The New Muscles of Leadership ft. Bloomberg, Meta, Google, and 5s Diversity Marketing Leaders

This year’s most-requested topic for the Visionaries Podcast has been “Leadership Skills for Navigating the New Business Environment.” For such an important topic, we wanted to hear from leaders who model this well: 

• Antonio Lucio, founder and principal at 5S Diversity (former CMO of Facebook, HP, and Visa) 
• Nick Drake, VP of Marketing at Google 
• Lizette Williams, Global Head of Vertical Solutions Marketing at Meta. 
• Chris Marino, Global Head of Media and Marketing Technology at Bloomberg Media 

These four Visionaries have dedicated countless hours to listening, learning, and observing the ever-changing landscape of their industry while honing the leadership skills required for these changes.

Antonio enjoyed a 40-year career in marketing before devoting 100% of his time to mentoring the next generation of marketing leaders. Nick was inspired by Antonio’s leadership skills when Antonio worked as CMO at Visa and has since become a people-centric leader himself. Lizette and Chris were among the first members of the Adweek Mentorship Exchange and had the privilege of being mentored by Antonio and Nick and remain in touch to this day. 

In this conversation, Antonio and Nick discuss the foundational principles of leadership and how the demands are changing. Lizette and Chris provide valuable perspectives from being mentored to becoming mentors themselves. Their collective insights offer a deeper understanding of new and much-needed leadership muscles, the importance of mentorship, and how confidence is a building block for greater impact and influence. 

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Transcript

[00:00:00] 

[00:00:43] Nadine Dietz: Hello, everyone . What a fantastic day. It's been a great morning for me already. I hope for the rest of you as well. I have four incredible guests with me. I'm going to have them join me in just a minute. But I also wanted to give you a couple of notes before we get started. First of all, I'm your host. [00:01:00] I'm Nadine Dietz. I'm the GM at Marketers That Matter and EVP of the parent company 24 7. We are going to be discussing today, the new muscles of leadership, and because we have 4 incredible leaders with us, 2 of which are going to be actually my co host, because they have questions for Chris and was that too.

we're going to extend the format to about 45 minutes. This topic is a big 1. It is our probably our number 1 most requested topic to dive into, which is leadership and career development.

And it's all about that today. So I have. Antonio Lucio, who is the founder and principal at 5 as diversity. Many of you know and love Antonio. He is former global CMO of Facebook, HP, Visa. We also have the fabulous Nick Drake, who is the VP of Marketing at Google.

Lizette Williams, the Global Head of Vertical Solutions Marketing at Meta. And Chris Marino, who is the Global Head of Media and Marketing Technology at Bloomberg Media. And then last but certainly not least, a big shout out to our partner, the Wall Street Journal, thanking them for [00:02:00] all of their support along the way. So with that, let's get this rolling. 

 There's Antonio. Hello. Hello, Lizette. Hello, Nick. Hello, Chris. All right. We're all here. Welcome. 

[00:02:12] Nadine Dietz: Oh, my gosh. The momentum that's built up to this session. I think we've been waiting for this for months now. , but we had to end the year with a bang and this is a big one.

, so I would love to have each of you introduce yourself before we jump into the topic. Tell us a little bit about your role today and a quick summary of the journey that led you here. Let's start 

[00:02:30] Antonio Lucio: with you. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for for being here. It's actually an honor to be here with such a.

An amazing group of, uh, of people, you know, following a 40 years, a marketing career with, uh, some of the great, uh, jobs that you described before. I've been now devoted a hundred percent of my time to the development of the next generation of marketing leaders with a special focus on, on women and, uh, and people of color, um, about 300, uh, middle [00:03:00] managers have gone through the process, uh, 18 great companies.

And part of that, I've had the privilege to have. One on one mentoring sessions with with them about 900 of that. So I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I feel very privileged to, uh, to understand some of the leadership challenges. That our next generation of leaders are facing today. 

[00:03:19] Nadine Dietz: Wonderful. Thank you. I'm grateful that you're here as well as for all of you.

Grateful that you're here. So, Nick, tell us a little bit about your journey. 

[00:03:27] Nick Drake: Well, thank you so much for having me. Um, this question just give me a moment to pause and reflect. I've just realized that in 4 days time, it's going to be my 4 year Google anniversary. They call it a Google, Google bursary, 

, so I'm a VP of global marketing at Google. I lead a team, uh, of global marketeers, uh, that support an array of products from Android to Chrome, Chromebooks, Google Play. TV, AR, VR, developer marketing, and much more. Um, but my path to becoming a CMO was actually inspired [00:04:00] by Antonio, uh, when he was CMO of Visa.

