marketing organization that can move quickly without losing brand clarityGuest BioJamie Richardson is Chief Marketing Officer at White Castle, where he helps lead marketing for one of the most iconic brands in quick service. Over nearly three decades with the company, he has held roles across marketing, corporate relations, and government affairs, giving him a broad view of how brand, reputation, culture, and business strategy connect.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners
Transcribe →Sunil Frida, CMO of Zscaler: What It Takes to Market Through Constant Change
3w ago00:33:15Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Sunil Frida, Chief Marketing Officer at Zscaler, about helping shape the next phase of growth for one of enterprise security’s most important brands. Drawing on leadership experience across cloud, AI, and cybersecurity, Sunil shares how he is aligning marketing, product, and sales to support Zscaler’s evolution in a rapidly changing market.What the Conversation Covers • Sunil’s path from Singapore and engineering into business leadership, product marketing, cloud, and cybersecurity• How his experience at AWS and CrowdStrike shaped the way he thinks about messaging, customer obsession, and leadership under pressure• Why Zscaler’s next phase of growth depends on tighter alignment between product, sales, and marketing as one go-to-market system• How he is thinking about prioritization, pipeline, team structure, and speed in a global marketing organization• Where AI is changing marketing workflows, agency relationships, and the way enterprise brands build and scale their storiesGuest BioSunil Frida is Chief Marketing Officer at Zscaler, where he leads marketing for a company helping redefine enterprise security through a cloud-delivered zero trust model. Before joining Zscaler, he held leadership roles across cloud, AI, and cybersecurity, including at AWS and CrowdStrike, building a strong foundation in product, go-to-market strategy, and enterprise technology growth.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
Transcribe →Adam Shpiro, CMO of SBS: Repositioning a Legacy Fintech for the Cloud and AI Era
4w ago00:32:41Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Adam Shpiro, Chief Marketing Officer at SBS, about helping reposition a legacy fintech company for a more modern cloud and AI-driven future. With a background spanning engineering, consulting, operations, venture investing, banking, and go-to-market leadership, Adam brings a broad operator’s view to how marketing can drive growth inside a complex global business.What the Conversation Covers• Adam’s unconventional path from engineering and consulting into business leadership, fintech, and eventually marketing• What changed when he moved from leading global go-to-market into the CMO role, and how that shaped his view of marketing as a growth engine• How SBS is working to reposition itself from a legacy core banking provider into a more modern cloud and AI-focused platform company• Why Adam believes marketing, product, and sales must operate as one connected go-to-market system• How he thinks about prioritization, AI adoption, agency partnerships, and building a marketing team that can move with both quality and speedGuest BioAdam Shpiro is Chief Marketing Officer at SBS, a global financial technology company providing software platforms for banks, lenders, and payment systems worldwide. Before stepping into the CMO role, he led global go-to-market efforts at SBS and built a career across engineering, consulting, operations, venture capital, banking, and fintech, giving him a distinctive commercial and operator-focused perspective on marketing leadership.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
Transcribe →Marie Lee, CMO of Princess Cruises: Building Demand in a Changing Travel Market
Apr 2300:33:11Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Marie Lee, Chief Marketing Officer of Princess Cruises, about leading marketing during a period of brand evolution, leadership change, and shifting traveler expectations. Drawing on a long career across Disney and travel marketing, Marie shares how she balances short-term demand with long-term brand building in one of the world’s most recognized cruise brands.What the Conversation Covers • Marie’s career path across sales, strategy, guest experience, direct marketing, and media leadership, and how those roles shaped her approach as a CMO • What it took to leave Disney after a long tenure and step into a growth opportunity at Princess Cruises during a major transformation • How Princess is balancing the heritage of The Love Boat with a more modern, premium, experience-led brand story • Why video, strong creative, and a balanced brand-and-performance media strategy are central to driving both demand and long-term loyalty • How Marie thinks about agency partnerships, team leadership, AI, and building marketing around the guest experience from first impression to onboard deliveryGuest BioMarie Lee is Chief Marketing Officer at Princess Cruises, where she leads the brand’s marketing strategy during a period of new leadership, new ships, and brand evolution. Before joining Princess, she spent most of her career at Disney Experiences in a range of roles spanning sales, international marketing, merchandise strategy, guest experience, direct marketing, media, and customer engagement.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
Transcribe →Esi Eggleston Bracey, Former CMO of Unilever: The Growth Mindset Behind a Global Marketing Career
Apr 1300:33:17Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Esi Eggleston Bracey, former Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at Unilever, about the mindset, leadership principles, and brand-building lessons behind a global marketing career. Drawing on leadership roles across Procter & Gamble, Coty, and Unilever, Esi shares how curiosity, courage, and a deep understanding of people shaped her approach to growth at every stage.What the Conversation Covers• Esi’s path from an early interest in math and science into a career in brand building, growth, and general management• The career moments that shaped her perspective, from launching new products at Procter & Gamble to leading global businesses across markets and cultures• Why she sees marketing as the work of understanding people, creating desire, and turning that demand into sustainable business growth• The leadership principles that have guided her career, including embracing discomfort, protecting energy, and saying yes to growth opportunities even when they feel scary• How she thinks about the future role of agencies, creativity, AI, and what brands need most to drive sustained growthGuest BioEsi Eggleston Bracey is a longtime growth and marketing executive with leadership experience across Procter & Gamble, Coty, and Unilever, where she most recently served as Chief Growth and Marketing Officer. Over the course of her career, she has helped shape global brands, drive business transformation, and lead growth strategies grounded in consumer insight, creativity, and commercial impact.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners
