The CMO Whisperer

Hosted by Steve Olenski

Business Marketing

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Episodes

144

Latest episode

Jun 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

June 16, 2026Episode 14533 min

Why People Really Quit - Bonnie Low-Kramen

My guest today is Bonnie Low-Kramen. Bonnie is one of the most respected voices in the field of executive and personal assistant training, having taught in 14 countries and worked with organizations, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, the Wharton School, and even the British Parliament. But what makes Bonnie's perspective so fascinating is where it all began. For 25 years, she served as the personal assistant to Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, giving her a front row seat to leadership, human behavior, communication, trust, pressure, and what really makes people thrive at work or walk away from it. She's the author of the book Staff Matters: People-Focused Solutions for the Ultimate New Workplace and Be the Ultimate Assistant. Her TEDx talk is titled The Real Reasons People Quit, and her insights have appeared in both Harvard Business Review and Forbes. But this is not just a conversation about assistance. It's a conversation about leadership, about respect, about culture, about the people behind the people and the invisible glue that holds organizations together while everyone else is busy chasing the next shiny AI headline. Bonnie brings something we could all use a little more of: real-world perspective from someone who understands that no technology will ever replace the value of deeply human work.

June 12, 2026Episode 14434 min

AI Won't Save Marketing - Marco Matos

My guest today is Marco Matos, co-founder and CEO of Adora, where he leads the company's strategy and product vision for its AI-driven performance marketing platform. Marco works with enterprise brands to rethink how marketing organizations launch and optimize campaigns using AI, helping teams move faster and make smarter, more adaptive decisions. Over his 18-year career, Marco has led product development for more than 25 products, with the past decade focused heavily on digital advertising and measurement. He's held product roles across Microsoft, Google, Meta and Pinterest, working on advertising platforms and data analytics systems at massive scale.

June 9, 2026Episode 14322 min

Attention Drives Modern Growth - Ryan Harwood

Today's episode comes to you live from Possible, but not just any Possible location. We are at the VaynerX Yacht. Possible, where every hallway has a pitch and every table has a meeting. Today I'm joined by Ryan Harwood, CEO of Gallery Media Group and Tamara Group, two businesses sitting right at the center of where modern brands are trying to go next: Attention, relevance, culture and growth. Ryan has built companies that understand the simple truth many still miss: attention isn't bought once it's earned every day. From scaling PureWow into a category leader to growing Gallery Media Group into a powerhouse reaching more than 155 million consumers to now leading Tamara Group new model for the attention economy. He set a front row seat to how media creators, storytelling and commerce are colliding.

June 5, 2026Episode 14228 min

AI Changed Marketing Forever - Ryan Nelsen

My guest today is Ryan Nelsen, Chief Marketing Officer at StackAdapt. If you're not familiar with StackAdapt, think of it as the engine behind a lot of the digital advertising you actually notice. Not the spray-and-pray banner ads that follow you around like a bad decision, but the smarter, more intentional kind. The kind that uses data, AI, and programmatic technology to put the right message in front of the right person at the right moment without feeling like it's shouting at you. That's where Ryan comes in. As CMO, he's leading everything from global marketing to brand to communications, helping shape how a company like StackAdapt shows up in a space that's crowded, noisy, and constantly evolving. Because when you're operating in ad tech, you're not just competing for attention; you're competing for relevance.

June 2, 2026Episode 14119 min

Marketing Must Drive Revenue - Paul Rossetti

Welcome to another episode live from Possible, where the networking is nonstop, and everyone claims they have a future in marketing. Today I'm joined by Paul Rossetti, Chief Revenue Officer at Claritas, a company helping brands connect audience intelligence, engagement, measurement, and growth in a much smarter way. Paul operates where marketing ambition meets commercial reality. His focus is helping organizations find the right customers, reach them more effectively, reduce wasted spend, and turn strategy into measurable revenue outcomes.

