Building a global and sustainable marketing org | Cian Weeresinghe (Wise, Secret Escapes)

Cian is the Chief Marketing Officer at Wise, a global fintech company which solves for international money challenges for consumers and businesses. Cian was the Chief Customer Officer at Secret Escapes, a members-only travel and experiences company, working across brand, performance marketing, CRM, data science, and product. He's also spent time at The Guardian, ASOS, eBay, Lloyds Bank, and Capital One.  

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We talk about: 

• Building regional marketing teams 
• The role of measurement in decision-making, and the relationship between marketing and finance
• Leaning into customer experiences to differentiate from a crowded space    
• Why it's not advisable to apply universal playbooks 

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Where to find Cian: 

Cian's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cianw/

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Where to find Patrick: 

Patrick's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcmoran/

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(02:22) Introduction to Wise 

(05:51) Foundations on consumer marketing and building out B2B and enterrprise marketing 

(08:08) State of the European macro environment and the implications to Wise

(10:17) Product led growth and developing a solid product experience to drive more acquisition  

(13:19) Ensuring marketing is a growth lever and drives causal impact 

(15:48) Using a predictable LTV and fully loading costs within a 12 month payback period. Establishing profitable cohorts   

(21:48) Building SEO at scale to drive organic acquisition and an owned sophisticated affiliate network to contribute to SEO traffic  (wow)  

(24:19 ) Leaning in on content for B2B marketing 

(25:05) Regional and international organizational models 

(29:54) Lifecycle marketing and CRM operations 

(32:00) The CMO/CFO relationship and developing the conviction and trust around governing spend 

(35:40) Establishing the brand mostly against banks 

(40:53) Not believing in universal playbooks which is broken with new constraints. Focusing on first principles   

(44:08) Execution is not the only thing that matters

(47:27) Sustained CMO leadership 

(50:26) Where to find Cian!