CMO Spotlight | Ami Badani - Arm
The CMO Spotlight is a chance to get an inside look into the minds and journeys of high-performing marketing leaders.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Ami Badani, the Chief Marketing Officer at Arm, to talk about the power of relationship building, Louis Vuitton’s powerful impact as a brand, and more.
WATCH + READ THE RECAP BELOW (SCROLL TO THE END FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW)
Q1 | What advice would you give to marketers?
Badani explained that, as a marketing professional, you won’t know everything. It’s okay to be vulnerable, admit that you do not know something, and ask questions.
“There's going to be a lot of times in your career where you just won't have the right answers, you haven't spent a lot of time in that space, or it's a completely different experience than what you've been used to.” In those instances, Badani advised that “It's okay to raise your hand and say, ‘I don't know,’ and together think about how you can solve a problem.”
Badani also shared that it is important to “build bridges versus burn bridges” because relationships take you to the next level.
Q2 | What is your superpower?
Badani described one of her superpowers as “technical curiosity.”
“I'm always asking the ‘why’ and the ‘how,’ and trying to get into the technical weeds. I’m then able to elevate that into a story.”
Her other superpower is building and nurturing relationships. She enjoys the fact that building relationships comes naturally to her.
Q3 | What values are important to you?
Badani values empathy and gratitude in others. Having both characteristics helps foster an environment where people are comfortable sharing their truth and ideas.
She also values leaders who can help shape the culture of an organization and foster “low drama and high functioning” environments.
Q4 | Tell us about an impactful campaign.
During her time at Nvidia, a computer manufacturing company, Badani fell in love with their philosophy to use their ecosystem to their advantage. She really appreciated that Nvidia did not do much direct marketing because their partners were such strong advocates for the company.
Badani shared that her experience at Nvidia was really powerful because she brought that knowledge to Arm to help cultivate a similar environment where their partners were advocates of Arm.
Q5 | What brand do you admire?
Badani admires Apple’s brand for its consistency and their remarkable evolution. When it comes to Apple, customers know exactly what they’re going to get, and that is refreshing.
She also loves Louis Vuitton for their position as a luxury brand that has the ability to elevate anything in association with them.
For more marketing leadership advice and a view into the mindset of marketing executives in various industries, be sure to watch the full interview with Ami Badani, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.