May 29, 2026Episode 14027 min

Connection Creates Real Impact - Stacy Huston

My guest today is Stacy Huston, CEO of sixdegrees.org, the social impact organization founded by Kevin Bacon, and a leader who has built her career around turning purpose into action. She also serves as executive producer of their top-ranked podcast, using storytelling as a catalyst to drive real-world impact. Beyond that, she leads Enterting Change, a social impact agency that brings together entertainers, brands, and organizations to create meaningful, measurable change. Stacey has worked with some of the biggest names across media and culture, including Peacock, Warner Bros., I Heart Media, CBS, MTV, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and the ACLU. Her work has earned her recognition like Shorty's Impact Nonprofit Marketer of the Year, Advertising Week's Future is Female Award, and the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award.If that's not enough, if you're still with me, she's also the creator of the Craft method, a framework designed to help organizations build deeper, more authentic engagement.

May 26, 2026Episode 13928 min

Optimize Humanity, Not Productivity - Anda Gansca

My guest today is Anda Gansca, co-founder and CEO of Knotch. A Romanian-born entrepreneur who's built a fast-growing, profitable business, helping Fortune 1000 companies understand and improve the performance of their digital investments. She was raised in Transylvania, came out of a math and computer science background, then headed to Stanford, where she graduated in the top 1 % of her class with a double major in economics and international relations. Before Knotch, she spent time in venture capital, launched multiple nonprofit initiatives and started building the foundation for what would become her focus, blending data, storytelling and impact. Since founding Knotch, she's raised over $40 million, helped other entrepreneurs do the same and continues to play an active role mentoring and advising early-stage founders.

May 22, 2026Episode 13815 min

Know More About Customers - Ron Cohen

Today I'm joined by Ron Cohen, SVP of Practice Leadership at Claritas, a company operating at the intersection of data, identity and AI, helping brands understand who their customers really are and how to reach them with more precision, relevance, and results. Ron spends his time focused on one of the biggest challenges in modern marketing, turning scattered signals into smart action. In a world full of noise, he works on helping brands make better decisions about audiences, personalization, targeting, and growth.

May 19, 2026Episode 13730 min

Relationships Still Drive Business - Heather McLeod

My guest today is Heather McLeod, Chief Marketing Officer at BNI, someone who turns big global strategy into marketing that actually works. She's built her reputation on cutting through noise and focusing on what actually drives growth, scaling a community of more than 345,000 members across 70+ countries without losing what makes it human.At a time when everything is digital, automated, and AI-driven, she's right at the center of something just as powerful. Real in-person connection. Relationship marketing, community, and the idea that business still gets done between people, not platforms. No fluff, just what works.

May 15, 2026Episode 13635 min

What Brands Still Don’t Understand About Attention - Jimmy, Sequel, Jarrel Smith & Patrick Johnson Jr

On today's episode, I welcome not one, not two, not even three, but four guests and not just any four. Four builders, four creators, four operators who are shaping culture, storytelling and business in very real ways. Jimmy Smith is the founder of Mind Matters and Amusement Park Entertainment, and one of those rare creatives who has operated at the intersection of culture, technology, and storytelling for decades. From Cannes Lions to the Smithsonian, from Guinness World Records to reviving iconic brands and platforms, Jimmy's work doesn't just show up; it leaves a mark. And through it all, there's a through line of purpose, creativity, and belief that's impossible to miss.Next up, Sequel. Sequel Smith, co-founder and president of Klassy, a creative director who understands something a lot of brands still don't. People don't want to be interrupted. They want to be engaged. His work lives where culture actually happens across film, social, experiential and digital, collaborating with names like Will Smith, Donald Glover, Snoop Dogg and the NBA's Damien Lillard, creating ideas people choose to spend time with, not scroll past. Then there's Jarrel. Jarrel Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Klassy. Sometimes, the most powerful statements are the simplest ones. He operates from a place of faith and conviction, bringing to life what's been placed on his heart. When you listen to him, you'll quickly understand that this is not just a business. There's something deeper driving it. And last, but certainly not least, is Patrick. Patrick Johnson, Jr., co-founder and vice president of Klassy and an executive producer who knows how to bring ideas to life at scale, from 51 millimeter to Novus Content, to producing a Top 3 box office opening weekend film with Till Death Do Us Part. Patrick understands both the creative and execution side of the game, which is a rare combination.