Uh, I was at his agency TVWA shy day and the impact he had as a leader inspired me to want to lead marketing teams and, and, uh, become a very people centric. leader, uh, as he is. Um, so I left Shatt to become CMO of Quicksilver. Uh, from there, I went on to, uh, be CMO of T Mobile where I was part of the management team that acquired Sprint.

Um, and we became, uh, the most valuable telco in the world. And, um, prior to all of that, um, I was a professional rugby player. So deeply unqualified to be a marketeer, a rather strange path to it, but I have to tell you, I love what I do and feel very fortunate. 

[00:04:45] Antonio Lucio: I actually beg to differ. It is a high contact sport, this art of marketing.

So you're more than let the record show that I have tried to hire. Nick several times that I [00:05:00] was never able to afford him.

[00:05:05] Nadine Dietz: Oh, wow. Amazing.

Amazing. Lizette, my dear, I'm going to ask you to share your journey, but I'm going to add one more question to that. How did you come to know Antonio along the way? Because this is not an accident that we're all here today. So. 

[00:05:24] Lizette Williams: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, meeting again. Thank you so much for being here.

Super excited to share my story and to learn from the other folks on the call. , I'm a, I'm a born and bred marketer 15 plus years on the consumer side, PepsiCo, Kimberly Clark, McDonald's. , and have been at Metta running a global organization focused on B2B marketing for for verticals for industries, which has been a phenomenal experience and really helped round out my experience on the quest to CMO.

So, which really relates to,[00:06:00] , the story of Antonio. Who, before I ever met Antonio, you can almost say I was kind of stalking him because I have followed his career for so long. I've always wanted to be a CMO. So what I would do was first person in my family to go to college. So what I would do is follow other people who had this job and see what decisions that they make.

What did they do? So I've been following him for a long time. And seeing like he's a big advocate for diversity, , after my own heart and seeing some of the decisions he was making with regards to agencies, , when he was at HP in terms of really operationalizing diversity within an organizational structure, not just making this nice to have.

, and it really resonated with me. , so I knew about Antonio for a long time before I actually met him, but was fortunate enough to be in the first class of the ad week executive mentor. program, which is when we formally met, , and began our mentorship relationship. And I [00:07:00] remember our first meeting, we were both on a stage at an ANA conference meeting in the green room beforehand.

And I just, I done, I read up on him. So I knew all types of things and decisions that he made and, you know, had all types of questions and the rest is history. I mean, I haven't been in that program. As a mentee in a long time and we continue to stay connected and he's just a great, , just a great mentor to me.

[00:07:25] Antonio Lucio: I've learned as much about you from you than, than you probably learned from me. So I am grateful for that too. 

[00:07:31] Nadine Dietz: Yes. I feel so much love in the room. Let's keep it going. Chris, tell us about your journey and how you came to know Nick. 

[00:07:38] Chris Marino: Yeah, well, first and foremost, thank you for having me. Nadine. Um, it's such a privilege to be on a call with so many people that have inspired me throughout my entire career and continue to inspire me.

Uh, and actually today was the first time I actually got the chance to meet Antonio, which was really incredible. Um, after also similarly stalking him, was that over the years and reading everything he's covered in. [00:08:00] Um, so Chris Marino, I, you know, I spent the first nine years of my career at American Express.

So Antonio, you won't ever. See me with a Visa card in my wallet. Um, but you know, American express was one of the most,

[00:08:14] Antonio Lucio: don't ask me what I'm wearing today.

[00:08:22] Chris Marino: So American express was one of the most customer centric companies that I've ever worked at. And as such, I'll be a card member for the rest of my life, but it was also one of the best marketing companies that I ever worked at. During my time there, I had the opportunity to work in a variety of different marketing discipline roles.

I did traditional marketing. I did strategy and operations. I did analytics. And then I found my passion, which was digital. And so I had the opportunity to lead social media for American express. And I also had the opportunity to lead a performance marketing. Now I've been at Bloomberg for coming up on almost three years.

We don't have as fun of a name for it as, as Nick does at Google. Uh, so I guess I'll [00:09:00] just call it a Bloomberg bursary.

[00:09:02] Nadine Dietz: Oh, we lost this Bloombergversary. I love that. That's a good one. Um, okay. Let's give Chris a second and get back on track here. 

