Dionne:  Hello, and welcome to the Passle CMO Series Podcast. On this special episode, we're taking a glimpse at CMO Series Live 2026 to find out who's joining us in New York on June 4th, what the event will cover, and what makes it the best legal marketing conference for C-suite marketers in the calendar. Today, we are lucky to have Natasha Sandamas, our very own Events and Marketing Manager, join us today to share more details on the agenda and what's new this year. Welcome on Natasha. 

Natasha: Hello. Thank you so much for having me. 

Dionne: It's a pleasure to have you. So, for anyone tuning in who might not be familiar with CMO Series Live, could you give us a quick overview of what it's all about and what the day typically looks like and who should attend? 

Natasha: Sure. So this event is all about bringing together senior leaders of legal marketing and business development. So we get everybody together for a day of learning and networking, and the concept for it was born as an evolution of its namesake podcast that we're recording right now, where we champion chiefs who are just doing amazing things in their every day. We just really wanted to get the chance to move that to an in-person experience for all of our listeners. So, a typical day, we begin with registration, which is accompanied by some delicious fresh breakfast, and then we move into a full day of content. We factor in plenty of networking time, and there is also the opportunity for everybody to get to meet our fantastic event partners who help make this day possible. 

Dionne: Wonderful. That sounds amazing. So since launching the event back in 2023, what have attendees valued most? 

Natasha: One thing that we really do try to hone in on is giving these chiefs that face-to-face time with one another. It's one thing that we've always made sure with our leading star when we're designing everything from the agenda to the format and how much time everyone's gonna get with one another. We just know that that is where they definitely take the most value. But we also then really work with our attendees when it comes to designing the agenda, so we know going in that the content that we're delivering on the day is gonna be super useful for everybody. 

Dionne: That's amazing. So for anyone joining or thinking about coming along, what can they expect this year, and can you give us a snapshot of the agenda and what topics speakers will be covering? 

Natasha: I definitely can do that. So, we've actually made a few small changes to the event format this year compared to last year. So if you've been to the event before, it might look slightly different for you this year, and one of those most notable changes is that we've previously had a split content stream for the first half of the day, whereas this year we are going to have one single stream of content throughout the whole day. So no more FOMO, having to choose what sessions you attend in the morning. It's gonna just be one single stream, and that's allowed us to then factor in additional break times, more of that networking that we know everybody loves, and really hone down on what those key topics are that we should be addressing. So we've got a really stellar line-up this year, which we're really excited to be delivering, and our topics really do cover something that's gonna be of interest to everybody. So we're starting with a state of the nation, a thorough look at how the landscape has shifted over the past 10 years and where law firms are standing with where, and where they're heading. So that's gonna take a bit of a look at what the next 10 years could look like for the industry as well. Then we have a session that's all around building the team of the future. So, how do you recruit the right people into your team to kind of get you to where you want to be, specifically in the age of AI as well. And then that's followed up really nicely with a session diving into strategy and growth planning, so that's looking at how do you come up with a five-year strategy when you don't even really know what the next 12 months is gonna look like for you. 

We've also got a session covering laterals, so how you really can integrate them for real growth and the role that marketing and BD can play in that as well. We have a really exciting session that's taking a look at what CMOs that have come from a consultancy background bring into the role and what the core differences are between consultancy and law, and what law may be able to learn from the big four as well. We're ending the day with a session just kind of diving into innovation and what true transformation in law firms looks like, specifically again around AI and what that can look like for your firm. So not just what can be done, but what is being done already. Last but not least, this year we're really excited to be welcoming in an outside of the industry speaker to deliver a closing keynote for our audience, and we've got a fantastic guy called Ronan Harrington who's gonna be doing this. He's working with us. He's taking a good look at the agenda and just aiming to deliver one piece for everybody to walk away with, because we really acknowledge that when they come to a conference like this, they are being bombarded with a lot of information, and we just wanted to be able to give everybody some digestible pieces to take away back to the office, and hopefully we'll be able to do that. 

Dionne: Wow. That is a jam-packed day, and a very exciting one. Natasha, is there anything new at CMO Series Live?

Natasha: Yeah. So this year we're really excited to introduce a new concept, which we're calling the CMO Series Book Swap. So we know that so many of our chiefs have access to some amazing books that have helped them with their careers or even their everyday lives in these law firms. And so we thought it could be really lovely if everybody brings with them a book that they've read and loved to pass on to the next person, and maybe leave a little note in there on what it was that stood out to them, and hopefully we can send some great ideas off on their next journeys. 

Dionne: So for anyone listening and really wanting to attend the event, can you share how they can access tickets to CMO Series Live? 

Natasha: All of our tickets, plus further information on the event, you can see who all of the speakers are, the lineup, the timings, everything around the day, that can all be found on our website, which is cmoserieslive.com. 

Dionne: Wonderful. Thank you for that. And finally, for anyone who isn't able to join us on the day but still wants part of this experience, will there be any content available afterwards? I know we kind of touched on that, but I thought it'd be nice to bring that back up again. 

Natasha: Yeah, absolutely. Our team do a really great job of capturing summaries of all of the different panels that happen. Everything is published on our own blog, and then that will be shared out. So anybody who can't come will be able to access those summaries. And we do also have a film crew at the event, so we do record the sessions, so if anybody, again, isn't able to join us, or even those that are there on the day and they want some refreshers on those sessions, they will be available for people afterwards as well. 

Dionne: That's wonderful. Natasha, I can't thank you enough for joining us today. And for anyone listening currently, if you're not down to join us yet on June 4th at CMO Series Live, please head to cmoserieslive.com to find out more about the agenda, or contact us at marketing@passle.net to get your tickets. Thank you for joining us. 

Charlie: You can follow the Passle CMO Series Podcast on your preferred podcast platform. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.