C-Suite Strategies

What We Cover
What SEO is — and why it’s no longer the whole game
What AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is and how it fundamentally differs from SEO
How your buyers are already using AI tools (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude) to research before ever visiting your website
Why you can have great SEO scores and still be completely invisible to an AI answer engine
The “dark funnel” problem — and how AI makes it ...

What does it actually take to build an Inc 5000 business without letting it eat you alive? That's exactly what we dig into with Brittany Fox. Brittany and her husband bootstrapped Focus Global Talent Solutions from their second bedroom in Miami — no outside funding, no playbook — and hit $2M in revenue their first year. Last year, they made the Inc 5000 list. But here's the thing: Brittany didn't just build a success...

Season Two opens with a necessary reset for growth leaders.

In this episode, Stacie sits down with Jennifer Yousem, Founder of iHeartEBITDA, to unpack the financial realities behind marketing and sales performance—and why CMOs are often asked to defend results without being given the right financial context.

They explore why top-line growth is a vanity metric, how margin degradation creeps into service businesses, and why honesty in ...

In this solo episode of C-Suite Strategies, Stacie Sussman breaks down the five biggest trends she’s seeing as we head into 2026—starting with a surprising pattern: CMOs at $30M companies quietly fearing their next board meeting.

Stacie shares why brilliant marketing leaders are losing confidence in the C-suite, what’s driving the rising demand for clean attribution, and why most companies are wildly overestimating their AI maturity...

Networking isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a leadership strategy.

In this episode, Stacie Sussman sits down with Rachel Rozen, a former hospitality executive turned connection strategist, to break down how high-performing leaders can turn authentic relationships into career-defining opportunities before they ever start job-hunting.

Rachel shares how meeting 300 people in one year reshaped her career and how you can apply the same mindset...

In this episode of C-Suite Strategies, host Stacie Sussman sits down with Matt Austin, a seasoned sales leader with deep expertise in B2B growth and operational excellence. Together, they unpack what it truly takes to scale a business—from navigating the transition to a recurring revenue model to ensuring alignment across leadership and sales teams.

Matt shares lessons learned from years of leading global sales organizations, highli...

What if AI isn’t failing you—your broken business foundations are?

In this solo episode of C-Suite Strategies, Stacie Sussman, founder of RevUp Advisory, shares raw stories from the boardroom about why companies struggle to see real ROI from AI.

Here’s what you’ll hear:
 • The $37M company with a marketing team stuck in Excel chaos for board reporting
 • The “12-step content circus” that keeps marketing in approval purgatory<...

What’s slowing your C-Suite down? Sometimes it’s not lack of ideas—it’s friction in your systems, people, and processes.

Episode Summary:

In this episode of C-Suite Strategies, host Stacie Sussman sits down with Jen Goldman, Founder of My Virtual COO, to explore how leaders can identify and fix the friction points holding back productivity and profitability. From rethinking team structure to visualizing organizational changes, Jen sh...

What if the reason your marketing isn't working... is because you're measuring the wrong things?

In this solo episode of C-Suite Strategies, Stacie Sussman, founder of RevUp Advisory, pulls back the curtain on one of the most common problems she sees in professional services, HR firms, and small businesses: spending heavily on marketing without knowing what’s actually driving results.

Most legacy companies are stuck trackin...

What happens when a successful executive realizes his six-figure salary is slowly killing his soul—and his relationship with his kids? Greg Garunov had the perfect life on paper: a suburban house, luxury cars, and two decades of success in the media industry. But behind the polished facade, he was drowning in the "Groundhog Day" cycle that traps so many working dads.

The wake-up call came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when...

Ready to uncover the brutal truth about why most executive hiring fails? In this explosive conversation with Conway Shui, veteran recruiter and co-founder of C&C Talent Partners, you'll discover the hidden secrets behind executive recruiting that companies don't want you to know. From Fortune 500 talent wars to startups chasing unicorn dreams, Conway reveals why "scale experience" is dangerously overrated an...

When was the last time your business's scaling strategy actually delivered results instead of just more work? In this game-changing episode of C-Suite Strategies, we're joined by scaling expert Celi Arias, creator of the revolutionary "Grown Ass Business" method that transformed our own company from plateaued to powerhouse. Celi isn't your typical business coach dishing out cookie-cutter advice. With 25+ ye...

Ready to scale your B2B marketing and sales from siloed struggles to seamless success? Join us for a power-packed episode with Pasha Irshad, co-founder of Shape and Scale and former VP who's helped scale giants like Samsung, Microsoft, and Databricks. With 16+ years in the trenches of B2B growth, Pasha reveals why your traditional sales funnel might be holding you back and what it really takes to scale marketing and sales effo...

Tired of playing small in the executive suite? Ready to shatter the ceiling of your leadership potential? In this game-changing episode of C-Suite Strategies, leadership powerhouse Stephanie Blair of Know and Flourish reveals the insider secrets to transforming from a high performer into an unstoppable executive force. Whether you're stepping into your first C-suite role or trying to amplify your leadership impact, this episod...

Get ready to take a transformative breath! Join Stacie and special guest Kathleen Booker, the “Jedi of Calm,” as they explore how conscious breathwork can elevate both corporate performance and personal well-being. Kathleen shares her wisdom on embracing calm in high-pressure environments, from the C-suite to the everyday grind, offering practical tools to find balance and clarity.

Breathwork is more than a relaxation tool—it’s a ga...

Cultural transformation impacts so much of a business. From increased revenue, to aligned action, to having the entire team on board—these are the benefits of creating a company culture that everyone is on board with. So… what steps do you need to take to begin this transformation? Therese Gedda joins me to discuss everything under the umbrella that is “company culture” to ensure not only your team is thriving, but also your organi...

Everyone knows about the flashy success stories of startups—but what about the startup failures? These are incredibly impactful and pretty traumatic events for founders where lots of important lessons are learned. I’m so grateful to be able to have this jam packed conversation with Hector Forwood about his startup failure. He’s amazingly forthcoming about where things went wrong, what he’d do differently, and even what he shares no...

Today’s conversation is all about the power of personal branding and strategic storytelling. Patrice Poltzer—a former Today Show producer who now helps entrepreneurs tell better stories for their businesses—is here with me! We’re talking about practical strategies for integrating your personal experience into your brand narrative, making your story feel heard and felt—in order to move people forward in your world.

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When it comes to building a scalable business model, you need to have repeatable processes. And not just that—you need them to be automated. Yes, really! Impactful growth takes thought, strategy, and the right tools. But you don’t have to figure that out on your own! Adam Judeh is on the podcast today. He’s sharing about his background in operations in large corporations (think: burritos), a few of his pet peeves about the business...