How Adriana Gil Miner Leads Through Discomfort and Change
Executive: Adriana Gil Miner, Chief Marketing OfficerCompany: PindropIndustry: Digital communications security (fraud, deepfakes, authentication)Company Snapshot: Enterprise platform helping detect deepfakes, prevent fraud, and restore trust across contact centers and virtual meetingsFormat: CMO Journeys Interview Why It Matters Adriana Gil Miner is the kind of marketer who runs toward uncertainty. She’s Chief Marketing Officer at Pindrop, working on a trust problem: when voice and video can be faked, how do people know what’s real? Her story is worth studying because she blends the discipline of data-driven marketing with the power of storytelling. For agencies, she offers a practical view from both sides of the table. Their Path, in Short Gil Miner breaks her career into chapters. The first was early digital marketing, when e-commerce was maturing and measurement was still catching up. At Digitas, she worked with American Express and took over an affiliate program that became the company’s number one acquisition channel. That work also pulled her into product problems — moving communications from old systems into digital. The second chapter was a pivot into brand and storytelling. As user-generated content began to reshape how information spread, she moved to Weber Shandwick and learned what she calls the “incredible power of storytelling.” One client she supported during that period was Tableau. Later, she joined the company and focused on brand building and community — work that also tied into Tableau’s data storytelling and data journalism efforts. Her current chapter merges those worlds: the science of technology and the human craft of narrative, applied in high-growth environments where change is constant. Watch CMO Journeys Interview Big Themes From the Conversation She treats discomfort as proof of growth. Every leap, she says, makes her uncomfortable, and if she isn’t uncomfortable, she isn’t growing. So she builds a career (and a team) around learning fast. She also lives by advice from former Tableau CMO Elisa Fink: “people are the plan.” To Adriana Gil Miner, marketing isn’t a set of tactics. It’s what capable people can build together, especially when the tools and the market keep moving. Pindrop’s Story Pindrop’s work starts with a hard truth: it’s getting harder to trust what you hear and see. Gil Miner says deepfakes aren’t just celebrity headlines. It can take seconds of someone’s voice to generate a convincing fake, and video is getting harder to verify, too. When voice and video can be copied, the usual identity checks stop working. Fraudsters impersonate customers and call retailers to push through refunds — “$20, $30 at a time” — then scale it with bots. It’s not a niche problem: Pindrop’s 2025 Voice Intelligence and Security Report notes retail fraud surged +107% from 2023 to 2024 (reaching 0.79% of calls as confirmed fraud), and the team forecasts it could climb to 1 in every 56 calls. Or they impersonate a family member and drain bank accounts — another channel where phone-based attacks keep rising, with fraud at U.S. banks occurring in 1 out of every 650 calls and up +61% cumulatively since 2020. That pattern is why Pindrop’s work has started showing up in public-facing moments, not just behind-the-scenes security stacks. In this Al Jazeera segment, CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan breaks down how quickly deepfakes are getting cheaper and more convincing — and why humans are already bad at spotting them. It’s a useful lens on the same trust problem Gil Miner is focused on: when a fake voice can trigger real-world outcomes (from stolen refunds to election misdirection), the “verify first” mindset stops being a nice-to-have and becomes table stakes. How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When she stepped into the CMO role, she says the priority was to “get the message out about the problem.” This is white space — there aren’t “deepfake budgets,” and buyers don’t always have language for what they’re facing. So her job is to “sell the problem” first, because the public needs to understand that “you and I are at risk.” Of course, awareness isn’t the only scoreboard. Leaders still want pipeline, and they still ask for predictability. Her answer is a three-part go-to-market “stool.” One leg is awareness. She talks about showing up inside communities and social channels, plus channels like podcasts and out-of-home that build word of mouth. The second leg is direct pipeline: a strong ABM program that blends outbound SDR work with LinkedIn and digital performance. She adds a line that feels like her whole philosophy: digital is “more like a cat.” When someone is interested, you can catch it. To create momentum, she leans into events because events put “people in front of people.” The third leg is partners. Pindrop is “very partner-heavy,” she says, embedded in platforms like Zoom, Webex, and Microsoft Teams. For her, partners aren’t a checkbox. They expand distribution and selling routes, and she describes increased investment in marketing and selling with them. That operating model shapes how she works with agencies. Internally, her team is lean — about 20 people — organized into brand and community (plus customer marketing), product marketing, and a demand-gen engine that includes integrated campaigns, martech, and events. She’s also restructuring for an AI world, with an initiative to “democratize creative,” where everyone in marketing is expected to be their own writer and designer, supported by tools and training. Externally, she uses agencies, consultants, and fractional talent. She says an outside view helps organizations move faster. But she’s clear about where agency value is going. AI can replace a lot of production, she says. Execution isn’t the differentiator. The differentiator is strategy, clear goals, and the ability to guide transformation — helping teams adapt when old habits break, and when messy realities like legacy data get in the way. So what makes an agency stand out? Understanding. She says her inbox is packed with outreach, and most of it sounds the same. The agencies that win “deeply understand you.” They do real research, bring intelligence, and teach her something. What falls
Jeff Cato’s Practical Blueprint for Leading a Modern Brand
Executive: Jeff CatoCompany: JascoIndustry: Consumer electronics and connected homeCompany Snapshot: Jasco sells lighting, automation, and home technology products through retail and e-commerce channels.Format: CMO Journeys Interview Why It Matters Jeff Cato’s path to CMO was not straight. He moved through sales, operations, e-commerce, and digital, picking up a wider view of how a business actually works. That is what makes his story worth studying. He does not talk about marketing like a department. He talks about it like a living part of the company. That is also why agencies should pay attention. Cato’s view of partnership is practical, clear-eyed, and rooted in how people solve problems together. He is not looking for noise. He is looking for understanding. Their Path, in Short Cato started in sales, and that foundation still shows. He learned early that business moves through people. You have to understand what matters to them, what problem they are trying to solve, and how to meet them where they are. The tools have changed, but that basic truth has not. As his career grew, so did the scope of his work. He moved from sales into roles that mixed sales, marketing, and operations. At Jasco, his work expanded further into e-commerce and digital marketing. That broader exposure helped him see the full customer journey more clearly. It also helped him understand himself. Over time, he became more aware of where he was strongest and what kind of work energized him most. One major turning point came when he stepped into a COO role at a telecom company. It stretched him hard. He was dealing with IT, finance, operations, and large partner agreements that could