Mike Bell, CMO of Everspring: Why Great Marketing Starts With Strategy, Not Tactics

In this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Mike Bell, Chief Marketing Officer of Everspring, about building marketing around strategy, systems, and measurable outcomes rather than disconnected tactics. Drawing on a career that spans the Air Force, consulting, consumer brands, SaaS, and higher education, Mike shares how that broad experience shapes the way he leads full-funnel marketing in a rapidly changing environment.What the Conversation Covers• Mike’s unconventional path from the Air Force and consulting into marketing leadership, and how each chapter built a different part of his leadership style• Why he believes strong marketing starts with strategy, clear priorities, and the discipline to stay focused on outcomes• How AI is changing the way prospective students discover, compare, and choose educational programs before they ever visit a website• What Everspring is doing to improve visibility, strengthen full-funnel performance, and adapt to a world where influence happens earlier in the journey• How Mike thinks about team structure, agency partnerships, and using AI as a force multiplier rather than a substitute for strategic thinkingGuest BioMike Bell is Chief Marketing Officer at Everspring, where he leads full-funnel marketing across more than 45 higher education partners. His career spans the Air Force, consulting, consumer brands, SaaS, and education, giving him a systems-driven perspective on leadership, strategy, demand generation, and marketing transformation.About the PodcastCMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.