The CMO Whisperer

Hosted by Steve Olenski

Business Marketing

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Episodes

171

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

The CMO Whisperer, hosted by former Forbes writer Steve Olenski, is a curated executive platform and marketing leadership podcast where CMOs, brand leaders, and senior operators share candid insights on leadership, brand strategy, and growth. Spanning business, sports, and media, it goes beyond marketing to reveal how top leaders make decisions and perform at the highest levels.

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60 recent

October 30, 2026Episode 17141 min

You Can't Buy Relevance - Nick Miaritis

What if your biggest marketing advantage isn't how much you spend, but whether people actually want to pay attention? In a world where brands can buy reach, produce endless content and rely on increasingly sophisticated targeting, many are still struggling to create something people genuinely care about. That's what we're digging into with Nick Miaritis, EVP and Chief Brand Officer at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, overseeing iconic brands including Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat. Nick has spent nearly two decades building brands and shaping creative, including leadership roles at VaynerMedia and Saatchi & Saatchi. He brings a fascinating perspective on why brands are becoming increasingly indistinguishable, why social media has evolved into something closer to interest media, and how AI is about to fundamentally change the volume and variety of creative marketing teams need to produce. At the heart of our conversation, we ask: What if the brands that win aren't the ones that spend the most, but the ones that actually earn people's attention?

October 23, 2026Episode 17031 min

Is Your CMO The Problem? - Evan Horowitz

What if the biggest problem with your marketing isn't your marketing? What if it's the layers of approval, organizational silos and risk-averse decisions standing between a great idea and actually making something happen? That's what we're digging into with Evan Horowitz, CEO and co-founder of Movers and Shakers, a social-first creative agency helping some of the world's biggest brands connect with culture. Evan has spent more than 20 years helping brands build buzz and market share, including experience at Samsung and Macy's. He brings a perspective on why major brands struggle to move at the speed of culture, why social needs to be more than another content channel, and how the way marketing organizations operate can become their biggest obstacle. And here's the question at the heart of our conversation: What if the thing holding your brand back isn't the marketing strategy, but the organization responsible for executing it?

October 16, 2026Episode 16926 min

Marketing Makes Everything Happen - Chris Shaw

My guest today is Chris Shaw, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at NTT Research, the Silicon Valley Research Arm of NTT, one of the world's largest technology and business solutions providers. At NTT Research, Chris helps bridge the gap between foundational science and real-world impact, translating work in areas like quantum physics, cryptography, and medical informatics into stories and strategies the marketplace can understand and embrace. Chris is also a serial entrepreneur, helped lead one of the early social media-focused agencies, and is the founder of an AI marketing startup Fymmer.com

October 9, 2026Episode 16830 min

It's Marketing, Not Miracle Working - Frank Hamlin

My guest today is Frank 'MF' Hamlin, former EVP and Chief Customer Officer at GameStop, where he was in the C-suite during a pandemic-era short squeeze. Before GameStop, Frank built an impressive career across retail, e-commerce, and music, holding senior leadership roles at Guitar Center and Tailored Brands after nearly a decade in Nashville with Arista Records and Sony Music Publishing. He is also the author of Skinny Dipping at Low Tide, a darkly funny novel inspired by the boardroom politics, activist investors, and sheer insanity of watching market forces reshape a company in real time.

October 6, 2026Episode 16724 min

Creators Are Becoming the New Media - Ruth Mortimer

My guest today has spent her career at the intersection of marketing, media, education, and ideas. Ruth Mortimer is the Global President at Advertising Week, where she helps shape the brand's thought leadership agenda and education business. Now, before Advertising Week, Ruth held leadership roles at Econsultancy, the Festival of Marketing, and Centaur Marketing. She's also a former editor of Marketing Week, an award-winning business columnist and has spent years creating conversations with some of the most interesting voices in business and culture. My favorite part of Ruth's background may have absolutely nothing to do with marketing. Before all this, she was an archaeologist, specializing in the Middle East and working in Southeast Turkey. We're going to talk about marketing, but with someone who literally used to dig for a living, I'm pretty sure we can go a little deeper than the usual marketing conversation.

October 2, 2026Episode 16629 min

AI Is Changing PR - Sarah Evans

My guest today is Sarah Evans, partner and head of PR at Zen Media. Sarah is a true pioneer in digital communications, having helped create the hashtag JournChat in 2008, founded Sevans PR, and spent the last two decades helping brands see around the corner before the rest of the market catches up. Today she leads Zen Media's PR practice, an AI visibility strategy, and was named one of Propel's top 100 PR tech leaders worldwide in 2025.

September 25, 2026Episode 16537 min

Scaling Content Without Losing What Matters - Nicole Rex

My guest today is Nicole Rex, Vice President of Global Marketing Campaigns and Core Content at Dell Technologies. A journalist by training and a marketer by trade, Nicole has spent more than 25 years demonstrating that great storytelling isn't just creative, it's a business advantage. During her almost 20 years at Dell, she has led the company's internal creative agency, run experiential marketing, and held roles across social impact, content marketing, brand and creative development. Today, she sits at the intersection of global campaigns, brand and creative, focused on one very big question: How do you scale world-class content without losing the craft and quality?

September 22, 2026Episode 16430 min

Creative Still Needs Humans - Carly Crittenden

My guest today is Carly Crittenden, Chief Revenue Officer at Vidmob, where she leads the company's global revenue organization and go-to-market strategy, helping brands and agencies drive stronger business outcomes through AI-powered creative data. With nearly two decades of experience across advertising technology and SaaS, Carly has held senior leadership roles at Black Crow AI, Oracle, Moat, and Google, building and scaling high-performing sales organizations and leading global go-to-market initiatives. She's known for combining strategic vision with a people-first leadership style and is passionate about helping organizations grow, building diverse teams, and advancing the role of AI in marketing.

September 18, 2026Episode 16324 min

Stop Building Better Chatbots - Aniket Deosthali

My guest today is Aniket Deosthali, CEO and co-founder of Envive AI. Before launching Envive, Aniket led Conversational Commerce at Walmart, where he helped build AI-powered shopping experiences at a massive scale and worked at the intersection of AI, commerce, and customer experience. Today, he's focused on helping brands move beyond the AI hype and use intelligent agents to drive real business outcomes. If you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, you know I am less interested in asking whether AI is coming. That ship sailed a long time ago. What I am interested in is where it's actually creating value, where it's falling short, and what business leaders need to understand before they start chasing.

September 15, 2026Episode 16230 min

The AI Growth Problem - Michael Stich

My guest today is Michael Stich, partner at CourtAvenue. Michael has spent more than 25 years helping some of the world's biggest brands navigate innovation, digital transformation, customer experience, AI, commerce, and just about every major shift marketing has faced over the last two decades. Today at CourtAvenue, he works with organizations including Kia, Epson, General Mills, Dell, and the US Air Force to solve complex business and marketing challenges. Before that, he held leadership roles at WPP, VML, Rockfish, Bridge Worldwide, Texas Instruments, McKinsey, and Dell, giving him a front-row seat to the evolution of modern marketing. And along the way, he's advised Fortune 50 companies, invested in startups, helped launch groundbreaking products, and built businesses that have transformed how brands connect with customers. He's also been recognized as a Cincinnati marketing legend by the AMA and has earned multiple industry honors for his leadership.