The CMO Podcast

The role of the CMO is evolving. Increasingly, it is becoming a pathway to the CEO's office.
Jim's guest this week, Melissa Grady Dias, first joined the show in 2020 as Global Chief Marketing Officer of Cadillac, where she helped transform one of America's most iconic brands into the leading luxury EV brand while navigating a global pandemic and unprecedented industry disruption.
Now she has entered an entirely new chapter. Melissa recently became CEO of Measured Wellness, a healthcare company focused on preventative care, wearable technology, AI powered health insights, and what she calls "care between appointments." It is a model built around the 99 percent of health that happens outside the doctor's office. The company was founded in San Diego by Dr. Michael Kurisu, who specializes in Family and Integrative Medicine.
Melissa is a leader who thrives when navigating transformation, and she simply likes building things. Those are her words. At Cadillac, that meant helping consumers rethink mobility, luxury, and electrification. At Measured Wellness, it means helping people rethink healthcare itself by moving from reactive care to proactive wellness, from occasional doctor visits to continuous engagement, and from treating illness to creating the conditions for long term health.
Tune in for a conversation about leadership, reinvention, wellness, and the growing influence of marketers in shaping the future of business.

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What does growth leadership actually look like in 2026?
Recorded live at the Kellogg School of Management Marketing Leadership Summit, this week’s episode features two standout conversations with leaders building some of the most talked-about brands in business today.
First Jim sits down with AT&T’s Chief Marketing and Growth Officer Kellyn Smith Kenny to chat about how a 150-year-old company is transforming itself through customer obsession, operational accountability, and AI-enabled personalization.
Then, e.l.f. Beauty CEO Tarang Amin and President Kory Marchisotto share the culture, creativity, and community-first mindset behind one of the fastest-growing brands in the industry, and why they believe “zero distance” from consumers changes everything.
Across both conversations, there’s a shared theme: the brands winning today are the ones willing to stay curious, move quickly, listen deeply to customers, and build cultures where people can do the best work of their lives.

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Are you a hopeful leader? Is your brand a hopeful brand? What does hopeful even mean anymore? And in a moment defined by uncertainty, anxiety, and rapid change, one emotion is emerging as a powerful force for brands and leaders alike: hope.
Jim’s guests this week as both return guests, as he sits down with Samantha Maltin, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and George Carey, CEO and founder of Human-ology, for a deeply human conversation about why hope matters now more than ever.
Together, they explore groundbreaking research on the emotional drivers of hope, why consumers are craving emotional safety and optimism, and how brands can authentically create deeper relevance by helping people feel more hopeful in their everyday lives. Samantha shares how St. Jude’s mission is built around helping families “afford hope,” while George explains why hope is not “glittery,” but grounded in grit, resilience, and meaningful human connection.
This episode could not be more timely. There is a war on hope and people are fighting it on every front. But don’t despair: what follows will help you understand hope today, and what you can do to integrate this learning into your brand platform and into how you lead.
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Learn more about Human-Ology’s insights around Hope: https://www.human-ology.com/human-insights

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A few weeks ago at Havas’ Hudson Street headquarters in New York City, industry leaders gathered on the eve of the Advertising Hall of Fame induction ceremony for a candid conversation about leadership, legacy, creativity, and courage.
For this special episode, Jim joins NFL Chief Marketing Officer Tim Ellis in conversation moderated by Maggie Connors, Chief Marketing Officer of Havas Creative Network. Together, they reflect on the defining decisions that shape a career, especially the ones that didn’t feel obvious at the time.
From transforming Pampers into a purpose-led brand to rebuilding trust and culture at the NFL, the conversation explores what it really means to lead: building teams, earning trust, listening deeply, and creating environments where people can thrive.
This is more than a discussion about marketing, it’s a conversation about humanity, mentorship, and the lasting impact leaders leave on the people around them.
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This week’s episode is in partnership with Havas.
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What does it take to transform a legacy brand and yourself as a leader at the same time?
To celebrate the launch of the streaming series on Hulu, Designed to Last, Jim welcomes Sherina Smith, Enterprise Chief Marketing Officer at American Family Insurance. Founded nearly a century ago in Madison, Wisconsin, American Family, or AMFAM, has grown into one of the largest mutual insurers in the United States. It serves millions of customers and generates more than $15 billion in annual revenue. The company has built its brand around a powerful purpose: to inspire, protect, and restore people’s dreams.
Designed to Last is one of the boldest moves in the category, a first-of-its-kind streaming series on Hulu, with the first episode available now.
Sherina joined American Family in 2019 as VP of Marketing and is now the Enterprise CMO for American Family and its subsidiary brands. She is responsible for helping guide the company’s flagship brand. She also leads the company’s marketing transformation, as well as customer growth strategies across the organization. Born and raised in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, Sherina graduated from Ohio State and earned her MBA from USC. She spent a foundational 11 years at Kraft, which we discuss, before roles at AbbVie Pharmaceuticals and JCPenney.
Tune in as Sherina dives into how the show came to life, why long-form content is a powerful way to build engagement, and how brands can create deeper emotional connections in a crowded, competitive space.
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Stream Designed to Last on Hulu now!
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