 Nick, since you know, Chris, so well, why don't you continue telling his story? What's how do you know, Chris?

[00:09:18] Nick Drake: Well, I mean, through unity, , through the, through the mentorship program, Chris and I connected and I think Antonio said it. I mean, what, what blew me away about the program? was how much I learned from it. And, you know, this, this notion of mentorship goes both ways. , Chris is a true student of marketing.

, he's really pushing, , the boundaries , , of how you think about. Becoming a true 360 marketeer, , and, , and a real innovator. And I'm really looking forward to digging in with him, you know, how he sort of develops this growth mindset, stays abreast of new technologies. And, uh, you know, I think you'll hear from him that at Bloomberg.

He really had to [00:10:00] sell a new vision into his board, , and convince them to take a fairly substantial investment in marketing technologies that has really paid off for the business. So, uh, he's got a phenomenal story to tell. It's really exciting. 

[00:10:11] Nadine Dietz: Yeah. I can't wait for Chris to come back and join us. And I knew to pick on you to talk about Chris because you were actually his first mentor.

From the program and you two have remained very close,, ever since what is five, six years now, I think. 

[00:10:23] Nick Drake: Yeah, that's right. We still speak. I mean, it's, , this is the wonderful thing. It's not a short lived, um, you know, process you, you remain connected and, you know, I found our conversations incredibly valuable and, you know, Chris works in a completely different business to my own.

And, you know, we, we often bounce ideas or questions off each other and, uh, Huge credit to you Nadine. It's just a phenomenal program and, uh, one that I didn't know that I needed in my life, but now I couldn't do without. And, uh, I have, uh, two or three mentees that you've set me up with over the [00:11:00] years that I still talk to on a very regular basis.

And, uh, it's become a very important part of my career. So. Huge kudos to you for bringing us all this incredible platform. 

[00:11:10] Nadine Dietz: Well, and huge kudos to all of you guys for being so generous with your time, both in as a mentee and as a mentor. And now the mentees move on to be mentors to the next generation.

And it's a beautiful. Circle. So Chris, welcome back. Nick was just telling us all about you. Um, but we thought we'd give you an opportunity to finish your story. So, um, we now know how, you know, Nick, how about that? We filled in that 

[00:11:34] Chris Marino: blank. Awesome. Uh, so sorry about that. I lost the internet connection. Um, yeah, so I had the opportunity to meet Nick through the ad week executive mentor program.

Nadine, thank you so much , for organizing that. It was such a game changing experience. I. It's a lot of research in identifying a mentor that I thought made sense for me, and I was looking for someone who I thought I would connect with both personally and professionally, [00:12:00] and I came across Nick, and he is just an incredible human being, but also an incredible marketer, and I had the opportunity to, we were only meant to meet twice throughout the course of the program, and two, four years later, we are still thank Connecting.

We actually just spoke last night. And so I think that just goes to, , speak to the authenticity of what you built and this community. And so thank you so much, Nadine. Oh, gosh, my pleasure. Look, 

[00:12:27] Nadine Dietz: you know, I can't build anything if it's not filled with wonderful people that want to do things to help each other.

So thank you guys. Um, so let's let's dig into this topic because, you know, it's amazing as you're all talking. I'm thinking about the journeys we've been on together for years now. And I'm telling you, I've known you for a decade. You've been my mentor for a decade. , and we talk all the time about leadership skills, development, career building.

And so much has changed given the day and age that we're in today, but so much remains the same, like, the core principles of leadership are [00:13:00] still so important. Today is as fundamentals and pillars. , so can you share with us Antonio a little bit about the strongest elements of leadership that you practice or witnessed in your accomplished career that you still think are incredibly important 

[00:13:14] Antonio Lucio: today?

Yeah, , this thing that we call leadership, at its core. We'll always have to convey what we try to do, the important why we're trying to do it, but then translate into how we intend to implement it, and importantly, identify the who. , interestingly enough, throughout my career and my studies in leadership, most people will gravitate to clearly articulate the what and the why, because it's poetic, it's intellectually stimulating and challenging and all the things that we love as marketers.

, the two difference, the two leaders that stand the test of time, will spend equal amount of time designing how it's going to be. Implemented and [00:14:00] importantly, , identifying the who needs to get in in in the boat to actually get it. , get it done. 

[00:14:09] Nadine Dietz: Wonderful. Nick. Do you want to build on that? As you think about the leadership lessons that you've practice observe learned over the years?