affect the business in major ways. He described feeling like a fish out of water. But that discomfort became useful. It forced him to learn faster, rely on experts around him, and accept that leadership is not about having every answer yourself. Another important chapter came when he helped build a new cloud backup division. It had the feel of a startup inside a larger business. That meant building from scratch, moving quickly, testing ideas, and staying flexible when things did not go as planned. It taught him to be hands-on. It also taught him patience. Growth may sound exciting from the outside, but on the inside it usually looks like trial, error, and steady adjustment. Through all of it, his path seems to have sharpened rather than narrowed him. Each stop added another layer. Sales taught him connection. Operations taught him discipline. Digital taught him speed. Leadership taught him that the best work is never done alone. Big Themes From the Conversation One big theme is curiosity. Cato’s career was not built by staying inside one lane. He kept stepping into new territory, learning new parts of the business, and getting more comfortable with complexity. That kind of curiosity does not just build experience. It builds range. Another theme is humility. He speaks openly about moments when he felt stretched or unsure. That matters, because it shows how he leads. He does not pretend expertise where he does not have it. He leans on smart people. He listens. He learns. That is not weakness. That is maturity. There is also a strong bias toward action in the way he talks. Especially in the more entrepreneurial chapter of his career, the rhythm was clear: try, learn, adjust, repeat. No drama. No over-polishing. Just motion. You can hear how much that shaped his mindset. And then there is structure. He values clarity. He values alignment. He wants teams speaking the same language and working from the same goals. Even in the way he talks about his own routine, you get the sense that discipline helps him stay grounded and lead with a clearer head. Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked him how he chooses agency partners, he answered like someone who has seen both the good version and the bad one. He is very clear that agencies can play an important role. At Jasco, he pointed to areas like paid social and PR as places where outside expertise can be especially useful. That is partly about specialization, and partly about bandwidth. Internal teams can only carry so much. A strong partner can add skills, speed, and flexibility. But he is not interested in agencies that just execute and disappear. What he values most is proactiveness. He wants a partner who works within the goals they agreed on, watches what is happening, and brings ideas forward without being asked. If something is off, he wants them to say it. If something can be better, he wants them to come with a recommendation. To him, that is what makes a partner feel like a partner. He also pays close attention to how agencies show up in the first place. A first meeting matters. If an agency jumps straight into a pitch without spending real time trying to understand the business, that is a problem. He wants questions. He wants curiosity. He wants transparency about strengths and limitations. In other words, he wants the beginning of a relationship, not the start of a performance. One story made this especially clear. While exploring a CTV partner, he compared different agency approaches. One asked thoughtful questions and worked to understand the business. Another led with the deck. The difference was easy to spot. So was the signal. For Cato, real credibility starts with listening. He also does not think every agency decision works the same way. In PR, category knowledge stood out to him. Knowing the smart home space mattered. In paid media, a broader full-service capability could make sense. His point was simple: fit depends on the problem. He sees AI through that same practical lens. Big claims do not impress him on their own. What matters is whether a partner can connect the technology to the actual business challenge. If they can explain
Inside Kimberly Corbett’s Clear-Eyed, Proof-Driven Leadership Lens
Executive: Kimberly CorbettCompany: Underdog FantasyIndustry: Sports gaming and fantasy sportsCompany Snapshot: A sports gaming platform that blends fantasy play, pick’em games, sports betting, and original sports media.Format: CMO Journeys Interview Why It Matters Kimberly Corbett didn’t take the typical “marketing major to CMO” route. She began in accounting and auditing, then built a marketing career by teaching herself digital skills in the real world. She says sports fans carry fandom as part of their identity—which raises the bar for how brands show up. For agencies, her viewpoint is useful because she’s clear about what earns attention: real understanding of the business, proof you can deliver, and zero fluff. Their Path, in Short Corbett traces her work ethic back to an extremely rural farming and ranching community in Eastern Oregon. She worked from a young age, and it gave her confidence that she could “out hustle almost anybody” and figure things out. She started her career in accounting and auditing. It was a solid path—but she didn’t love it. And she’s candid that when you don’t love something, it’s hard to be great at it. So she quit and became a nanny. While the kids were at school, she volunteered at a nonprofit, discovered a Google grant budget for search ads, and taught herself search engine marketing and SEO. That became her bridge into digital marketing. Through each transition, she kept a quantitative edge. She says she’s always loved finance and economics, and that understanding how marketing investments flow through to a P&L has been a competitive advantage—something she believes has made her more successful in her roles. From there, she moved into mobile games and major franchises, including work tied to Marvel, Game of Thrones, and Mortal Kombat. Those experiences sharpened her view of community: when people care, they become advocates—but they also bring high expectations. She says teams sometimes learn the hard way that not engaging with a customer base is the wrong move. Now she’s in sports gaming. The business model may be familiar—software, an app, transactions—but the fan base is different. Sports, she says, is “always on,” and sports fans are deeply tied to what they love. For her, that makes the job both more intense and more meaningful: you’re not just selling a product. You’re trying to earn a place inside something people already care about. Big Themes From the Conversation Hustle shows up as a core belief. Corbett talks about hard work as the baseline—the thing that lets you walk into a new domain and learn fast. She’s also vocal about permission to pivot. There’s no shame in trying something and deciding it isn’t for you. The real mistake, in her view, is staying stuck and letting that become your identity. Community is another through line. Working on well-known franchises taught her that engagement isn’t optional. She says not engaging can be “really detrimental,” especially when the audience feels ownership. Then there’s the bar she sets. She tells a formative story: when she wanted a promotion, her boss asked what she had done that no one in the industry had done. “Never been done” became a standard she carried into her teams—an expectation that people can do bigger things than they think they can. Her leadership style follows from that. She isn’t a micromanager, expects flawless execution, and asks new team members where they want to be in the future—because sometimes someone’s in the wrong seat on the bus, and the job is to help them move toward the right one. Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked Corbett what great agency partners get right, she went straight to leverage. The best partners, she says, offer something that would be a high-capital investment for her to build internally—technology, specialized expertise, or a capability that’s hard to recreate. The price has to be good enough that she won’t even consider doing it herself. And the partner has to bring real domain expertise, not a generic pitch dressed up in trendy language. Her make-or-buy framework is practical. First: capital position and cost structure—how much fixed cost versus variable cost does the business want? Second: time—do you need results now, or can you afford a longer build? Third: what must remain proprietary? She’s wary of building something bespoke with a vendor only to see it turned around and handed to a competitor in a way that changes the game. That same clarity shows up in how she evaluates agencies and vendors who want her attention. She says she’s “not on the overly fluffy side of CMOs.” She doesn’t want someone who can’t explain how even great brand work impacts business results. She wants case studies and proof. She wants someone who has looked at her business and can say, plainly: here’s what you’re doing, here’s what we notice, and here’s how we can do something better. Cold outreach can work—but it has to earn the click. She describes the kind that gets through as simple and specific: a known problem, clearly stated, with a clear cost. She points to AI-focused vendors as an example—teams that understand the cost structure of creative services, explain what they solved, and put the trade-off on the table without making her dig for it. No grand speeches. Just a novel solution and the math. She also follows great work in the world. If she sees a strong campaign, she wants to know who did it. That’s credibility she can evaluate quickly, because it doesn’t rely on promises—it relies on evidence. And the way she discovers ideas may surprise agencies who believe the path runs through trade press and awards. Corbett says her media consumption mirrors the target demographic she’s marketing to. She’s more interested in native content consumption than in what someone wants her to think the trend is. She follows creators in the space, pays attention to what her husband consumes, and relies on her own competitor intelligence—monitoring where
How Edithann Ramey Learned to Lead Through Outcomes
Executive: Edithann Ramey, Chief Marketing OfficerCompany: Ruby TuesdayIndustry: Casual dining restaurantsCompany Snapshot: A legacy casual-dining brand focused on earning “reconsideration” and reconnecting with guests through what people already love about itFormat: CMO Journeys Interview Why It Matters Edithann Ramey planned to be a lawyer, not a marketer. But her career pulled her toward a harder question: how do you communicate in a way that makes people act? She has led businesses where success is simple to judge—you drive traffic, or you don’t. For agencies, her perspective is useful because she has lived the agency side and the client side, and she is clear about what partnership really means. Their Path, in Short Edithann grew up in San Juan, then went to school in Michigan and Boston. She studied political science and wanted to become a First Amendment lawyer. Then her aunt, who worked in public relations, opened her eyes to a different kind of influence. Edithann was drawn to PR work, especially crisis. She switched paths, earned a graduate degree in communications in Boston with a focus on crisis, and started at an agency. Her clients were marketers. That taught her that PR is only one piece of a bigger marketing strategy. Edithann realized she wanted to be responsible for outcomes—“big results,” whether that meant sales, traffic, or profit. So she pivoted into local restaurant marketing at Pizza Hut, and she says she fell in love with the business. When I asked what chapter shaped how she leads today, she pointed to her experiences at Chili’s: a more senior role, a team to lead, and pressure to deliver efficiently while still being creative. She learned what kind of leader she wanted to be and how to deliver results. Big Themes From the Conversation Edithann keeps returning to how the metric changes the job. Messaging has one type of result. Traffic has another. She said you can be “very efficient at communicating,” but if you do not drive people in, you are not successful. Moving into growth roles meant “unlearning what success looks like” and rebuilding her work around outcomes. She also described leadership as adaptation. She listens to what people need in order to succeed, then adjusts her style to match. She summed it up simply: “being the boss that they want me to be versus the boss that I wish I had.” And she has a sharp view of focus. She told a story about a boss giving her a tough review: her execution was flawless, but the goals were missed. The lesson was direct—activity is not the same as the right result. A mentor gave her the phrase she still uses: stick to the “big rocks.” Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners Edithann’s agency perspective starts with experience. She began her career in an agency, and she says that shaped her appreciation for what agencies do. Today, she describes her corporate team as “small and mighty,” and she relies on outside partners to help bring the work to life. In her words, any agency that works with her is part of the team. When I asked what makes a great agency-client relationship, she started with availability. Because the brands she works on operate “24 seven,” she values partners who can help when the business demands it. She has worked with agencies that are nine-to-five, and she respects that, but she appreciates agencies that can engage outside normal hours when urgent changes hit. Next is nimbleness. She has seen agency systems so complicated that changing media requires “10 steps” and too much lead time. For her, that does not work. She needs processes that move quickly and teams that can pivot and brainstorm as messages change. Then she described true partnership in a way that is easy to recognize. The best agencies, she said, get her sales reports and call her before she has even had time to look, asking, “What happened today and how can we help you make it better?” On structure, she said she has historically had more success with specialized agencies than with full-service. She has also seen specialized partners collaborate directly, so work moves forward without the client having to referee every detail. If there is one thing she fears most when hiring a new agency, it is transition. She described the “gap of the early days,” when the celebration ends and the real learning begins. Creative partners need more than brand guidelines; they need to learn how the brand thinks. Media transitions can be stressful, too, because switching systems and platforms can create disruption. She appreciates agencies that come with a clear transition process and acknowledge the handoff is not easy. She also offered a grounded take on AI: she prefers a hybrid model. Agencies create the core assets, and AI helps her move faster by refreshing elements like copy, messaging, and offer details. Finally, her advice to agencies trying to break through was blunt: respect the time. “We have very little time,” she said. She pays attention when an agency sends something quick and easy to absorb—a short case study and clear information about what they do—instead of pushing long meeting chains. She also encouraged agencies to show up where marketers already gather, because a real conversation builds trust. What Stood Out What stood out to me was how Edithann pairs warmth with accountability. She talks about leadership as a chance to positively influence people’s lives. And she also holds a firm standard: flawless execution does not matter if the goals are missed. That blend explains what she values—in herself, in her team, and in the agency partners she chooses. Inside Scoop This article focuses on the journey, the leadership philosophy, and how this CMO works with agency partners. To access the exclusive analysis, including priorities, initiatives, and opportunities, become a NextBigWin Pro member.
