Climb Show

Hosted by Ritchie & Mark

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258

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Welcome to Climb Show hosted by two of the most prominent names in marketing, Mark Evans, the MD of Marketing at Direct Line Group and Chairman of the School of Marketing and Ritchie Mehta, the CEO of the School of Marketing. Expect weekly insights into the marketing space and what it takes to make a name for yourself in such a competitive industry, from leading Chief Marketing Officers, Marketing Directors and Chief Executive Officers.

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60 recent

October 23, 202648 min

How Diageo Uses AI to Reinvent Innovation and Marketing Ft. Mark Sandys

What does it really take to build a career that keeps growing for nearly three decades? Sometimes, the answer is choosing the uncomfortable option. In this episode, we sit down with Mark Sandys, Chief Innovation Officer at Diageo, for an insightful conversation about career growth, marketing leadership, innovation, AI and the lessons that come from getting things wrong. Mark has spent nearly 29 years at Diageo, working across markets including Ireland, Russia and Singapore before taking on a global innovation leadership role. His journey offers a powerful reminder that career growth isn’t always about climbing the ladder. It’s about learning new things, challenging yourself and understanding how a business works from the ground up.

September 25, 202644 min

How to Find Growth When Everyone Says There Is None | Rob Weston

What does it take to keep growing when the obvious growth levers stop working? In this episode, we sit down with Rob Weston, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Loop EarPlugs, whose career has taken him from Unilever and McKinsey to M&S, Samsung, Beauty Pie, Asda and now Loop Earplugs. Rob shares the lessons he’s learned from moving between some of the world’s biggest companies and fast-growing businesses, including why “the grass is rarely greener, it’s a different shade of green” and why he’s always been drawn to change, reinvention and growth. We also dive into how Loop grew from around €100 million to more than €225 million, the four-pillar strategy behind that growth, and how partnerships with McLaren, Coachella, Tomorrowland, Swarovski and Harry Styles helped build both demand and brand desire.

September 18, 202646 min

How to Lead in the Age of AI, Move Faster & Actually Love Your Work | Sophie Devonshire

What if managing your energy matters more than managing your time? In this episode, we welcome back Sophie Devonshire, CEO of The Marketing Society, for a fascinating conversation about leadership, marketing, ambition, AI, career growth and what it really means to thrive at work. Sophie shares why she believes we are entering a new golden age of marketing, why marketers need to become better at “marketing marketing”, and how the profession can play a bigger role in driving responsible business growth. We also get into the very practical side of leadership: managing your energy, staying effective when everything is changing, communicating with confidence, learning from your peers and moving fast without simply adding more pressure to your life.

September 14, 202643 min

How to Build a Brand People Love | Sara Holt on Marketing, Leadership & AI

What makes a brand so good that customers keep coming back? In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Holt, CMO of Center Parcs UK & Ireland, to unpack the thinking behind one of the UK’s most loved experience brands, her approach to marketing leadership, customer experience, commercial growth and the rapidly changing world of AI. Sarah shares how Center Parcs achieved record revenue of £758 million, record EBITDA of £323.9 million and its highest ever occupancy of 97.5%, while revealing why the real secret to the brand’s success isn’t advertising. It’s the experience customers have once they’re there. We explore why Sarah would choose investing in customer experience over increasing the marketing budget, how she approached her first 90 days as CMO, why she deliberately spent her first 100 days learning rather than fixing, and how she identified three key areas for transformation - brand, personalization and capability.

September 3, 202642 min

The Truth About Bad Clients, Great Brands & AI | Ed Birth

What does it take to build a distinctive brand in a low-interest category like insurance? And how might AI completely change the way insurance is bought? In this episode, we sit down with Ed Birth, Head of Brand Marketing at Hiscox UK, to unpack what great brand leadership really looks like — from his nearly 20 years in agency life to moving client-side, building Hiscox’s brand relaunch in 2023, and thinking about the future of marketing in an AI-driven world.

August 28, 202647 min

Why Customers Aren’t Loyal Anymore, And How Brands Can Fix It | Simon Jamieson

What really makes a customer loyal? Is it points, discounts and loyalty programmes or something much deeper? In this episode, we sit down with Simon Jamieson, Managing Director of Marketing Lounge Partnership (MLP), to unpack what customer loyalty really means in a world where information, choice and convenience have become completely commoditised. Simon shares why brands need to move beyond short-term retention metrics and focus on creating positive emotions, building relationships and influencing customer behaviour. From his “happy heart, happy wallet” philosophy to his Loyalty Layer Cake, Simon explains why a loyalty programme can only work when the fundamentals price, product, service, brand and purpose are already right.

August 24, 202641 min

The Future of Search Is NOT Google: Max Sinclair on AEO, AI Agents & What’s Coming Next

AI is changing the way we search, shop, work and make decisions and according to Max Sinclair, we’re only at the beginning. In this episode, we sit down with Max Sinclair, Founder & CEO of Azoma, an AI search and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) agency working with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Mars, Colgate, P&G, Reckitt, Unilever and Zappos. Max breaks down what comes after traditional SEO, why brands need to start thinking about AEO, and how AI agents could completely change the way consumers discover and buy products. We also get into the bigger questions around agentic AI from personalised health and education to AI-powered shopping, wearable AI, self-driving cars and the future of work.

August 14, 202644 min

Stop Following the Playbook: How to Become a Better Marketer | Lauren Berkemeyer

In this episode, we’re joined by Lauren Berkeymeyer, Chief Marketing Officer at u life, for a candid conversation about unconventional careers, hustling, taking risks, building from scratch and thinking beyond the traditional marketing playbook. Lauren describes herself as a “non-boxy CMO” someone who thrives on unpredictability, experimentation and carving her own path rather than simply following a prescribed playbook. We talk about what hustling really means in marketing, why marketers need to get out into the field and experience rejection, how to identify your North Star, and why understanding the entire business, not just your marketing function makes you a better marketer.

August 7, 202645 min

The Career Advice Every 20 & 30-Something Needs to Hear (From a Global Marketing Leader)

From teaching pottery in South India to leading Global Insights, Planning & Brand Strategy at Standard Chartered, Tim Hulbert has had one of the most unconventional careers you’ll ever hear about. In this episode, Tim shares how curiosity, saying “yes” to opportunities, and embracing uncertainty shaped a career that spans television, digital publishing, Fortune 500 companies, and global banking. We dive into the future of careers, AI, leadership, marketing, stakeholder management, wealth psychology, luck vs hard work, and why the best career advice might simply be: “Just do something."

July 31, 202641 min

How L’Oréal Uses AI to Transform Marketing Effectiveness | Global Marketing Leaders Reveal All

In this episode, we sit down with Vasileios Kourakis, Global Marketing Effectiveness Director at L’Oréal, and Camille Erard, Luxury & Beauty Partner at Ekimetrics, to unpack how one of the world’s biggest beauty companies is transforming marketing through AI, advanced measurement and data-driven decision making. From building a culture of marketing effectiveness to scaling AI across global teams, this conversation explores how leading brands move beyond dashboards and reporting to create real business impact.

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