George Corbin is a Board Director at Edgewell Personal Care and is the COO of Onriva, a next-generation, AI-powered, travel marketplace.
In this episode, George and I talk about his career path, which includes consulting through the boom and bust of the internet, becoming Chief Digital Officer at Marriott, leading their digital transformation, and making his way to a position on Edgewell’s board.
Throughout our conversation, we discuss lessons learned through leading digital transformation, what that means for the marketing function, and marketers should think about leading a digital transformation. George says, “The best marketers are transformation agents,” and sometimes that means getting really good at being insightful with your customers and looking at the data.
Listen in to hear more about digital transformations and the hot topics board members are currently discussing.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Getting digital transformation right
- Making your company a growth engine
- Opportunities for marketers on a board
Key Highlights:
- [02:00] George’s wrestling match with an octopus
- [04:10] George’s start in marketing
- [10:34] Getting digital transformation right
- [18:57] Becoming a board director
- [21:48] Opportunities for marketers at the board level
- [26:11] Shifting to a mind of governance
- [31:20] “Hot or not”—what boards are talking about
- [38:55] George’s advice for CMOs
- [45:26] An experience that defines George, makes him who he is today
- [48:33] George’s advice to his younger self
- [50:14] What marketers should be learning more about
- [52:07] The brands and organizations George follows
- [55:42] The biggest threat or opportunity for marketers
Resources Mentioned:
- George Corbin
- Edgewell Personal Care
- Onriva
- Marriott
- Mars
- Kim Whitler on Marketing Today discussing marketers on boards
- Kim’s research: When and how Board Members with Marketing Experience Facilitate Firm Growth, by Kimberly A. Whitler, Ryan Krause, Donald R. Lehmann
- Stoicism (Wikipedia)
- Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holliday
- Brands George mentions: Alibaba, Shopify, Onriva
- Alibaba’s Erica Chan on Marketing Today
- Is Apple building an advertising platform? (9to5mac.com)
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- George’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgecorbin/
- George’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeorgeCorbin1
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Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.