CMO Spotlight | David Partain - FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds

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 David Partain, the SVP & Global CMO of FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds to discuss big career wins and losses, lessons learned, and more.

WATCH + READ THE RECAP BELOW

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Q1 | Is there any advice you’d like to share?

Partain advises marketers to actually experience other sides of their organization, particularly sales. He explained that exposure to sales can help you become a better marketer because you learn so much about consumer preferences and internal operations.

Q2 | What is your superpower?

Partain’s superpower is extreme concentration. He is able to get into a “deep work” flow state that allows him to be fully engrossed and focused on his tasks.

Q3 | What values are most important to you?

“The biggest obstacle to change is a lack of trust.”

Partain values empathy as well as integrity. He stated, “Integrity is when no one's looking…how do you act? My team knows that when I say something to them, it's the truth. If you don't [tell the truth], they will not respect you and they can't trust you.”

He also values staying steadfast in a rapidly changing environment. “I try my best to not get too upset or too down because business goes up and down. The stock market, especially in this business, is everywhere. Being able to hold and be steadfast during times like that really pays dividends with your team.”

Q4 | Tell us about an unsuccessful experience and what you learned.

Earlier in his career, Partain worked for an oil and gas company based in Texas with his brother. His team was drilling for oil and successfully found some. Unfortunately, there were complications with the pressure of the pipe so they had to cap the pipe. His team was under the impression that they would be able to go back to that same spot and find the oil again, but, to their dismay, they weren’t able to find the oil in that area.

Partain learned a lot about planning and jumping on opportunities from that situation. “What that says to me is that we never planned for the minimum scenario. Had we planned for pressure and a great outcome, we would have been sitting pretty. When you find something, you have to take advantage of it now.”

Q5 | What brand do you admire?

Partain pointed out that Coke has always been a staple brand.

“Growing up as a kid, you didn’t say, ‘Do you want a soda or a pop?’ You said, ‘Do you want a Coke.” The “generic trademark” phenomenon, when a brand name becomes interchangeable with the actual name of the product is something that Partain really appreciates because it shows the impact of strong marketing and branding.

He has also seen some examples of this within his industry, specifically with Blackrock. “BlackRock with iShares is one of those brands that do a phenomenal job of making it almost synonymous with exchange-traded funds. I really appreciate them.”

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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 David Partain, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW TO THE RIGHT.