CMO Spotlight | Tal Cohen - Stratasys
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Tal Cohen, Chief Marketing Officer for Stratasys. In the interview, Cohen shares how taking risks has benefited him in his career, and the Pink Floyd lyrics from “Breathe” inspire him personally and professionally.
“You can really be ahead of the competition if you dive deeply into the data.”
WATCH THE INTERVIEW + READ THE RECAP BELOW
Q1 | Tell us about your career path.
Cohen has worked in Digital Marketing for 25 years. In 1999, he founded his first startup which sold to Vivendi Universal Games a year and a half later. He joined McKinsey & Company and then joined and helped build a Fintech company out of Israel.
After his time there, he co-founded a startup in the mobile phone industry. Cohen eventually started working in blockchain and moved to America to work for Lennar Homes. He then was recruited by the CEO of Stratasys to assist with the infrastructure of their digital transformation.
Q2| What advice would you give to other marketers?
“Always ask questions and never take [anything] for granted.”
Cohen is a data driven marketing leader and he advises other marketers to use data to ask questions. With the help of data, Cohen has guided companies to reach immense success.
Q3| What is your superpower?
“I'm very good at looking at a scenario and understanding the business,” said Cohen. He added that his strength is asking the right questions in order to see if things are worth trying. In fact, he has no shortage of questions to discover a team member or client’s objective.
Q4 | How do you mentor your team?
Cohen encourages his team members to act boldly and take risks. His mindset is, “if we're not going to take a risk on anything we do, we're not going to move faster.” Cohen’s management style encourages his team to “get out of their comfort zone and build new things.”
Q5 | Is there a quote that inspires you?
Cohen quoted the song “Breathe” by the band Pink Floyd. “All you touch and all you see is all that you will ever be.” He explained that the quote influences his life and career. He explained, “If you explore in life, check things out, test out new hobbies, and meet new people…you'll grow. Without growth I think life is super boring.”
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 Tal Cohen, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.
Watch the full interview to the right.
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