How Tristan Pineiro Leads With Culture, Not Just Metrics
Executive: Tristan Pineiro, Chief Marketing Officer Company: Grindr Industry: LGBTQ+ social app (freemium, ads + subscriptions) Company Snapshot: A global, location-based app serving millions, operating in 190 countries with a lean team of under 200 people; also an advertising platform and a publicly listed company. Format: CMO Journeys Interview Why It Matters Tristan Pineiro came to marketing through language, culture, and communications—and it shows. As CMO of Grindr, he’s shaping a brand that sits at the intersection of community and culture. For agencies, his viewpoint is simple: surface-level gestures don’t work here. Understanding and trust do. Their Path, in Short Tristan grew up on Menorca, a small Spanish island in the Mediterranean, and lived there with his family until he was 14. His father was a self-made man, a chef, and ran a restaurant. Tristan describes a clear expectation: stay and follow that path. But he didn’t. He says he rebelled against that future. Because his mom is English, he was able to move to the UK and live with family there. At university, he studied linguistics with languages and also studied French drama. He calls it “artsy,” but it trained him to pay attention to how words carry meaning and identity. That led him into communications and then into marketing. He says it’s rare for “comms people to make it to CMO,” and he’s glad the industry is moving toward what he’s believed for a long time: story, engagement, and entertainment belong closer to the center of modern marketing. Outside class, he stayed close to the world he cared about. He talks about promoting underground queer clubs in Manchester while he was at university. It gave him a front-row seat to how communities form. He also tells a story that became a personal lesson in brand. As a teenager, he worked in a fashion store that wasn’t doing well. The store closed for a refurbishment, then reopened with a new look and a new name. The clothes were the same—only the labels changed. Suddenly, there were lines around the block. For Tristan, it proved that perception can change everything. Big Themes From the Conversation As a kid, Tristan was obsessed with TV ads—he memorized them and repeated them. He was learning what sticks: a clear idea, a feeling, and the right delivery. He keeps returning to emotion. Rational arguments are everywhere. The harder work is making people feel something—and doing it in a way that doesn’t talk down to them. He’s also realistic about attention. He says traditional campaigns “don’t get cut through anymore,” because you have seconds to capture people before they scroll by, flip the channel, or tune out. That’s why he keeps pushing one habit: think about your audience constantly. Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked Tristan about agencies, he didn’t frame them as “support.” He framed them as relationship work. He says working in an agency makes you a better client. Otherwise, he says, client relationships can start with a suspicion that the agency is trying “to get your money for the least possible amount of work.” But from the agency side, he’s seen the opposite: you want to do the best possible work, deliver, and make work your team is proud of. So his partnership philosophy is built around closeness. He talks about “inviting your agency into your brand” so they can see behind the curtain—who’s who, what the goals are, and how the business actually works. Otherwise, agencies get the final output of a long internal process with none of the context. He even calls that internal process the “sausage factory.” If agencies don’t understand how the sausage got made, their work will miss the mark. He’s also clear about what not to do. Agencies can challenge a brief, and sometimes they should—but he’s seen it go wrong when the challenge comes without understanding the journey that led there. The best agencies, in his view, ask smart questions, learn the context, and push in a way that feels aligned. That alignment matters at Grindr because the brand is tied to a real community. Tristan says the internal team knows the audience and community extremely well, and many team members are part of the community or strong allies. The company is lean—under 200 people—so the team stays hands-on. They work with agencies and freelancers, but the internal team remains close to the story. He points to content published on social and inside the app, including Grindr Presents. He mentions a podcast called “Who’s the Asshole,” which faces an honest reality of platforms: bad behavior exists, and moderation isn’t perfect. He also mentions a travel series that reflects how people use the app while traveling—not only to connect, but also to find information like venues and safety. Then there’s the question agencies always want answered: how do you prove you understand queer culture? Tristan’s answer is blunt: people get it wrong all the time. He’s seen proposals loaded with “yass,” sparkles, and rainbows—signals that may be meant as supportive, but land as shallow. His point is: don’t fake fluency. Queer culture is broad and nuanced, and the audience will tell you when you missed it. Finally, he values perspective. Grindr works with agencies around the world. He mentions a Spanish agency, Neurads, that helps produce the travel series. Different voices, different lenses—those inputs make the work stronger. What Stood Out What stood out most was Tristan’s consistency. Whether he’s talking about childhood ad obsession, a relabeled fashion store, or the realities of attention, he keeps returning to the same filter: be interesting, be honest, and respect the audience. Underneath that is a quiet standard for partners: don’t perform understanding—do the work to earn it. Inside Scoop This article focuses on the journey, the leadership philosophy, and how this CMO works with agency partners. To access the exclusive analysis, including priorities, initiatives, and opportunities, become a Next Big Win Pro member.
