Lessons from a 5x Exit CMO: Goals, ROI & the First 90 Days with Scott Todaro

Episode notes

#5 - Most CMOs take the job before they’ve asked the hard questions. Scott Todaro has spent 30 years asking them — and it’s led to five successful exits, four acquisitions, and one IPO. In this episode, Mandy Hornaday sits down with Scott Todaro — author of The Next CMO and one of the most respected voices in marketing leadership — to unpack the frameworks, mindsets, and hard-won lessons behind his extraordinary career. From how he evaluates companies before saying yes, to his first 90 days playbook, to why only 39.5% of CMOs build their marketing goals off company goals — this conversation is packed with the operator-level thinking that separates great CMOs from those who don’t make it past 18 months. If you want to lead like a business executive rather than a marketing executor, start here.