Building Better CMOs

The CMO as a Strategic Thought Partner | Chris Milone, A Place For Mom

Full transcript

Helping families navigate senior care at A Place for Mom requires constant cross-functional alignment. For marketing veteran Chris Milone, leadership extends far beyond his own department. "You have to be a thought partner to the CEO," says the CMO.

That philosophy was forged the hard way during his first stint as a chief marketer, when his boss pulled him aside to express disappointment.

"He said, 'When I hired you, I didn't hire someone to run the marketing department. That's table stakes, that's a given,'" Chris says. "'I barely hear from you in our leadership meetings. I don't know if you even care about what's going on in the rest of the company.'"

Today on Building Better CMOs, Chris and Greg talk about working with CEOs who used to be the CMO; why AI makes everyone think they’re an expert; and how to balance what your customer wants with what the business needs. Plus: Why new executives have to "talk to every single person in their organization."
Chris' LinkedIn
Greg's LinkedIn

This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate and review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

2026-06-24 00:00