Inside the Minds of Top CMOs: What’s Working, What’s Not, and How the CMO Role is Evolving in B2B Marketing

#229: Marketing Leadership | In this episode, Dave sits down with Megan Lueders (CMO at Sonatype), Ido Mart (CMO at Manychat), and Kimberly Storin (CMO at Zayo) for a live CMO panel discussion at Exit Five’s Austin marketing meetup. These marketing leaders share what’s working what’s not in B2B marketing today and how the role of the CMO is evolving.Dave, Megan, Ido, and Kimberly cover:What every new CMO needs to know about leading a marketing orgHow to align with CEOs, CFOs, and key stakeholders to drive business impactThe biggest marketing shifts happening right now (and what’s no longer working)How to prove marketing’s impact in the era of efficiencyTimestamps(00:00) - – Introduction to the CMO panel (02:12) - – The evolving role of the CMO in 2025 (05:38) - – The biggest challenges marketing leaders face today (08:45) - – How to align marketing with CEOs, CFOs, and key stakeholders (12:20) - – What every new CMO needs to know when stepping into the role (15:55) - – The marketing strategies that are working right now (and what’s not) (19:42) - – Why B2B marketing is more emotional than most people realize (23:08) - – How to prove marketing’s impact in a data-driven, efficiency-focused era (26:50) - – The shift from demand gen to brand-led growth (30:15) - – The role of storytelling and positioning in B2B marketing success (34:30) - – Building a high-performing marketing team and the skills CMOs need today (38:10) - – Key takeaways and final advice for marketing leaders Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive.Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai.Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive.Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more