How Nick Eubanks Turned Detours Into Marketing Discipline
Executive: Nick Eubanks Company: DigiStore24 Industry: All-in-one online sales platform and affiliate marketplace Company Snapshot: Built for performance-driven entrepreneurs, combining conversion tools, payments, and back-office automation Format: CMO Journeys Interview Why It Matters Nick Eubanks didn’t follow a straight path into marketing. He zigzagged—finance to real estate to a fintech startup to agency life to larger-company leadership. That matters because his view of agency partnerships comes from experience on both sides of the table. He keeps asking one question: what actually moves the work forward? Their Path, in Short Nick thought real estate was his future. He went to school for finance at “St. Joe’s in Philadelphia,” earned a finance degree, and spent college in real estate internships. Then marketing showed up as a left turn. After graduation, he joined a fintech startup in a marketing role. He realized he didn’t like the product, even though he liked the people. So he left and started an agency. From there, he described his career as “venture after venture,” moving through agency work, software, e-commerce, and other builds. One chapter became Baby Bathwater Institute, a community of entrepreneurs he called “my tribe.” It also shaped how he saw himself, which is why his next move hit hard: he took a job. Nick joined SEMrush in an entrepreneurial role and worked with a CMO he described as forward-thinking. He said the job gave him a bigger checkbook and a bigger team, and let him do bigger projects without taking the same personal risk. Still, he admitted it triggered an identity crisis. He had tied “entrepreneur” to owning the thing, and he had to rethink that definition. Big Themes From the Conversation Nick is drawn to learning that challenges him. He shared advice he credits to Mike Brown: don’t just be open-minded—seek out information that forces you to change your mind. He also talked about luck without pretending it cancels effort. He referenced the line “the harder you work, the luckier you get,” and still insisted that luck is real. Work hard, stay prepared, and don’t assume you control every variable. And he’s practical about how he keeps himself moving. Nick talked about running as a way to clear his head and how ideas appear after a few miles. He said he used to forget half of them once he got home. Now he captures them by opening voice notes and ChatGPT and talking straight into it, so the thought becomes something he can actually use. Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked Nick how he thinks about agencies at DigiStore24, he started with reality. He said it’s common for CMOs to step into a role and bring in agencies they trust, depending on what needs support right away. The goal is speed. You can’t wait for perfect conditions. His best example was about timing. Someone he met at SEMrush later left and started a PR agency. When she saw Nick had taken the DigiStore24 role, she reached out to catch up. Nick’s response was: “Perfect timing.” As he explained it, there wasn’t a PR function in the U.S., and starting one was on his short list. He also described using agencies to move fast on foundational work. One area was marketing analytics. He said he wasn’t happy with the marketing analytics configuration, so he brought in someone he trusted to do a full audit and lay out how to clean it up. He named GA4, GTM, and reporting. The point was confidence. If measurement is shaky, every strategy conversation turns into guesswork. Content is another place he sees agencies earn their keep, but not as “extra hands.” He said the value is bringing in people who know what works and know how to build the content production workflows that are needed. Put workflows in place. Create sample content so the internal team can learn. Leave templates the team can reuse. Then he named a quieter differentiator: access. Nick said agencies with channel-specific expertise often have relationships a brand can’t get by “going in the front door.” He gave a concrete example: he brought in someone to help with a specific social platform to get paid ads up and running, and that expert could introduce him to the senior brand partner manager and help get set up with a line of credit—something he said wouldn’t have happened if he approached the platform cold. Nick also spoke to how the agency world is shifting. He said he’s vacillated between the specialist and full-service views over his career, and he believes specialists may need to go deeper in what they deliver. He talked about advising agencies to build AI workflows not just for themselves, but for clients, and he highlighted platform partnerships—saying he was a HubSpot partner at his last agency and expects that model to matter even more in the age of AI. What Stood Out The surprising moment wasn’t tactical. It was personal. Nick openly described the identity crisis he felt after taking a job following years of building his own ventures. That kind of honesty is rare, and it explains a lot about how he operates: he keeps learning, keeps moving, and keeps choosing work that feels like building. Inside Scoop This article focuses on the journey, the leadership philosophy, and how this CMO works with agency partners. To access the exclusive analysis, including priorities, initiatives, and opportunities, become a NextBigWin Pro member.
