Category: Show Notes

Most companies launch a customer advisory board with good intentions. A few emails go out, a meeting gets booked, and then… not much happens. But when CABs are built with the right structure and support, they can drive some serious value for the business and the customer.

In this episode, Drew Neisser talks with Melanie Marcus (Surescripts), Marca Armstrong (Sensera Systems), and Marina Ilishaev (Boardstream AI) about what separates a one-off event from a CAB that earns ongoing attention, input, and trust. From executive alignment to post-meeting follow-through, this conversation is packed with real examples of CABs done right and lessons from the ones that nearly fell flat.

In this episode:

• How Surescripts turned a CAB into a strategic driver over six years 

• How Sensera uses CAB insights to steer product and sales direction 

• Why structure, ownership, and trust matter more than slick agendas

Plus: 

• How to get buy-in from execs, internal teams, and customers 

• Ways to keep CABs active between meetings 

• Metrics that help track engagement and impact

Tune in to learn what it takes to build a CAB your customers want to be part of, and your team can actually learn from! 

Think CMOs don’t belong in the boardroom? Think again. Today’s top marketers are stepping beyond the C-suite, bringing strategic insight, customer obsession, and data-driven decision-making to board-level conversations. But how do you actually make that leap? 

In this episode of Renegade Marketers Unite, Drew Neisser sits down with three marketing leaders who’ve done just that: Denise Vu Broady (Collibra), Peter Finter (KX), and Katrina Klier (Sage Strategy Group). They share how they earned board seats—and how you can too. 

In this episode:

• How Denise mapped her board journey five years in advance 

• Why Peter leads with risk and strategy to earn trust at the top 

• What Katrina looks for in a board-ready résumé (hint: it’s not brand metrics)

Plus: 

• Why nonprofit and advisory roles are the best launchpads 

• When to invest in certifications like NACD and PDA  

• How to talk board ambitions with your CEO (without raising red flags) 

• Why CMOs are more board-ready than they realize

Whether you’re just curious or actively pursuing a seat, this episode is your inside track to the boardroom. 

Inbound and outbound aren’t opposing forces—they’re two sides of the same motion.  

When marketing owns both, it opens the door for tighter execution, faster learning, and better performance. But that kind of momentum doesn’t come from chasing tactics. It comes from reworking how the work actually gets done.

In this episode, Drew Neisser talks with Christina Kyriazi of PhotoShelter about how she rebuilt the company’s go-to-market engine from the inside out. From bringing outbound under marketing, to embedding product marketing early, to using experiments to guide spend, Christina shares how structure and process—not just tactics—made all the difference.

What You’ll Learn: 

✔ Why outbound now rolls up to marketing and how that changed execution 

✔ How product marketing helped define segments, use cases, and “wow” moments 

✔ What “speed to lead” actually looks like and why it’s working 

✔ How underperforming tactics became high-converting plays 

✔ Where AI is helping accelerate research, content, and workflows without replacing the human voice

If you’re reworking how your team goes to market—structure, process, and all—tune in! 

Is your ‘go play with AI’ strategy actually sabotaging adoption across your marketing team?

In this Huddles Quick Take, AI consultant Tahnee Perry reveals the three critical mistakes CMOs make when trying to drive GenAI adoption and shares her proven 4-step formula for building a truly AI-savvy marketing organization.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why “go play with AI” is a recipe for failure and what to do instead 

• How to avoid implementing AI tools without clear strategic goals 

• The importance of addressing fear and uncertainty around AI 

• A 4-step framework for successful AI adoption 

For the full conversation covering Tahnee’s favorite GenAI tools, real-world examples, and how to attribute ROI to AI, visit our YouTube channel (CMO Huddles Hub) or click here: [https://youtu.be/HRRqFTAuHl4?si=sR36YNiniy86-B3u]. 

Plus, surprise guest Liza Adams joins the conversation to share the biggest GenAI unlocks for CMOs and their teams today. 

Coming Soon: Join Tahnee Perry and Lisa Adams for another Bonus Huddle in June where they’ll share how a lean 25-person marketing team transformed into a 45-member human-AI powerhouse. Apply for membership at cmohuddles.com to participate. 

When marketing and comms teams aren’t aligned, it shows.

In this episode, Drew Neisser is joined by CMOs Cary Bainbridge (ABM Industries), Laura MacGregor (Center for Internet Security), and Grant Johnson (Chief Outsiders) for a candid look at what it really takes to get marketing and comms moving in sync. From co-owning messaging to embedding AI tools and crisis plans into the mix, these leaders share how to stay coordinated without stepping on each other’s toes.

Here’s what you’ll hear:

• How Cary and her comms partner rolled out a brand relaunch to 100,000 employees
• Why Laura brought marketing and comms under one roof, and what that made possible
• How Grant built cross-functional accountability with the right metrics

Plus:

• What to do when misinformation hits, and the playbooks you’ll want ready
• How AI is speeding up localization, automation, and cross-team coordination
• How to activate internal brand champions and cross-functional councils
• What stakeholder engagement looks like when it’s done right
• Why comms needs a direct line to the C-Suite, and what happens when it doesn’t

If you’re done playing telephone across departments, this episode offers a practical path to alignment so marketing and comms stay in sync. Tune in!

GenAI has moved past the “what if” stage. Now it’s more like, “what else can we use this for?” And that change in mindset is reshaping the day-to-day—from big-picture strategy to the smallest tasks.

In this episode, Drew Neisser talks with Karen Feldman (Iron Mountain), Adriana Gil Miner (Iterable), and Jeff Morgan (Elements), three marketing leaders who’ve made GenAI part of their daily toolkit. They’re applying GenAI to content engines, campaign strategy, customer journeys—and they’re seeing results that are hard to ignore. 

Here’s what you’ll hear: 

• How IBM used Adobe Firefly to produce 10x more content and beat campaign benchmarks by 26x. 

• The Iterable ad challenge that doubled demo requests and surfaced unexpected creative talent. 

• Why GenAI is showing up in customer journeys, sales enablement, and day-to-day ops. 

• How small teams are using tools like Descript, RAG, and custom GPTs to scale smartly. 

• What it looks like when AI becomes a creative partner, not just a shortcut.

Plus: 

• How to steer clear of the GenAI “sea of sameness” 

• Why personalization at scale is finally within reach 

• The shift from doing more to doing better

If you’re trying to move from GenAI curiosity to confident action, this one’s worth a listen.