[00:14:17] Nick Drake: Yeah, Antonio is just our foremost thought leader in the philosophies of marketing and I couldn't agree with him more. The way he frames how we think about building teams is truly phenomenal. , if you'll forgive me, maybe I'll get a little bit more tactical you know, what's interesting is, being at Google, we spend a lot of time talking to CMOs, , we're a provider of, , advertising platforms amongst other things.

And so there's a few themes that sort of, , come through and, , it's, , it's actually ad color coming up in a couple of weeks. And, we were thinking about what , themes or advice might be important, as we think about, that,, important gathering. And, , a headline for me that came across is to make [00:15:00] sure that we are both a student and a teacher or mentor.

And, what's interesting is. Technology has never evolved as fast as it is today and requires us to be in a constant state of learning. , I don't know that we need to become subject matter experts, but enough to be dangerous and make sensible decisions on behalf of our business. And as part of that, , build a test and learn mindset and.

And once we found new ways to improve customer journeys, scale those things really quickly. I think it's important that we are constantly curious and interested. I was listening to a podcast last night and, , the advice being given was you just can't beat a book. You have to read.

You've got to be constantly learning and find sources of new information. , we've got to be able to see the big picture through technology and data. , we have more of it than ever before and being really clear on what's going to support your business objectives and what investments you're going [00:16:00] to need to make and over what period of time is, is unbelievably important.

And then juxtapose that with the need to be a master storyteller,, talk about bringing left and right brain together. , and being able to tell a clear narrative, a vision, set a vision , and communicate a strategy. , to your business. And if you're in a global business, make sure that translates.

, and, is. , going to be implemented seamlessly around the world. , we have to be tenacious drivers of growth and be able to communicate marketing's impact to the board. And again, all roads lead back to Antonio. But, , having a front row seat to the way that he did that, , particularly at Visa was,, I've never seen a marketeer have a seat at the table and deliver such business impact in the way that he did and the way he thought about measuring that.

. And then juxtapose that to the teacher or mentor side of the equation, , I think we've got to be in a constant state of education and encouraging our own teams to be mentors, , and drive inspiration. We've got to be builders of diversity and [00:17:00] inclusion. , and I think we've got to do all of that in a way that's authentic and vulnerable.

 To earn your team's trust and to deliver true leadership. I think you've got to show up in a way today. , that is, transparent, authentic, inspiring and delivered with a level of vulnerability that, everybody can believe in the path forward. 

.

[00:17:22] Nadine Dietz: and Lizette, let's move over to you.

You know, as we think about your journey and some of the advice that you may have asked for from Antonio when you first had him as a mentor, but you've been since a mentor. For so many people across the globe and also your own team, how are things different from as you've been progressing in your journey?

Anything different that you're seeing today? Yeah, 

[00:17:44] Lizette Williams: absolutely. It's been a, it's been a tremendous journey and there's a, there's a quote that says you lift as you climb. , and so it's one that I take really seriously in terms of having been mentored, but then also giving it back. And I think when I was first meeting with Antonio, , it was [00:18:00] like the hustle, , it was like, I want to get on the next rung of the ladder.

And how do I make CMO? And what should I do for Three years. And then what's my next power move? And what do you think about this? I'm presenting a couple options to him. Like it was the hustle. It was the grind. It was like, I'm trying to get to this thing. Help me out. Like, how do I do it? Like, I want to be you.

I'll just carry your briefcase around. Like, let me know. Right. And I don't, I don't think that that's gone away. I think that. , when I think about the mentees that I have now, they still have those aspirations, but I feel like the coaching has definitely moved more into an EQ based coaching, , versus like, just the grind, like, how do I get the next wrong?

How do I get my promotion? How do, you know,, now I just had a session like two weeks ago with my ad week mentee and we talked about, , navigating a complex political situation at work. And the nuances of the politicism and I coached her through how to do some of those things that are complicated in a corporate environment and to do them gracefully, , which [00:19:00] is hard, or I think also as a woman and as a mother, a lot of my mentees want to talk about work life balance.

Like how I have an 11 and a 14 year old like people like, how are you doing this? No, really? Like, how are you doing this? Can you please tell me how you're getting up and that it to me is a little bit different than how it was earlier in my career, but it was only about the grind that only about the next wrong on the ladder.

I'm feeling like nowadays there's just much more of an interest in the emotional side. Of coaching and really balancing that with, , being aggressive with your career aspirations. 

