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 Kevin Smith, the CMO of Rollins, Inc to talk about how he transitioned early in his career from sales to marketing and how he tries to align himself with the values of his organization.

WATCH + READ THE RECAP BELOW

Q1 | Tell us about your career path.

Kevin Smith started in sales, similar to many young professionals fresh out of college.

He then transitioned to a marketing role within the same company. His experience in marketing led him to hold positions for The NFL, Campbell’s, Marriott, and The Coca-Cola Company. He credits his time at Campbell for accelerating his growth in brand management. After his time at Coca- Cola, he was recruited to work for a startup. A recruiter eventually sought him out for a role at Rollins - an industry that did not initially interest him. He was proven wrong when he took the chance and has now worked at Rollins for 19 years where he provides guidance and direction to the brands Rollins owns.

Q2 | What advice would you give to other marketing professionals?

“Be willing to learn about your new company and how they make money,” he started. “You need to do that every time. Learn as much as you can.”

He then encouraged leaders to live out their company’s values on a daily basis.

Q3 | What is your superpower?

He explained that he oversees many teams across different departments and needs to understand how each role works. His collaboration skills and relationship building with his team helps this need by allowing him to see the bigger picture and the intimate details that shape it.

Q4 | Where do you find inspiration?

“People often find inspiration from each other.”

Smith shared that he seeks inspiration from the people around him by investing time into his team to learn their interests. To integrate this mentality into the organization and help the culture, he hands out playing cards of each team member with a picture and some personal information on the back.

Q5 | What values are important to you as a leader?

Smith referenced three values he lives by:

1. Live the values.

2. Always believe there's a way to do something.

3. Make the people around you better.

Q6 | What is your biggest challenge?

Smith, like many other leaders, referenced that finding and maintaining talent is a challenge. While he is impressed that the people he has trained have gone on to work at established companies like Adobe and Amazon, it is difficult to find talent to replace them.

Another challenge Smith faces as a leader is learning how to do everything differently in a post-Covid world.

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 Kevin Smith, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.

Watch the full interview to the right.