Drew Neisser

Penguin-in-Chief

There are only two people in the world who have interviewed more CMOs. If you don’t know who they are, ping me. These interviews are my manna. They’ve fueled two books, over 400 podcast episodes, and 500+ articles. They give me a vast reservoir of case histories I draw upon when coaching CMOs. More importantly, they’ve connected me with inspired marketers, many of whom I call friends, and all of whom have taught me what I know about marketing greatness, empathetic leadership, and overcoming challenges.

Back in 2007, Pete Krainik, a two-time client of Renegade’s (the agency I ran for 30 years), told me he was starting a CMO community and asked if we could help. Of course, we said “yes,” designing The CMO Club logo and building their first website. Over the years, I stayed actively involved in the club, driving the B2B curriculum at their summits and writing about various club members for FastCompany, MediaPost, Social Media Today, and AdAge.

On March 2nd, 2020, Pete sold the club to Salesforce, and after the pandemic kicked into high gear that month, I foresaw both a problem and an opportunity. The problem was that B2B CMOs faced unprecedented challenges and that Salesforce’s CMO Club couldn’t limit its focus to the pressing needs of B2B CMOs. The opportunity was to create a virtual-first community that focused solely on B2B. On April 1st, 2020, about 15 B2B CMOs and I huddled for the first time. By October 1st, 2020, we’d met 55 times and were ready to turn on the paywall thanks to the guidance of those founding Huddlers.

Since then, CMO Huddles has been a joy ride. Our community of over 400 infinitely curious B2B marketing leaders come together every month to share, care, and dare each other to greatness. I have the privilege of moderating these conversations, ensuring that Huddlers share experiences, not opinions, in a safe setting and that the learning never stops for all involved. CMO Huddles also allowed me to close Renegade as an agency and relaunch it as a media brand (podcast, blog, newsletter, eBooks) that supports our community.

When I’m not huddling with CMOs, I’m spending time with my wife, our French Bulldog Louie, and our two grown-up kids in New York City, or reading more about my hero Ben Franklin or supporting my beloved alma mater Duke University. I’m also on the board of the Urban Green Council and delighted to be among LinkedIn’s Top Voices. If you’re a senior B2B marketer and we’re not yet connected, I have to ask, why not?