The word “vanguard,” is defined as “a group of people leading the way in new development or ideas.” Marketing Vanguard: the podcast, spotlights the people who are driving the industry forward. It will feature valuable, must-listen nuggets of marketing-leadership wisdom, humility, stories, strategic insights, and growth opportunities in an era of ever more complex industry pressures and realities. Together we’ll dive into what's driving the decision-makers of today to move the needle of some of…
The best journeys have the most unexpected turns. That’s Sam Allen’s story, and he’s sharing it in this episode of Marketing Vanguard. Tune in as host Jenny Rooney welcomes Sam, CEO of Iterable, to explore how AI is reshaping marketing technology, the future of the CMO role, and why strategic focus beats market-wide expansion for high-growth companies navigating unprecedented transformation. Sam…
Marketing Vanguard continues live from Cannes as Jenny Rooney hosts a special Adweek House conversation with Mainardo de Nardis , Global President and COO of Edelman and Rani Al Hajji , Chief Growth and Transformation Officer, Personal Care at Unilever. This conversation cuts straight into one of marketing’s biggest modern problems: everyone has infinite opportunities, infinite channels and…
Are marketers making a fatal mistake by treating AI as just a cost-cutting tool? The Marketing Vanguard Cannes series continues as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Jonathan Adashek, SVP, Marketing and Communications at IBM, to unpack how marketers should be treating AI, today. He breaks down how at IBM, it is becoming a way to rethink processes and drive measurable growth, their “client zero”…
Marketing Vanguard continues live from Cannes. Host Jenny Rooney sits down with Mark Kirkham, Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo Beverages US, to break down why Cannes only works when CMOs show up with clear intention. Mark explains how AI has moved from tech hype to operational reality, why disruption cycles collapsed from five years to five months, and why honest peer debate is the only way…
The Marketing Vanguard Cannes series continues as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Lara Balazs , Chief Marketing Officer and EVP of Global Marketing at Adobe. In this episode, Lara breaks down why enterprise AI adoption is shifting toward tangible workflow wins. She highlights how heavyweights like the NFL, Disney and L’Oréal deploy Adobe Firefly to automate manual asset scaling while protecting…
Marketing Vanguard continues its Cannes 2026 series as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Todd Kaplan , Chief Marketing Officer of North America at Kraft Heinz. In this conversation, Todd makes a sharp case for something the industry has almost talked itself out of - marketing is supposed to be fun. He shares why the best work often comes when teams are loose, curious and plugged into culture, not…
The Cannes 2026 series of Marketing Vanguard continues as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Uzma Rawn Dowler, CMO & SVP, Global Corporate Partnerships at Major League Baseball. In this conversation, Uzma shares why fandom is not a behavior. It is identity. And why, for MLB, that changes the entire marketing equation. She gets into how baseball’s eight-month season creates a daily storytelling…
Marketing Vanguard continues its Cannes 2026 series as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Doug Sweeny, CMO of ŌURA. In this conversation, Doug shares how ŌURA has evolved from a sleep-focused wearable into a broader health and readiness platform, helping people understand what is happening inside their bodies before it shows up in their day. He gets into how ŌURA’s mission-led positioning, hardware…
If you think the story behind AI is a productivity-led one, you’re wrong. Our series from Cannes 2026 continues as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Rafa Flores, Chief Product and Growth Officer at Treasure AI. In this one, Rafa cuts through the noise around AI adoption and AI-selling and gets into the real issue CMOs are facing: teams are not just unsure about AI; they are scared of what it could…
Marketing Vanguard continues its Cannes 2026 series as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Jill Kramer, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mastercard. In this conversation, Jill reveals the false binaries marketing keeps boxing itself into: AI vs. creativity, brand vs. performance, strategy vs. execution, “what’s in” vs. what’s "dead." Her point is clear: the strongest marketing does not…
The “Marketing Vanguard at Cannes” series continues as host Jenny Rooney sits down with Julia Goldin, Chief Marketing and Product Officer at LEGO. In this conversation, Julia shares how LEGO has grown from a children’s toy company into a global experience brand loved by kids, teens and adults, without losing the creative system that made it iconic in the first place. She offers insights into the…