[00:19:38] Nadine Dietz: Thank you for that was that, you know, and there's part of this, which is wondering, like, are we just in a generation? That's more brave to ask those kinds of questions.

 Or is the environment completely different? All right. And we're going to get into that a little bit more, but that's definitely a big question. How about you? Chris? What do you see? Is the difference between what you are seeking guidance from Nick versus what now you're [00:20:00] giving guidance on for your teams and your mentees.

[00:20:03] Chris Marino: Yeah, I would say 1st and foremost, what I what I really wanted to do when I 1st met Nick was, I think every mentor mentee relationship sort of goes 2 ways. Right? And so 1 of the 1st questions that I asked Nick was based on my background. Like, what value can I bring? To you, because that was really important to me, right?

Um, and what a cool opportunity to educate one of the best marketers that there is, right? And that I deeply admire. And we spent time and Nick, I remember we were talking about mid funnel marketing, right? And I took you through a social media week presentation that I gave, um, about sort of how to measure the business impact of that type of work.

So that was one piece that the second piece was really. This curiosity of how did Nick got to where he is today? Right? What decisions did he make? What risks did he take? Right? And really understanding and developing sort of a deep [00:21:00] appreciation for the journey. I would say that the 3rd thing was he had just joined Google.

And so I was really fascinated to understand what did marketing at a tech company look like? And how was he immersing himself into this this new landscape? And the last piece was we talked a lot about, this was COVID. It was peak COVID. We were all kind of transitioning from working from home.

And what I was really interested in from learning around Nick is, how was he inspiring and leading a global team in this new way of working? And what were some of the things that I could take from him and incorporate that back into how I was leading teams? And so that's what I was sort of interested in, right?

And we had incredible conversations. And when I think about How some of those things have changed today. There were a few things. I think 1, there is just a tremendous focus on purpose and ensuring that what people are doing is actually laddering back [00:22:00] to something that is bigger than just. Being a marketer, right?

And that is a constant conversation that I find myself having. And I think a really important job to be done for leaders. I would say the second is, is career development. People are really hungry to grow their careers. And we'll talk about this a little bit more later, but there is promotions, but then there's skills.

I think there's a really important difference between those two things. , and the last thing is I would just say, work life balance is a really. Big topic, right? Where you work, how you work. And so those topics tend to be really big discussion points. And I think, , one of the great things about being a mentee is you're very eager to pay it forward.

Right? So,, I remember when the ad week opportunity came up to be a mentor, I was so excited to have the opportunity. And in fact, I think I took on three because I wanted to give And so I think it's these moments that really matter and inspired you to go [00:23:00] and pay it forward. And I think that's what that's really important.

Yeah, amazing. 

[00:23:04] Nadine Dietz: Wow. Okay. So we still have more to cover. We've got about almost 20 minutes left. I'm going to pass the baton over to Antonio Nick to take it from here. Why don't we start with both of your perspectives on what has changed over the years that you've seen and what the kinds of questions you're being asked.

And then I know, Antonio, Nick, you have questions for Lisette and Chris. So, yeah, it's done here. 

[00:23:24] Antonio Lucio: can start. What I think has changed. , is the speed of change, which Nick alluded to earlier, given my, my tenure, I live through the digital transformation, the mobile transformation, and then the social media transformation, the time between each one is getting compressed.

And they're getting faster and faster and one accumulates on the other to the point that most leaders always feel that they're lacking , on all the things that they're supposed to know, or people expect them to know, uh, to actually get , their job, , their job done. The biggest, learning throughout the process is [00:24:00] that at the point of your career that we're all here.

It is no longer about the technical aspect of your craft. It is really about change management. It is about what Lisette tell in order to focus on the on the how. And the who that I was talking about, you need to understand what politics means, which is the way an organization gets things done within its culture.

It's not negative or positive. It's the way that it is. And as a leader, you need to spend as much time figuring that out that in actually doing the actual work, the concept of network and I mean, internal network, the big, strong partnership relationships that we need, you need to shape with the CFO. Or the CEO or the head of product to actually be able to get what needs to be done the right way.

And then the concept, which is difficult for some of us of assuming your power, which is the impact and the [00:25:00] influence that you have within an organization. And also the ability to being recognized for that. The fact that most of the times of leaders today have to be spent on that. Relative to the time and effort that our direct reports are spending on that level of gap, that level of teaching that level of leadership is what has changed more than ever, at least in my estimation.

Let me pass it on to you. Nick. 

