In this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Adam Shpiro, Chief Marketing Officer at SBS, about helping reposition a legacy fintech company for a more modern cloud and AI-driven future. With a background spanning engineering, consulting, operations, venture investing, banking, and go-to-market leadership, Adam brings a broad operator’s view to how marketing can drive growth inside a complex global business.

What the Conversation Covers
• Adam’s unconventional path from engineering and consulting into business leadership, fintech, and eventually marketing
• What changed when he moved from leading global go-to-market into the CMO role, and how that shaped his view of marketing as a growth engine
• How SBS is working to reposition itself from a legacy core banking provider into a more modern cloud and AI-focused platform company
• Why Adam believes marketing, product, and sales must operate as one connected go-to-market system
• How he thinks about prioritization, AI adoption, agency partnerships, and building a marketing team that can move with both quality and speed

Guest Bio
Adam Shpiro is Chief Marketing Officer at SBS, a global financial technology company providing software platforms for banks, lenders, and payment systems worldwide. Before stepping into the CMO role, he led global go-to-market efforts at SBS and built a career across engineering, consulting, operations, venture capital, banking, and fintech, giving him a distinctive commercial and operator-focused perspective on marketing leadership.

About the Podcast
CMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.

In this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Marie Lee, Chief Marketing Officer of Princess Cruises, about leading marketing during a period of brand evolution, leadership change, and shifting traveler expectations. Drawing on a long career across Disney and travel marketing, Marie shares how she balances short-term demand with long-term brand building in one of the world’s most recognized cruise brands.

What the Conversation Covers
• Marie’s career path across sales, strategy, guest experience, direct marketing, and media leadership, and how those roles shaped her approach as a CMO
• What it took to leave Disney after a long tenure and step into a growth opportunity at Princess Cruises during a major transformation
• How Princess is balancing the heritage of The Love Boat with a more modern, premium, experience-led brand story
• Why video, strong creative, and a balanced brand-and-performance media strategy are central to driving both demand and long-term loyalty
• How Marie thinks about agency partnerships, team leadership, AI, and building marketing around the guest experience from first impression to onboard delivery

Guest Bio
Marie Lee is Chief Marketing Officer at Princess Cruises, where she leads the brand’s marketing strategy during a period of new leadership, new ships, and brand evolution. Before joining Princess, she spent most of her career at Disney Experiences in a range of roles spanning sales, international marketing, merchandise strategy, guest experience, direct marketing, media, and customer engagement.

About the Podcast
CMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.

In this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Esi Eggleston Bracey, former Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at Unilever, about the mindset, leadership principles, and brand-building lessons behind a global marketing career. Drawing on leadership roles across Procter & Gamble, Coty, and Unilever, Esi shares how curiosity, courage, and a deep understanding of people shaped her approach to growth at every stage.

What the Conversation Covers
• Esi’s path from an early interest in math and science into a career in brand building, growth, and general management
• The career moments that shaped her perspective, from launching new products at Procter & Gamble to leading global businesses across markets and cultures
• Why she sees marketing as the work of understanding people, creating desire, and turning that demand into sustainable business growth
• The leadership principles that have guided her career, including embracing discomfort, protecting energy, and saying yes to growth opportunities even when they feel scary
• How she thinks about the future role of agencies, creativity, AI, and what brands need most to drive sustained growth

Guest Bio
Esi Eggleston Bracey is a longtime growth and marketing executive with leadership experience across Procter & Gamble, Coty, and Unilever, where she most recently served as Chief Growth and Marketing Officer. Over the course of her career, she has helped shape global brands, drive business transformation, and lead growth strategies grounded in consumer insight, creativity, and commercial impact.

About the Podcast
CMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners