AI is moving fast enough to make even the savviest CMO feel one tool, one workflow, and one "wait, you can do that now?" behind. The easy move is to delegate it. Let the eager people experiment. Let the technical folks wire things together. Let the team come back with something impressive enough to call progress. If that sounds like a plan, François Dufour would like a word. In this episode, we replay a conversation with Drew and François from April 2026 about what it takes to become an AI-augmented CMO. François makes the case that leaders need enough hands-on fluency to build, test, learn, and model the behavior they expect from their teams. Together, they push past one-off experiments and tool demos toward a more durable rhythm of teams building together, champions sharing what works, system thinkers connecting the dots, and workflows that create leverage beyond a few saved minutes. What You'll Learn:  Why AI adoption needs repeated build time, not one-and-done training How to spot the champions and system thinkers who can move the team faster What context AI needs before agents and workflows become useful How to make AI progress visible without rewarding random activity You'll also hear how François used AI to manage context across clients, analyze positioning and narrative, build better customer-facing tools, and help teams see the art of the possible. Tune in to learn how AI-augmented CMOs can lead the work personally, make adoption stick across the team, and turn experimentation into leverage the business can feel. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

The first 90 days have always mattered. Now AI is making them faster, sharper, and a lot less forgiving. In this episode, Drew talks with Paige O'Neill (Culture Amp), Scott Gordon (HG Insights), and Ali McCarthy (Asset-Map) about what it takes to start strong in a new CMO role. They explore how to pressure-test what you heard in the interview process, align quickly with the executive team, assess the team you inherited, and decide where marketing can create the most meaningful impact. The conversation also digs into how AI is changing the first-90-days playbook, from accelerating onboarding and research to raising expectations around team productivity, experimentation, and org design. Paige, Scott, and Ali share how they're using AI, where they're still relying on old-fashioned listening, and why the best early wins are the ones that build momentum with both the team and the business. In this episode: Paige shares how she tested the interview story against reality, unlocked stalled team ideas, and used AI to speed up onboarding Scott breaks down how he pressure-tested pipeline goals, budgets, team sentiment, and sales alignment before resetting expectations Ali explains how she brought focus to Asset-Map's many possible stories, used research to sharpen the message, and chose the first market problem to solve Plus: How AI is accelerating onboarding, research, testing, and early execution Why early wins should build credibility without disrupting what works How to gauge AI readiness across your inherited team Why the first 90 days are your best window to challenge assumptions If you're stepping into a new CMO role, or preparing for one, this episode offers a practical look at how to use your early window wisely, build trust quickly, and avoid squandering the power that comes with fresh eyes. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

Some CMO opportunities look promising right up until you stop asking, "Can I land this?" and start asking, "Can I actually win at this company?"  In a market that is warmer than it was a year ago but still unforgiving, Hugh Marshall of Heidrick & Struggles argues that CMOs need to approach the search with two-way diligence. The offer matters, but so does knowing whether the company, CEO, board, investors, and growth expectations are aligned enough to support real success.  With that recruiter 's-eye view, Hugh joins Drew to get inside today's CMO search, from PE-backed pressure and growth-stage churn to comp conversations, equity tradeoffs, and the big career bets hiding inside the fine print. Call it a reality check for CMOs who want the next role to be the right one.  What You'll Learn:  How to spot risky CMO roles before you're in too deep  Why two-way diligence is now non-negotiable  How AI fluency is reshaping CMO candidacy  What makes candidates stand out in the interview process  Know what you're walking into before you say yes. Tune in for Hugh's candid take on today's CMO market, the hidden dynamics behind the offer, and the signs of a truly winnable role.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

The go-to-market model most teams are optimizing may be the very thing AI is making obsolete.  Too often, the buyer experience feels like a relay race nobody asked to run. AI is already proving there's a faster, straighter path to answers, value, and outcomes, making the old model a lot harder to defend.  In this episode, Drew talks with Amanda Kahlow, founder of 1mind, about why many of today's go-to-market assumptions deserve a fresh look. Using the rise of AI SDRs as a starting point, they explore human handoffs, pipeline thinking, speed to lead, and why buyer momentum matters more than the internal roles built to manage it.  Best of all, you get to see it play out when Amanda brings in Mindy, 1mind's AI superhuman, for a live demonstration of what an AI-first buying experience can look like in practice.  What You'll Learn:  Why first-principles thinking matters in an AI-first world  When AI should replace parts of the motion, not just support them  Why revenue may be a better measure of success than lead volume or pipeline  How smaller pilots can prove the model before broader rollout  If you're a CMO questioning how much of your current go-to-market motion still makes sense, this one is worth your time.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

The title is Chief Marketing Officer. The CMOs who earn the most influence put Chief first.  They're not in the room just to deliver a marketing update. They're there to help the executive team make sense of what matters most, navigate tough decisions, and shape where the company goes next.  In this episode, Drew talks with Kathie Johnson (Nintex), Lorie Coulombe (Equity Shift), and Allyson Havener about peer leadership inside the executive team. They explore how CMOs build trust, surface business issues, and strengthen credibility across the C-suite.  In this episode:  Kathie shares why peer leadership starts when a CMO owns more than the marketing plan and helps surface gaps across the business  Lorie gets into the trust, EQ, and one-on-one relationship building that make healthy disagreement possible at the executive level  Allyson breaks down how finance fluency, customer insight, and a clear read on the sales cycle build stronger executive credibility  Plus:  How peer leadership starts with the issues a CMO is willing to surface  Why connecting dots across functions comes with the job  How strong CMOs bring customer context into business decisions  For CMOs ready to lead as true executive peers, this episode shows how to earn trust, surface what matters, and lead first as a business leader. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

