Karen Blackett is one of the most respected leaders in marketing and media. As the former UK President of WPP and former CEO of GroupM UK, she has led through industry change, crisis and growth at the highest level.

In this marketing leadership masterclass, Karen shares the principles that have shaped her career: why great teams need diverse perspectives and healthy tension; why leaders must say what they really think; and how to make better decisions without mistaking consensus for alignment.

She reflects on leading GroupM UK through COVID, how she approaches recruitment, and the small meeting habit that helps ensure the most important conversations actually happen. Karen also discusses the evolving client-agency relationship, what the future holds for the creative industry, and the challenge of rebranding Barbados.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:51 - Karen’s new leadership podcast
02:03 - The surprising thing about leadership
05:25 - Why we need to change our view of leadership
05:58 - The standout leaders from Karen’s career
11:20 - Karen’s leadership lessons from running WPP
15:55 - The importance of diverse perspectives
17:34 - The importance of saying what you really think
20:28 - How to approach decision making
22:53 - How to approach recruitment
25:34 - Why you need healthy tension in a team
28:46 - Should we banish the voice note?
30:32 - Karen’s big covid turnaround story
34:57 - Why Karen never does “AOB” at the end of meetings
37:25 - The positive side of COVID for Jon
40:06 - How to foster a strong client agency relationship
44:59 - The future of the creative industry
48:42 - Rebranding Barbados
50:51 - What is the freedom of the city
51:48 - The best advice Karen has ever received

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Thank you to our sponsors System1 and HubSpot

Download System1's creator effectiveness report here:
https://system1group.com/the-creator-effectiveness-playbook

Find about more about HubSpot's AEO product here:
https://www.hubspot.com/products/aeo

What happens when a CMO brings the discipline of P&G, private equity and fintech together?

Vineet Mehra, CMO of Chime, joins Jon to explain how the challenger bank has disrupted one of the most established industries in the world - and why modern marketing leaders need to become more fluent in the language of commercial value.

Vineet shares what marketers can learn from private equity, how to position investment with a CFO, and the financial metrics he watches most closely. He also unpacks the constant balancing act between long-term brand building and short-term performance: not treating them as opposing forces, but connecting both to sustainable growth. They also discuss where AI is genuinely creating return, how marketers can avoid becoming commoditised, and the skills CMOs will need as AI reshapes the profession.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:21 - Vineet’s background at P&G
04:51 - What marketers can learn from working in Private Equity
07:50 - What is Chime Bank?
09:02 - The strategies that Chime used to disrupt the banking industry
13:46 - Advice on how to position marketing to the CFO
17:00 - What financial metrics is Vineet most focused on?
19:40 - How Vineet combines long term and short term marketing
23:59 - Are we in a golden age for marketing?
26:59 - How Vineet is getting the biggest return on his AI investment
31:13 - How to stop AI commoditising marketers
36:09 - What skills will a CMO need in an AI-first future
38:58 - How to see AI as an opportunity not a threat
40:13 - Why Vineet is on the Effie’s board
42:15 - Why Vineet spends time building his personal brand on LinkedIn
46:00 - What’s the bst advice Vineet has ever received?

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Thank you to our sponsors System1 and HubSpot

Download System1's creator effectiveness report here:
https://system1group.com/the-creator-effectiveness-playbook

Find about more about HubSpot's AEO product here:
https://www.hubspot.com/products/aeo

AI is rapidly changing how people search, shop and discover new brands. So what does that mean for marketers?

Sophie Neary has spent the past few years inside Google, giving her a front-row seat to some of the biggest shifts in consumer behaviour and advertising. In this episode, she joins Jon to explore what she's learned, the assumptions marketers still get wrong about Google, and the surprising ways consumers are already using AI.

They discuss how brands can show up in AI-powered search, the evolving relationship between advertisers and creators, how to make the most of the crucial golden quarter, and what AI commerce could mean for the future of shopping.

Plus, as AI becomes capable of doing more of the work, Sophie and Jon ask a bigger question: which uniquely human skills will become even more valuable to marketers?

This episode is an advertisement feature brought to you by Google.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:12 - What has Sophie learned in the past few years at Google?
03:07 - CMO lessons from being inside Google
05:11 - What assumption marketers have about Google would Sophie challenge
08:07 - A surprising consumer pattern with AI
11:17 - How brands can show up in AI searches
18:56 - How advertisers can collaborate with creators?
22:09 - How Sophie uses her Google Fitbit Air
24:18 - How to optimise the golden quarter
28:08 - How important will AI commerce be in the future?
30:36 - get them to check this section
34:01 - The most uncensored question for Sophie Neary
37:44 - Where will human skills count in the age of AI?
45:26 - The best advice Sophie has ever been given

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Thank you to our sponsors System1 and HubSpot

Download System1's creator effectiveness report here:
https://system1group.com/the-creator-effectiveness-playbook

Find about more about HubSpot's AEO product here:
https://www.hubspot.com/products/aeo