Executive: Adam Shpiro, Chief Marketing Officer
Company: SBS
Industry: Financial technology software
Company Snapshot: SBS provides software platforms for banks, lenders, and payment systems.
Format: CMO Journeys Interview
Why It Matters
Adam Shpiro’s path to the CMO seat did not follow a straight line, and that is what makes it worth studying. He moved through engineering, consulting, agriculture, venture investing, banking, and commercial strategy before taking over marketing. Each stop gave him a different lens on leadership, growth, and decision-making. For agencies, his perspective is useful because he does not talk about marketing as a silo. He talks about it as part of the whole business.
Their Path, in Short
Adam said that at 18, he would not have predicted this career. He saw himself as a math-and-physics person and studied mechanical engineering at the University of Bristol. But during that time, he realized something important: engineering was not the right long-term fit.
So he pivoted. He moved into management consulting, then took a far less expected turn when an opportunity came up through a family office investment in Malawi. He volunteered to go and joined an agricultural business there. What began with one department grew into broader leadership, and eventually he was running the business.
That chapter clearly shaped him. He described it as life-changing. He was young, far from home, and suddenly exposed to the realities of leading a raw, unsophisticated business. He also got pulled into looking at investments across countries and industries. It was hands-on, fast, and demanding.
When he returned to Israel, he expected to move into startups. Instead, he landed in early-stage venture capital. That role taught him something else: he had built strong practical business experience, but he wanted a deeper business foundation. That led him to business school, then to JPMorgan, where he worked in a leadership development program and later in corporate development on the retail banking side.
From there, he joined a digital banking startup and got a closer look at what a high-growth environment really feels like. Later, at SBS, he first came in through a go-to-market and commercial strategy lens. When he was asked to lead marketing, he said his reaction was simple: I have never actually worked in marketing before. But that was part of the logic. The role called for someone who could connect marketing to the broader business.
Big Themes From the Conversation
One idea came through again and again: Adam is comfortable when the path is not fully mapped. He does not talk about growth as a clean sequence of planned moves. He talks about trying things, learning quickly, shutting down what is not working, and moving forward again. For him, progress seems to come from motion, not perfection.
That carries into how he leads. He said quality still matters, but now it is quality and speed. That is a meaningful distinction. He is not arguing for sloppiness. He is arguing against hesitation. He would rather build a team that can move and learn than one that gets stuck protecting itself from every possible mistake.
He also returned to a lesson from an earlier boss in Africa. The advice stayed with him because it was simple and human: life is a long road, so do not sprint through it. Follow your heart. Do something you love, because you will probably be much better at that than the things you do not love. It is the kind of advice that sounds soft until you realize how much of his career it explains.
Another strong theme was connectedness. Adam does not see marketing as a group of separate channels or specialties. He sees interdependence. Content affects product marketing. Product marketing affects digital. Digital affects field. That is why he values a real leadership team structure inside marketing. He wants people to understand not only their own lane, but also how the lanes connect.
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How They Choose the Right Agency Partners
When I asked Adam about agencies, his answer was less about flash and more about substance.
He spoke about working with outside partners in areas like content, media, and events. Content matters because SBS is full of experts, and the company wants to give those people a voice. Media matters when reach matters. Events matter because bringing customers and the wider ecosystem together matters.
But his real test for agencies starts earlier. It starts with whether they understand the objective. Then whether they understand the KPI. Then whether they can connect their work to the business outcome that matters.
He used a phrase from Hebrew that translates roughly to having “a big head,” meaning someone sees the wider purpose, not just the immediate task. That idea says a lot about what he wants from partners. He does not want someone who simply delivers the asset they were asked for. He wants someone who understands why the asset exists in the first place.
He also made a clear distinction between service and partnership. In content, for example, he said there is still a difference between AI-generated work and work created by professionals who understand the industry. At the same time, he expects professionals to use the best tools available. The point is not to protect an old model. The point is to produce work that helps the business hit its goals.
That standard applies more broadly, too. “You asked for X, here it is” is not enough. Adam wants agencies that go further. Agencies that stay proactive. Agencies that do not get complacent after the first win. Agencies that keep checking whether the work is still aligned with the outcome.
That is where credibility lives for him. Not in noise. Not in polish alone. In usefulness, business understanding, and the ability to keep creating value over time.
What Stood Out
What stood out most was Adam’s lack of ego about his own story. He has worked across sectors, functions, and leadership roles, but he tells that story with unusual honesty. He is quick to admit when something was not the right fit. Quick to admit when a path surprised him. That gives the conversation a grounded feel.
The other thing that lingers is that line about life being a long road. It helps explain the whole arc. The pivots. The willingness to enter unfamiliar roles. The calm way he talks about change. His leadership style feels shaped by that idea: stay curious, keep moving, and do work that means something to you.
Inside Scoop
This article focuses on the journey, the leadership philosophy, and how this CMO works with agency partners.
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