How Tim Asimos Learned Patience Before Progress
Executive: Tim Asimos, Chief Marketing Officer Company: Timmons Group Industry: Civil engineering, environmental services, and geospatial technology Company Snapshot: An ENR 125 engineering and geospatial technology firm with over 20 offices across the U.S. Format: CMO Journeys Interview In This Article Why It Matters Their Path, in Short Big Themes From the Conversation How They Choose the Right Agency Partners What Stood Out The Inside Scoop Why It Matters Tim Asimos has been on both sides of the agency relationship. He started in advertising, helped build a digital practice at an agency serving AEC clients, and later ran growth at a customer-experience software company built for the AEC world. Now he’s Chief Marketing Officer at Timmons Group in a brand new role. For agencies, he’s clear about what earns credibility and what gets tuned out. His Path, in Short Tim’s path begins with advertising. He studied it, interned at an agency, then went to work in media. From there, his path took him into marketing management at Timmons Group, where he says he “cut [his] teeth” in the AEC industry. In professional services, you’re often selling something intangible—expertise, trust, and the confidence that a team can deliver. Digital marketing pulled him back to the agency side. The agency already had a few AEC clients, and Tim and the team leaned into that: they “put [their] heads together,” built a digital marketing practice, and developed deeper niche expertise in the AEC industry. After more than a decade at the agency, he shifted into technology as head of growth for a SaaS platform focused on customer experience management software for AEC firms. And then he returned to Timmons Group again, stepping into a newly created CMO role that asks him to transform marketing and business development into a modern, sophisticated, high-performing, strategically aligned growth engine. Big Themes From the Conversation Tim talks openly about patience. He admits he has “ideas and thoughts,” but he also emphasizes the need to “get your bearings” before making big moves. He also rejects the idea that professional services marketing is exempt from fundamentals. He’s heard the argument that AEC, legal, and similar industries are “really different.” His response is simple: “Marketing is marketing.” Brand still matters. Customer experience still matters. The work just has to be applied thoughtfully to what you’re selling. Another theme is “practice what you preach.” He points out that some agencies do strong marketing work for clients but neglect their own presence. If you advise clients to invest in content marketing and demand generation, he believes you should hold yourself to the same standard. He also describes a leadership lesson he learned early from a manager who invested in him—someone who saw potential and gave him advice and input, even without being asked. He connects that to a core belief: good leaders invest in people. When talented people move on, it can hurt, but you still have to be happy for them. Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked Tim how he finds agency partners, he started with the honest answer: Google. If there’s a need and he doesn’t already have the right firm in mind, he searches. He also trusts market-earned respect. He notes that the agencies he respected most as competitors—sometimes even an “arch nemesis”—can become strong partners once you’re no longer competing. Tim pays attention to what rises in his network, too. He follows a mix of sources and notices what gets reshared by peers. He also mentions being involved with SMPS, which he describes as an American Marketing Association–style community for the AEC industry. Thought leadership only works on him when it’s useful. He says thought leadership and content marketing “should absolutely be a tool”—not only for awareness, but also for ongoing client engagement. He’s skeptical of empty claims of expertise. Awards can help, with a caveat. Tim says awards matter most when they reflect wins for clients. He prefers when “the client is the hero.” If the client won, he says, “We won,” too. Then there’s outreach. He gets approached through email and LinkedIn, like everyone does. He notes that “snail mail” can stand out more than the inbox. But he’s quick to call out lazy automation. He describes being pitched by a “niche-focused” manufacturing agency—and his response is blunt: “We are not a manufacturing firm.” For him, that mismatch signals the sender didn’t do the work. So what should agencies do? His advice: “lead with adding value.” He doesn’t respond well to generic, unsolicited “here’s what we do” pitches. What stands out is help—something of value that shows you understand the business before you ask for time. And he closes with a reminder that should change how agencies think about focus: most agencies aren’t trying to win a thousand clients. You can afford to be targeted, narrow, and relevant. What Stood Out The most revealing detail is how often Tim returns to patience. He has ambition, but he’s intentional about slowing down long enough to understand what’s real first. The other standout is his consistency. Whether he’s talking about leadership, content, awards, or outreach, his filter stays the same—make the client the hero, and bring value before you bring a pitch. Inside Scoop This article focuses on the journey, the leadership philosophy, and how this CMO works with agency partners. To access the exclusive analysis, including priorities, initiatives, and opportunities, become a Next Big Win Pro member
The Mindset Shifts That Transformed David Zucker Into a Modern CMO
Executive: David Zucker, Chief Marketing Officer Company: King Ranch, Inc. Industry: Agribusiness, ranching, retail, and licensing Company Snapshot: King Ranch spans 825,000 acres and operates ranching, farming, retail, equipment, and licensed brand businesses. Format: CMO Journeys Interview In This Article Why It Matters Their Path, in Short Big Themes From the Conversation How They Choose the Right Agency Partners What Stood Out The Inside Scoop Why It Matters David Zucker’s path into marketing wasn’t a straight line. He began in environmental economics and followed a data-driven curiosity that led him across travel, media, retail, food, and now one of America’s most storied heritage brands: King Ranch. His journey matters because he brings a rare mix of analytical depth, cross-industry adaptability, and humility about what it means to steward a legacy brand. And for agencies, his point of view is refreshingly practical: understand the business, tell the truth, and anchor every great idea in real economic value. Their Path, in Short Zucker didn’t set out to work in marketing. When he finished his PhD program, life shifted—he had twins, needed income, and moved into the business world where analytics and economic theory quickly become came his edge. He discovered how numbers could explain consumer behavior and how that behavior could be turned into real revenue. From there, he moved fluidly across industries: airline travel at Priceline, magazines at Martha Stewart, luxury discount retail at Gilt, direct-to-consumer food at Omaha Steaks, and a modernization effort at Perdue. Each stop exposed him to different consumer problems, different business models, and different creative constraints. None of those industries were the same, yet he found a common thread: demand, consumer behavior, and the math underneath it all. That collection of experiences—travel, luxury retail, academics, food, and large-scale e-commerce—gave him a mental toolbox that now helps him build the first true enterprise marketing discipline at King Ranch. It’s not a story of one defining pivot; it’s a story of accumulated learning shaping how he leads today. Big Themes From the Conversation One theme that runs through Zucker’s journey is curiosity. He treats every industry as a new puzzle, looking past the surface differences and into the deeper mechanics of what drives a purchase, a habit, or a shift in loyalty. To him, consumer behavior is a demand model, and decoding it brings clarity to even the most unfamiliar category. Another theme is adaptability. Zucker has stepped into businesses that sell airline tickets, steaks, vitamins, and luxury apparel—and now a brand rooted in ranching, agriculture, and Western culture. He adapts not by reinventing himself each time, but by carrying forward a mindset built on problem-solving and economic reasoning. Leadership, for him, is tied to humility. In family-owned companies like Perdue and King Ranch, he sees how emotional history shapes business decisions. He doesn’t push theory for theory’s sake; he balances what “makes sense” analytically with what the family is willing to embrace. That blend of respect and practicality becomes part of his leadership style. There’s also a deep appreciation for authenticity—not as a buzzword, but as something that must translate into consumer value. Zucker is cautious about over-commercializing a heritage brand. He wants scarce, high-quality expressions of the brand’s identity, the kind that make people proud to keep something for decades. And woven through everything is his love of building. Whether it’s standing up CRM for the first time, shaping brand architecture, or teaching non-marketers what a brand truly is, he approaches it like a long game—methodical, intentional, and grounded in the belief that disciplined thinking leads to better decisions. Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked him how he evaluates agencies, Zucker didn’t hesitate: integrity first. He has inherited past agency work at King Ranch, and what frustrated him most wasn’t the output—it was the lack of honesty about what the company actually needed. If he asks the wrong question, he wants a partner who will say so. If the timing is off, he wants someone who will push back. Agencies, he said, often worry about the next project instead of whether they are truly serving the business. He believes in long-term partnerships built on candor. He’d rather hear, “You’re not ready for us yet; here’s what you should do first,” than get a polished deck that answers the wrong brief. That kind of transparency signals credibility to him more than awards or trend-driven creativity ever could. Discovery isn’t a problem—he finds agencies everywhere: trade press, LinkedIn, awards, referrals, and the general flood of content in the industry. What matters is whether a partner understands his specific world or can bring something genuinely disruptive from another industry. He looks for two extremes: deep category nuance on one side and bold creative thinking on the other. If an agency can do one of those exceptionally well—or ideally both—they have his attention. And then comes the economic test. Zucker talks like a business leader, not a traditional marketer. Ideas must tie to financial return, and he wants agencies to lead with that thinking. He begins his own presentations with the ROI headline, and he expects partners to do the same. It’s not about ignoring creativity; it’s about grounding it in value. When he evaluates agencies, the ones who start with impact—not aesthetics—stand out. He also notices how agencies frame their thinking. A generic claim about being strategic or innovative doesn’t impress him. A clear articulation of how an idea becomes revenue does. Agencies who understand this have a real advantage. What Stood Out One of the most striking moments came when Zucker talked about authenticity. He openly dislikes how overused the word has become but believes King Ranch embodies the real thing. His challenge—and opportunity—is turning that truth into something consumers genuinely value. Hearing him describe the ranch, the family, and the emotion connected to the land, it’s clear he sees brand building as stewardship, not spin. Another revealing moment was his advice to “always hire people better than
Heather McLeod’s Practical Leadership Lens on Growth and Impact
Executive: Heather McLeodCompany: BNI GlobalIndustry: Referral networking organization (franchise model)Company Snapshot: A global membership organization built around structured, relationship-driven referralsFormat: CMO Journeys Interview Why It Matters Heather McLeod built her career in franchising by staying close to the people who run the business in the real world. Now she brings that same mindset to BNI, the world’s largest referral networking organization. Her journey is worth studying because she keeps marketing simple: find what drives revenue, then remove friction. For agencies, she’s unusually clear about what earns trust—and what gets ignored. Their Path, in Short After undergrad, McLeod struggled to land a marketing job in a saturated market. So she went back to school for an MBA. She later interviewed at The Dwyer Group (now Neighborly), a franchise home services organization, and said the fit felt right because she loved the people she met. That “people first” instinct became a pattern. “I’m a big believer that iron sharpens iron,” she said, explaining that she seeks leaders who make her stronger. Her first role in that world was as marketing manager for Rainbow International, a water, fire, mold, and smoke restoration business. She said she knew nothing about the category, so she immersed herself—spending time with franchise owners and letting them teach her what they needed and what would “move the needle.” She later moved to Mr. Rooter and worked for Mary Thompson, who would later become CEO of BNI. McLeod pointed out how relationships compound: the people you learn from early can reappear later, in bigger roles, when the stakes are higher. Over time, her definition of marketing expanded. She said she thinks broadly about what belongs in the “marketing bucket,” always asking: what are the revenue drivers, and how do we maximize impact there? In franchising, she explained, marketing is a major lever. Another lever is locations—helping existing locations market more effectively and putting more dots on the map through franchise sales. That mindset expanded her scope beyond traditional marketing. Big Themes From the Conversation McLeod’s energy comes from operators. She said spending time with franchise owners and master franchisees motivates her to do great work on their behalf. She also respects how complex multi-location really is. In her world, there are different owners in every market, different contact information, and a constant need for localization—“everything has to be able to be localized,” she said. Finally, she keeps coming back to scale. Franchise budgets, she explained, aren’t built like corporate-owned budgets because the corporate office is collecting a percentage fee to provide support. That’s why she needs solutions that scale, and why she often prefers approaches where “tech is doing the work and not people man hours.” Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked McLeod what she looks for in an agency partner, she started with a practical advantage: shorten the ramp. She likes partners who have worked in the industry because it reduces how much she has to teach. She’s happy to educate on brand. She wants industry best practices coming from the agency side. But she quickly clarified that “industry experience” is really about multi-location understanding. It doesn’t have to be the exact same niche, she said. What matters is knowing how to localize at scale and solve for complexity without costs going “through the roof.” In her world, that often means tech-enabled solutions that don’t rely on endless manual hours. Then she talked about delivery. She values agencies that deliver on what they commit to, and she prefers “over-delivering and under-promising versus the opposite.” She also noted a common frustration: the sales process can set one expectation, and the shift to account management can feel different. And she cares about chemistry. She wants partners she trusts and enjoys working with. On getting noticed, she didn’t mince words: stop with the really long LinkedIn messages. The kind that makes you scroll. “I can’t stand it,” she said. The bigger issue is timing. Most of the time, she doesn’t want to talk until she’s actively solving a problem. She gave a concrete example from her own work: she needed a website tool that could help users translate and move across multiple languages because she supports many countries. So she started hunting, checked what G2 said, researched options, and then booked calls. That’s why cold outreach usually doesn’t work on her. The exception, she said, can be face-to-face at events. And referrals matter. She leans on peers to ask, “Have you used a great agency in this space?” She uses those recommendations to validate options and shortcut decisions. She told one story that captured it. She worked with a social agency out of New York to help her show up more on LinkedIn. She wanted to post more, but she didn’t feel like anyone cared what she had to say. The agency helped her “get my feet under me” and find her voice. Later, someone at BNI noticed her LinkedIn and asked how to do something similar. When McLeod reached out, the agency founder replied with a twist: he was already in a BNI chapter in New York. McLeod loved that because he “got it.” What Stood Out McLeod is warm about the people she serves and blunt about what wastes time. One line captured her compass: “I want people who I can trust. I want people who I know are going to deliver on the things that they say.” It’s simple, human, and consistent with everything else she described. Inside Scoop This article focuses on the journey, the leadership philosophy, and how this CMO works with agency partners. To access the exclusive analysis, including priorities, initiatives, and opportunities, become a Next Big Win Pro member.