Transcribe →Eric Gillin, CBO of Trusted Media Brands: What It Takes to Build in a Shifting Media Market
Apr 1300:32:36Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Eric Gillin, Chief Brand Officer of Trusted Media Brands, about leading through one of the most complex moments in media. With a background spanning editorial, product, and sales, Eric shares how he is helping iconic brands reconnect with audiences by focusing less on scale for its own sake and more on brand clarity, community, and meaningful engagement.What the Conversation Covers• Eric’s career path across writing, editing, product leadership, and ad sales, and how those chapters shaped his approach to brand leadership• Why he believes media companies can no longer rely on old traffic and distribution models in a world shaped by platform shifts and AI• How Trusted Media Brands is refocusing around brand identity, audience connection, and community-led growth across titles like Reader’s Digest and Taste of Home• What changes when the goal shifts from chasing broad reach to building deeper audience relationships and fandom• How Eric thinks about leadership, AI, agency relationships, and making strategic decisions in a market with no fixed playbookGuest BioEric Gillin is Chief Brand Officer at Trusted Media Brands, where he helps lead brand strategy across a portfolio that includes Reader’s Digest, Taste of Home, Family Handyman, and other well-known media properties. His career has spanned editorial, product, and revenue leadership, giving him a broad perspective on content creation, audience development, business strategy, and what it takes to build durable brands in a changing media environment.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
Transcribe →Sarah Cascone, CMO of Appriss Retail: How Events Become Enterprise Pipeline
Apr 1300:31:09Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Sarah Cascone, Chief Marketing Officer of Appriss Retail, about building a marketing engine that turns trust, executive engagement, and events into enterprise pipeline. As the company’s first CMO, Sarah shares how she is helping reframe the category, sharpen the story, and align marketing tightly with revenue in a complex retail technology environment.What the Conversation Covers• Sarah’s path from conference production into SaaS marketing leadership and how those early event experiences still shape her strategy today• What changed when she moved from managing individual functions to leading marketing as one integrated go-to-market engine• Why she believes events are a core enterprise growth lever when they create memorable, human connections with executive buyers• How Appriss Retail is using account-based marketing, executive communities, and thought leadership to drive qualified pipeline• How Sarah thinks about prioritization, team design, agency partnerships, and measuring marketing through real business impactGuest BioSarah Cascone is Chief Marketing Officer at Appriss Retail, where she leads product marketing and growth marketing for a company serving enterprise retailers focused on fraud, returns, and profit protection. Before joining Appriss Retail, she spent a decade at Bluecore, where she helped scale the business through multiple stages of growth and built a broad foundation across events, PR, content, design, demand generation, product marketing, and pipeline strategy.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
Transcribe →Josh Churnick, CMO of Vertex Service Partners: Why Great Marketing Has to Prove Itself
Apr 1300:33:42Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Josh Churnick, Chief Marketing Officer of Vertex Service Partners, about building marketing systems that are accountable, measurable, and built to scale. Drawing on a career that spans entertainment, consumer brands, insurance, and home services, Josh shares why he was drawn to categories where marketing performance can be clearly proven through results.What the Conversation Covers• Josh’s path from early digital audience building in music and media into performance-driven leadership roles in home services• Why he believes great marketing should be judged by what works for the customer, not by internal opinions or creative preferences• What changes when marketing moves from supporting a single brand to helping scale a growing platform of regional brands• Why data quality, reporting infrastructure, and alignment with contact center operations are essential to marketing performance• How Josh evaluates agency partners, including the importance of transparency, attribution, and real operating knowledge of the home services category.Guest BioJosh Churnick is Chief Marketing Officer at Vertex Service Partners, where he leads marketing for a growing platform of residential exterior service brands. His background spans digital media, consumer products, insurance, and home services, giving him a practical perspective on brand building, performance marketing, and the operational systems required to drive measurable growth.|About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
Transcribe →Chris Pilsner, CMO of Oakland University: Bringing Agency Thinking to Higher Education
Apr 100:32:08Tap to summarizeIn this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Chris Pilsner, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Oakland University, about his path from agency life into higher education leadership. Chris shares how agency training shaped his approach to brand strategy, market research, digital experience, and enrollment-focused marketing at a pivotal moment for a growing public university.What the Conversation Covers• Chris’s career journey from agency roles at firms like J. Walter Thompson and Deutsch into senior higher education marketing leadership• What it means to bring agency-style strategic thinking, brand discipline, and consumer insight into a university setting• How Oakland University is working to unify brand, communications, and marketing under a more coordinated strategy• Why enrollment marketing, audience segmentation, and digital experience are becoming more critical in higher education• How Chris evaluates agency partners, including the value of strong points of view, peer recommendations, case studies, and specialized expertiseGuest BioChris Pilsner is Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Oakland University, where he leads the institution’s brand, marketing, and communications efforts. He previously held senior marketing leadership roles in higher education, including at UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, and brings a background in agency strategy, brand development, and digital transformation.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.
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