AI experimentation created momentum. But for CMOs, it's time to move out of the sandbox and into repeatable systems.  In this Drew-on-Drew episode, the conversation shifts from AI experimentation to operational discipline. Drawing on recent conversations inside CMO Huddles and insights from the Imaginarium Summit, Drew explores what it takes to turn scattered AI experiments into a scalable operating model.  Along the way, Drew tackles some of the biggest questions facing marketing leaders right now:  When should you buy versus build?  How do you manage agent risk and governance?  What should CMOs actually measure?  Why might sales enablement become AI's most practical win?  What does "team readiness" really look like?  You'll also hear why Drew believes AI is "a mirror, not a crystal ball," exposing weak processes, disconnected data, and organizational gaps faster than ever before.  If you're a B2B CMO trying to turn experimentation into a scalable operating model, this episode is a smart place to start.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

If your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is still built on broad categories, instinct, and a little wishful thinking, it may be more aspirational than operational.  An ICP like that leaves too much room for interpretation. Marketing, sales, and ops start working from different definitions of the right account, and the business keeps chasing customers that look right on paper but don't behave like winners.  In this episode, Drew talks with Drake Lenhan, Sitecore's Sr. Director, Global Market Intelligence & Portfolio Strategy, about what it takes to turn ICP into a source of focus that the whole business can work from.  Drake walks through the progression from validating where you actually win to building a scoring model, securing cross-functional buy-in, and creating a system that stays steady as the market shifts.  What You'll Learn:  How to spot gaps between assumed fit and actual fit  How to turn raw account traits into a practical ranking system  Why use case fit matters as much as segment fit  How to keep ICP from going stale after launch  If you're a B2B CMO ready to revisit your ICP with win data, sharper focus, and stronger cross-functional alignment, this episode gives you the blueprint.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

The AI conversation gets tactical fast. Tools. Prompts. Speed. Output. Helpful, yes. But that barely scratches the surface.  Geoff Woods is looking past the tool and straight at the leader holding it. In the right hands, AI becomes a force multiplier for strategic thinking, stronger decision-making, and a completely different idea of what's possible at the top. In this episode, Drew sits down with Geoff, the author of The AI-Driven Leader to talk about what it actually means to own this moment as a leader. The best ones are using AI to think bigger, move their organizations faster, and build in ways that simply weren't possible before.  Three Leadership Mistakes with AI:  Treating AI like an IT job  Using AI on low-value work  Treating AI like an answer machine  What You'll Learn:  How Geoff's CRIT Framework turns AI into a stronger thought partner  Why AI's first answer should be treated as a draft  How to find the AI use cases that matter most  What it takes to make AI a standard in the company  If you're a B2B CMO looking to become a more effective AI-driven leader, this episode is worth your time!  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

We've spent a long time glorifying the "hero leader." The sharpest thinker. The one with all the answers. The person everyone turns to when it's time to make the call.  But constant change is pushing a different kind of leader to the forefront. The system designer. A leader who puts more energy into workflows, decision paths, and team rhythm so fewer hard calls boomerang back to them.  In this episode, Drew talks with Dan Lowden (Blackbird.AI), Katrina Klier (Sage Strategy Group), and Chris Pieper (ADP) about why this new model of leadership matters now. With AI reshaping marketing and the pace only getting faster, teams need more than a smart CMO in the middle of everything. They need a way of operating that can keep up.  In this episode:  Dan shares how his team turns expert insight into a steady stream of high-value content, helping a five-person team operate at scale.  Katrina breaks down how leaders now need to think across people, tech, and AI while building systems that keep learning and improvement in motion.  Chris explains how operating rhythms, sprint structures, and team health checks make strong execution more repeatable.  Plus:  How better operating rhythms turn learning into a team advantage  Where AI should augment the system  How to spot work that still depends too heavily on the leader  If you're a B2B CMO whose marketing team still depends too heavily on your decisions, this episode will help you rethink leadership, system design, and how to build a team that scales.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

Marketing teams don't need more AI tools. They need better habits around the ones they already have.  Experimentation got marketing teams started, but it won't take them very far on its own. The payoff starts when teams stop treating AI like a side experiment and start using it in ways they can repeat and build on.  In this episode, Drew Neisser talks with Nicole Leffer, one of the most practical voices in B2B AI adoption, about what it takes to make AI use more consistent and scalable. After working with more than 100 companies, Nicole has a clear view of what separates teams that stay stuck in trial mode from teams that build a repeatable advantage.  Three AI Mistakes Marketers Make:  Relying on back-and-forth prompting instead of building reusable workflows  Underestimating what their core AI tool can already do  Falling for hype cycles and constantly switching platforms  In This Episode:  How to build workflows that save real time  The hidden cost of tool sprawl  Where AI security risks are showing up now  How to build AI capability across the team  If you're a B2B CMO working to build stronger AI habits across your team, this episode will give you plenty to work with! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/