How Chris Moloney Learned to Speak Creativity and Finance
Executive: Chris Moloney, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Digital Officer Company: Cordell & Cordell Industry: Legal services (family law, expanding into estate planning) Company Snapshot: A nationwide family law firm focused on divorce, custody, and family law matters, expanding into estate planning while modernizing how marketing and client experience work together. Format: CMO Journeys Interview In This Article Why It Matters Their Path, in Short Big Themes From the Conversation How They Choose the Right Agency Partners What Stood Out The Inside Scoop Why It Matters Chris Moloney didn’t grow up dreaming about legal marketing. He grew into it—one chapter at a time—by following a simple obsession: clearer communication. Today he leads marketing and digital experience at Cordell & Cordell, where the work is high-stakes and deeply human. His story matters because he’s lived on both sides of the table: creative, marketer, and even CEO. And for agencies, his viewpoint is a practical guide to what actually earns attention—and what gets ignored. Their Path, in Short Chris traces his marketing origin story to a surprisingly specific moment: his parents bought him a Mac in high school. He didn’t just use it. He fell for it. The design tools pulled him into graphic arts, and graphic arts pulled him into a bigger idea—how visuals and words can educate people and open their eyes. Here’s the twist: in college, he was pre-law. He laughs about the irony now—working in a law office without being a lawyer. But that early interest still fits. His career has always been about helping people understand complicated things. He started as a creative. He worked as a creative director and a creative writer. He was “totally embedded” in the agency world. Then he moved into database marketing and digital marketing. Over time, he became the kind of leader who can talk about brand storytelling and spreadsheets in the same breath—and mean both. Along the way, he bounced between worlds that marketers often treat like opposites: big companies with deep resources and smaller companies that move fast. In his view, the best marketers learn both languages. They understand how slow systems think—and they keep their agile instincts alive. One of his biggest leaps came when he left a massive company to become the CEO of a tech firm that specialized in digital marketing and social media. The move shocked his system. But it taught him something he still carries: when you own the whole business, you don’t get to protect your budget just because you believe in it. You have to balance it. At one point, he even had to cut marketing spend—painful, he says, because marketing used to be the thing he defended most. That experience gave him a rare gift: empathy for the CFO and CEO mindset, not just the CMO’s. He also points to a lesson from his time leading marketing at Scottrade: the most powerful ally in marketing isn’t always the loudest person in the room. Sometimes it’s the CFO. When Chris could show measurable returns—using tools like Google Analytics and Google AdWords—his budget stopped being a fight and became a function. In his words, the question shifted to: How many new customers did you acquire, and what did it cost? That’s when marketing moved from “expense” to “engine.” Big Themes From the Conversation Chris keeps coming back to one idea: marketing is education. In legal services, he says, the industry is “filled with a lot of jargon” that confuses the average person. So the opportunity isn’t just to sell. It’s to make people feel more comfortable about whatever legal matter they’re facing. He also thinks deeply about speed—but not the reckless kind. He’s worked in regulated industries where moving too fast can create real risk. So his approach is to stay educated on what’s coming (especially in digital technology and AI), then apply it in low-risk areas first. He calls it being a “fast follower,” not a reckless pioneer. Another theme: respect the human. Chris has worked in industries where phone conversations built the entire category—finance, mortgage, legal. In those spaces, he doesn’t believe humans will vanish. People still want a person. They want reassurance. They want a real conversation. Which leads to one of his strongest beliefs: the digital experience should enhance human-to-human connection, not replace it. And then there’s his view of leadership through translation. He has lived the creative life and the finance reality. He’s been the one asking for budget—and the one cutting it. So he speaks like someone who has crossed a bridge and kept the map. His advice to marketers is blunt: learn how finance thinks. Learn what the CFO’s spreadsheets measure. Help them hit their goals. That’s how you stop being “the marketing person” and start being a business leader. Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked Chris how he finds agency partners, he didn’t start with a directory. He started with people. He leans on CMO groups and networks where marketing leaders trade notes. He also mentions organizations connected to Gartner, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal, and he makes time for events where he can hear what other CMOs are working through. He’s picked up some of his best ideas there. For him, events aren’t just networking. They’re a live feed of what’s changing—and what’s actually working. But Chris is also clear: agencies can get on his radar directly. The catch is how they show up. He gets a lot of outreach. Too much, honestly. And most of it doesn’t work—especially the kind that swaps in his name and title, or references something shallow like a press mention. That’s not homework. That’s mail merge. What works is personalized effort that proves a real point. He says the most compelling outreach is when an agency takes its “strongest suit”—its “superpower”—and shows a small taste of it applied to his business. Not a full strategy deck. Not a giant pitch. Just enough to demonstrate thinking, craft, and relevance.