[00:25:27] Nick Drake: Radically agree with everything you've said. I mean, the only, uh, only thing I would have to add is, I think being at Google and perhaps you felt this at Meta, I felt a shift in the way that people look at advertising. In other words, GDPR and regulations and perceptions are changing everywhere.

People are avoiding advertising. It's, perhaps seen as a necessary evil, but not something that people really want in their lives. It's intrusive in ways. And we're having to find new ways to engage audiences and tell stories and [00:26:00] narratives and think about new platforms as ways to communicate.

And that's a new tax from when I started my career advertising was an appointment of you I was excited about the ad breaks, Super Bowl was the sort of the epicenter of a cascade of. entertainment that we provided and now perhaps we're in interruption. So, so finding new and relevant ways to break through, I think has become increasingly important.

I think the next demand on our teams is, it's. It's 365, 24 seven, , we used to build campaign periods and now it's always on. So how do we build teams that can do that? How do you scale the production of materials sensibly without a giant cost to your business that allows you to engage, your audience communities, all year round.

And then on top of that, not only engage them, but be at the epicenter of culture in a relevant way. , and authentically [00:27:00] reaching, , those that are interested in what you have to say what you stand for going back to your earlier point on having a clearly articulated purpose, , that your consumer can buy into and I I feel a shift in all of those three things, , over the last 25 years or so that, , our brand new, , muscles and I think demands on the way that, , marketing teams need, to show up.

[00:27:25] Antonio Lucio: Excellent. So let me ask you, Liz said, uh, Nick talked about muscle coming from a rugby player. I can acknowledge the fact that he used that analogy. Uh, what new muscles have you had to flex exercise as you lead your teams through this era of constant change? 

[00:27:44] Lizette Williams: Yeah. I mean, I think you hit on a really big one, Antonio.

So there's two. One is, you know, I thought I would get to this place of leadership. I'm running an organization and I do far less marketing now versus the operationalizing of the marketing. I [00:28:00] am the voice and the mouthpiece for my organization. I represent my organization. I navigate the broader organization, like, 95 percent of my job is doing that.

Like, literally, I am the representative demonstrating value showing measurement. Understanding profitability and how it relates to my organization's work. It's a very different type of work and not one that I think I expected, but I think the other big one for me is the expectation at this level of how you have to show up from an empathetic.

Standpoint so outbound, I'm like, representing the organization navigating, but internally within my organization, I started 4 weeks after 4 weeks before the murder of George Floyd. And since the 3 and a half years, I've been in meta, it's been the murder of George Floyd, Covid, Ukraine, now Israel and Palestine, , the.

The way that you have to show up as a leader and the demonstration of empathy and the things that you have to take on are [00:29:00] far bigger than just the day to day work. , and it's, it's really stretched me in a good way in a good way. And I think it's important. , that leaders really show up as well rounded, , authentic, , and empathetic for their organizations.

But it's been very different from what I think even the way leadership was when I was first starting my career, where you weren't even expected to address some of these issues, you would say nothing, you would come to work and say nothing about it. Now the expectation is you're coming to work. Not only are you saying something, but listen, if people need to take the afternoon off, if they need to go somewhere, let them have a mental health break.

Like the expectation is. Far, far different than I think it was even 10 years ago.

[00:29:38] Nick Drake: Thank you, Lizette. Chris, Lizette has just clearly articulated a number of different things that are impacting her organization and new things that CMOs are having to think about. , I know that you've thought a lot about the skills economy and how the profile of a CMO is evolving.

What's some of the things you've been doing at Bloomberg to prepare your teams? 

[00:29:59] Chris Marino: Yeah, [00:30:00] so I think one of the really interesting things about the time we're in right now is, to the point you made earlier, Nick, about just the rise of technology, the rise of data, we're at this inflection point where, , you have the foundation that you need to measure the impact of your marketing efforts and do so.

Effectively, I think one of the big pieces that I've really been focused on and where I'm spending 80 percent of my time is education, right? How are you not only educating your senior executives about changes that are happening in the industry, but how are you also educating? Your teams. And I'll share a specific example.

Like when I first got to Bloomberg, we didn't have a more tech stack, right? And I wasn't actually asked to build one. But what I found was in order to be successful at my role, , The power of using first party data off site and the power of measuring the impact of brand and mid funnel [00:31:00] marketing was going to be critical.

And so I raised my hand and I built a business case around why we needed to make those investments. , and that I think is this great example of what the skills economy looks like. I then went out and I hired. Group of subject matter experts who knew way more than I did about the topic to sort of build organizational credibility around how other big companies were going through these changes and coming out the other end successful.

