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

In this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Eric Gillin, Chief Brand Officer of Trusted Media Brands, about leading through one of the most complex moments in media. With a background spanning editorial, product, and sales, Eric shares how he is helping iconic brands reconnect with audiences by focusing less on scale for its own sake and more on brand clarity, community, and meaningful engagement.

What the Conversation Covers
• Eric’s career path across writing, editing, product leadership, and ad sales, and how those chapters shaped his approach to brand leadership
• Why he believes media companies can no longer rely on old traffic and distribution models in a world shaped by platform shifts and AI
• How Trusted Media Brands is refocusing around brand identity, audience connection, and community-led growth across titles like Reader’s Digest and Taste of Home
• What changes when the goal shifts from chasing broad reach to building deeper audience relationships and fandom
• How Eric thinks about leadership, AI, agency relationships, and making strategic decisions in a market with no fixed playbook

Guest Bio
Eric Gillin is Chief Brand Officer at Trusted Media Brands, where he helps lead brand strategy across a portfolio that includes Reader’s Digest, Taste of Home, Family Handyman, and other well-known media properties. His career has spanned editorial, product, and revenue leadership, giving him a broad perspective on content creation, audience development, business strategy, and what it takes to build durable brands in a changing media environment.

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.