The CMO Whisperer

My guest today is Chris Shaw, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at NTT Research, the Silicon Valley Research Arm of NTT, one of the world's largest technology and business solutions providers. At NTT Research, Chris helps bridge the gap between foundational science and real-world impact, translating work in areas like quantum physics, cryptography, and medical informatics into stories and strategies the marketplace can understand and embrace. Chris is also a serial entrepreneur, helped lead one of the early social media-focused agencies, and is the founder of an AI marketing startup Fymmer.com

My guest today is Frank 'MF' Hamlin, former EVP and Chief Customer Officer at GameStop, where he was in the C-suite during a pandemic-era short squeeze. Before GameStop, Frank built an impressive career across retail, e-commerce, and music, holding senior leadership roles at Guitar Center and Tailored Brands after nearly a decade in Nashville with Arista Records and Sony Music Publishing. He is also the author of Skinny Dipping at Low Tide, a darkly funny novel inspired by the boardroom politics, activist investors, and sheer insanity of watching market forces reshape a company in real time.

My guest today has spent her career at the intersection of marketing, media, education, and ideas. Ruth Mortimer is the Global President at Advertising Week, where she helps shape the brand's thought leadership agenda and education business. Now, before Advertising Week, Ruth held leadership roles at Econsultancy, the Festival of Marketing, and Centaur Marketing. She's also a former editor of Marketing Week, an award-winning business columnist and has spent years creating conversations with some of the most interesting voices in business and culture. My favorite part of Ruth's background may have absolutely nothing to do with marketing. Before all this, she was an archaeologist, specializing in the Middle East and working in Southeast Turkey. We're going to talk about marketing, but with someone who literally used to dig for a living, I'm pretty sure we can go a little deeper than the usual marketing conversation.

My guest today is Sarah Evans, partner and head of PR at Zen Media. Sarah is a true pioneer in digital communications, having helped create the hashtag JournChat in 2008, founded Sevans PR, and spent the last two decades helping brands see around the corner before the rest of the market catches up. Today she leads Zen Media's PR practice, an AI visibility strategy, and was named one of Propel's top 100 PR tech leaders worldwide in 2025.

My guest today is Nicole Rex, Vice President of Global Marketing Campaigns and Core Content at Dell Technologies. A journalist by training and a marketer by trade, Nicole has spent more than 25 years demonstrating that great storytelling isn't just creative, it's a business advantage. During her almost 20 years at Dell, she has led the company's internal creative agency, run experiential marketing, and held roles across social impact, content marketing, brand and creative development. Today, she sits at the intersection of global campaigns, brand and creative, focused on one very big question: How do you scale world-class content without losing the craft and quality?