And then I really tried to embrace this idea of outside in so many times you get so caught up in the day to day of what you're doing, but, , there's incredible work that's happening within the industry. And what me and my team try and do is we spend a time outside of the building, talking to other marketers, attending other, , conferences, being a part of industry trade associations.

And it's those connections and those insights and conversations that I think extend you a lot of credibility, , at your company. And so those are some of the ways that, that [00:32:00] I've been thinking about bringing that outside in perspective, , into Bloomberg.

[00:32:04] Antonio Lucio: Lizette. One of the biggest, , issues that I'm dealing with in my, in my one-on-one mentoring session is when leaders are overwhelmed with what they, what they are seeing across the board, 360 degrees around what to do. I remember from my history days a concept that revolutions happen when the, the risk of taking the streets and picking up the moscot is lower than the risk of just staying home and doing nothing.

 That's kind of the advice you have more agency that you want. It actually is less risky to speak up and you can act a lot more than you actually give yourself credit to. What, what is the most, often asked advice from your team people? 

[00:32:50] Lizette Williams: The most often asked advice. , I think a lot of people want to understand, , my journey and how I've navigated it through an authentic lens.

And I think authenticity [00:33:00] is a key theme that's very different, , from when I started my early career. So I show up very authentically at work, but it also makes it very permissible for others. To show up in their authenticity. , and it's something I think often, especially women and people of color want to explore.

, and how did how to do that? How did I get to this place? It was very different when I started my career. I remember coming to work and trying to be the best version of a white man that I could. And it worked very poorly, did not work for me. And when I let that go, and I started showing up as me as who I am as this Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx, like, I now can focus on my job and growing the business and not putting up , and like my career took off.

And I always tell people that, emulating that authenticity and being an example for others. I think it's one of the best things you can do as a leader. And it's often something that people want to explore because I approach every day as my authentic self. And I'm very transparent about that.

And then [00:34:00] I do my job really well. And I don't have to focus on being something that I'm not. , so I think for me, that's like such a critical area. And if we want to evolve corporate cultures, We need to continue to do that as leaders and the responsibility is on us to really continue to evolve that culture.

[00:34:16] Nick Drake: Yeah, I couldn't agree more. , I think it's fascinating. Some of these themes came out. , Nadim, , commissioned an amazing piece of research on Gen Z. I think it was called co creating the future of work with Gen Z. , and if You haven't read it. You should. It's stacked full of fascinating insights. But I noticed that top two fears mentioned in here were related to job and financial security and uncertain career progression.

And Chris, I know you've really been helping your teams plan for their future. How they should think about redefining success and create opportunities along the way. You know, tell us a little bit more about how you've been doing 

[00:34:57] Chris Marino: that. Yeah, [00:35:00] absolutely. So, first off, great piece of research. I actually really enjoyed and learned a lot.

So, thank you for commissioning that, , to Nick's point, I This theme of career development has become so prominent in workplace conversations, and a lot of times people are coming and they think about career development only as promotional, right? , but I'm trying to reframe that conversation going back to this idea of the skills economy to say promotions are, are.

One indicator of success, but building the right skills and foundation is actually the thing that's going to get you promoted in the long term. So don't seek promotions, seek skills, and that is what's going to help you get to the next level. And I've been thinking a lot about how do I do that for my teams.

The first is... , we've joined a number of great associations at Bloomberg, the ANA, the MMA, right? And it gives the team the opportunity to get [00:36:00] involved in, one, attending conferences, two, join sort of cross functional industry wide initiatives, whether it be writing a white paper or being a part of the media committee.

These are really value add things that not only help them be successful. Bloomberg, but I'm a champion of people. And so I want you to be successful, whether it's at Bloomberg or elsewhere. And so it's giving you the network to actually expand beyond just your day to day. , so trade associations, the second is, , agencies and partners, right?

 I spend a lot of time bringing in agencies, , and partners that, that can educate us as things change, because as a leader, , I bring my authentic self to work every day. And I think that means that being vulnerable. As things are changing is really important. I don't have the answers, right? I want to create a safe space that allows us to get to the best answer agnostic of who actually contributes to that, right?

, and then the third thing I think is just really investing in people. I have just seen [00:37:00] when you can invest in the full person, , professionally And personally, people will run through a wall for you. And I spend a lot of time making sure my team know I am their advocate wherever they go and creating these dialogues and conversations where, Hey, maybe if there wasn't a promotional opportunity that existed at Bloomberg, maybe there is somewhere else.

