James Coughlan knows that the stakes are high when marketing in a private equity environment.

As CMO of Astrak, he shares lessons from navigating brand strategy, commercial pressure, and leadership accountability, all at once.

📌 What you’ll learn:

– The mindset that helps CMOs stay relevant

– What founders expect in PE environments

– Career advice James would give — and take back

🕒 Timestamps:

00:00 Career story

03:45 Commercial leadership

06:20 Personal development & missteps

10:50 Brand building in high-stakes environments

Dirtea didn’t just grow, it educated, impacted and scaled with precision.

Jessica Salmanpour, now CEO, shares the story of how Dirtea became the UK’s No.1 mushroom tea brand. She unpacks the critical decisions that shaped their growth — from rethinking team structure to anchoring brand around education and customer outcomes.

📌 You’ll learn:

– Why early team structures don’t scale

– How to turn wellness education into brand power

– How Jessica balanced operations, marketing, and growth as CEO

🕒 Timestamps:

00:00 - 01:50 Introduction to Dirty's Success
01:50 - 03:02 Core Values Driving Growth
03:02 - 04:22 Personal Journey into Mushrooms
04:22 - 05:59 Customer Impact Stories
05:59 - 07:58 Importance of Product Integrity
07:58 - 09:44 Social Media's Role in Education
09:44 - 11:01 Navigating Competition in the Market
11:01 - 12:40 Challenges of Scaling the Business
12:40 - 14:05 Building Strong Supplier Relationships
14:05 - 15:25 Future Plans for Expansion

A CMO who drives growth is more than a marketing expert, they’re a strategic partner in scale.

In this episode, Jack Johnson, Ellie Farrugia, and Sarah Balch walk through how to identify, assess, and hire senior marketing talent who create lasting impact across the company. Whether you're hiring now or preparing for growth, this is essential listening.

📌 What you’ll learn:

The traits of CMOs who grow companies, not just channels

The interview questions that reveal real capability

The cost of hiring too late — or the wrong person

Lessons from real-world success and missteps

🕒 Timestamps:

00:00 Backgrounds

03:10 What defines a growth-driving CMO

06:40 Hiring frameworks

12:50 Red flags and breakthroughs

🔗 Resources:

Kinsman & Co – https://shorturl.at/h0mnT

Blu Digital – https://shorturl.at/u45kT

🛠️ Tools:

Opus – https://www.opus.pro/?via=e53fa5

Community – https://shorturl.at/RAbNc

How do you go from Absolut Vodka to Chief Brand Officer at the BBC?

Charl Bassil reveals the strategy that helped him build trust, align messaging, and unify content inside one of the world’s most legacy-driven institutions.

🔥 You’ll learn:

• The consistency framework Charl brought from global brands

• His strategy leading the BBC to success

• Why message clarity beats content quantity

• The mindset shift that positioned him for brand leadership

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 - 00:05 Intro to Brand Awareness
00:05 - 00:11 Corporate Investment in Social Media
00:11 - 00:24 Imagining a New BBC Marketing Plan
00:24 - 00:36 Guest Introduction and Background
00:36 - 01:00 Journey from Engineering to Marketing
01:00 - 01:13 The Importance of Data in Marketing
01:13 - 01:20 Transitioning to Business Leadership
01:20 - 01:35 Experience at Procter & Gamble
01:35 - 02:06 Consulting Career and Lessons Learned
02:06 - 02:19 Moving to the BBC and Its Purpose
02:19 - 02:40 The BBC's Public Service Values
02:40 - 03:00 Competing with Modern Media Platforms
03:00 - 03:15 Understanding Brand Distinctiveness
03:15 - 03:40 Engaging Younger Audiences
03:40 - 04:02 Measuring Brand Awareness Effectively
04:02 - 04:20 Challenges of Public Funding
04:20 - 04:40 Future Marketing Strategies at the BBC
04:40 - 05:05 Final Thoughts on Marketing and Culture

🔗 Connect with the team:

• Kinsman & Co (strategy, content, ads): https://shorturl.at/h0mmT

• Blu Digital (marketing recruitment): https://shorturl.at/udSKf

• Ellie Farrugia: https://shorturl.at/BiBxz

• Jack Johnson: https://shorturl.at/8egyk

• Sarah Balch: https://shorturl.at/rI5tP

🚀 Recommended tools to grow:

• Repurpose with Opus: https://www.opus.pro/?via=e531a5

• Join our marketing community: https://shorturl.at/BAI0w

Founder of This Is Silk and ex-criminal barrister, Sonal Keay, dives into how she built and scaled a revolutionary skincare brand using unique silk technology and the challenges she faced as a first-time founder in her first 12 months of business.

Our hosts, Jack, Ellie and Sarah dig deeper into Sonal's founder story and how This Is Silk truly came about, with her background being in law.

Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Sign up to receive regular updates on the latest digital news and insights:

www.digitalcheesecake.com

Welcome back to the Digital Cheesecake Podcast. In this episode, Jack, Sarah & Ellie discuss why people may feel frustrated at work. Is it because they feel undervalued? Is it because they want a promotion? Or is there a problem with the way you're managing the team?

Don't miss out. It's all discussed in this episode...

Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Sign up to receive regular updates on the latest digital news and insights: ⁠www.digitalcheesecake.com

Should you build your marketing team in-house or rely on agencies?

Welcome back to the Digital Cheesecake Podcast. In this episode, Ellie and Jack deep-dive into one of the most debated marketing topics out there.

Whether you're a founder of a fast-growing DTC brand, a solo marketer scaling up, or just curious about how to build a lean and profitable marketing team, this episode is packed with practical advice and battle-tested insights.

Topics Covered:

• The tipping point for moving agency work in-house
• Who your first marketing hire should be (and why CRM matters more than you think)
• Why agency-trained marketers often outperform client-side hires
• The red flags that signal it's time to switch or drop your agency

• How to plan an in-house transition that doesn’t break your business

If you're considering growing your marketing team or reviewing your current setup, this one's for you.

Sign up to receive regular updates on the latest digital news and insights: www.digitalcheesecake.com

Director at Missguided. Then CCO. Then CMO - all in 10 years.

In this episode of the Digital Cheesecake Podcast, Victoria Woodman joins Jack Johnson, Sarah Balch, and Ellie Farrugia to discuss her career highlights and the challenges she's faced in achieving her role as CMO at Wourth Group.

They also talk about why contractors make sharper leaders, how choosing a founder over a product changes everything, and why ego will always be your biggest obstacle.

Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Sign up to receive regular updates on the latest digital news and insights: www.digitalcheesecake.com