Right? , and so I think that's really important to create that dialogue and be the talent agent for your team, both inside and outside of the building. 

[00:37:30] Nadine Dietz: Oh, my gosh, I want to keep talking to you guys all day long. But unfortunately, we have 3 minutes left, but this has been unbelievable. I'm going to ask each of you for your closing thoughts in just a moment with a piece of advice that you think is the best that you've heard in your career or something you could offer those who tuned in.

And thank you everyone who stayed with us for this extended session. We'll be wrapping up here in just 2 minutes before I pass it over for final thoughts. There were a couple of questions from the audience that came in. So I do want to address them. [00:38:00] Most of them related to the mentor program. Antonio, I believe you're still on the board of ad week is the mentor program is still going strong.

I believe. Right? So very much. 

[00:38:09] Antonio Lucio: So very much. So you started at Nadine and, uh, it has continued to it is indeed part of your legacy. 

[00:38:16] Nadine Dietz: Well, wonderful. So you can find that information on the ad week website, I believe, um, and happy to include a link when we put the article out from this episode. Um, and with that, let's close this out.

Antonio, any final thoughts for anyone who tuned in your favorite career tip you've ever heard and 

[00:38:35] Antonio Lucio: why? The, the, my favorite, I didn't believe it at a time, which was it actually pays to take, take risk. And the earlier in your career that you take those risks, the better is, uh, is, is going to be. And before I pass it on, I just want to say thank you, Nadine, for one more time, uh, creating a legacy defining program that, um, we, we will continue to [00:39:00] remember you forever.

Thank you. 

[00:39:03] Nick Drake: I couldn't agree more. Um, the piece of advice I I think made most impact Nadine's models, which was fundamental. And I got to that later in life. And, you know, only over the last few years have truly realized the power of mentorship and differentiated but sponsorship in people's careers. And it's because of people like Unadine that, um, these opportunities are being made more widely available.

People are beginning to understand how critical that is to have an advocate, somebody that's only 100 percent in your corner, uh, to guide your career. So like Antonio, thank you on behalf of. The entire marketing community for what you've done for all of us. It's been incredibly important and I don't think you'll ever understand the scale of your impact 

[00:39:58] Nadine Dietz: doesn't make me cry over here.[00:40:00] 

Come on. Now. 

[00:40:01] Lizette Williams: Thank you. I'm just going to say I'm just going to third that actually needing and I mentioned it earlier, but, you know, you lift as you climb, no matter what stage you are in your career. There's always something that you can give to someone else be at an intern. It doesn't it doesn't matter.

Um, you don't need to be a very senior person to invest into another person and needing a million. Thank yous for the opportunity, um, to do this because we wouldn't be sitting here. If it wasn't 

[00:40:27] Chris Marino: for you, I'm going to 4th this Nadine. So, um, you know, the best piece of advice. That I've ever received and I don't think I fully understood it at the time, but I've really come to appreciate it as I've grown in my career is, um, find the jobs that are one of one.

So whether you do a good job or a bad job, you stand out. Right? Um, and it was actually the chairman and CEO of American Express that gave me that. piece of advice. Um, and I remember being 24 at the time and not sure [00:41:00] exactly what to do with that. And I've actually made career decisions around thinking about what is something unique that I can bring to the table and how can I, you know, change the perspective of a company in doing so.

Um, and I want to close this out with just thanking you, Nadine, like, you know, as everyone has. Has mentioned the impact that you have had on the marketing community is unparalleled from CMO moves, which I still go back and listen to all of the time to what you have done at marketers that matter over the past year.

I mean, Nick alluded to it, this importance of curiosity and learning and what you've done is you've democratized access to the best. People in the industry, um, and at every level in an organization you can learn from. And I'm so grateful, um, that you've not only helped me grow so much, um, but you've actually helped my team grow.

And my team is listening to this content. My team is going to this event. And so through that, you continue to inspire [00:42:00] the next generation. And I can't thank you enough for everything you've done. Wow. 

[00:42:06] Nadine Dietz: Okay, guys, I'm gonna just go sit and cry in the corner for the rest of the day because I'm so here's the joy, you know, and again, I couldn't do this without all of you being part of this.

So it's been a huge group journey, um, and all of our beloved friends and colleagues out there as well, just wanting to help the next generation. So I thank you all. Thank you for everyone who tuned in. Thank you for all of you for being here and sharing your amazing advice.