#199: Marketing Leadership | From Employee #4 to CMO: The Path to Marketing Leadership with Sylvia Lepoidevin, CMO at Kandji

In this episode, Dave is joined by Sylvia Lepoidevin, CMO of Kandji, a leading platform for managing and securing Apple devices in the workplace. Sylvia shares her journey from employee #4 to CMO at Kandji, driving the company’s growth to a $850M valuation. She talks about her experience building efficient marketing teams, leveraging AI, and creating impactful brand experiences.Dave and Sylvia cover:How AI is reshaping marketing roles and enabling smaller, more efficient teamsStrategies for internal marketing that align and energize cross-functional teamsProduct launches and creative campaigns for brand-driven growthTimestamps(00:00) - - Intro to Sylvia (05:21) - - From 1st Marketing Hire to CMO (10:06) - - Understanding Equity and Financial Outcomes (12:48) - - Wealth and Career Growth (15:28) - - Why It’s Important to Have a Clear Career Narrative (20:20) - - Mastering Storytelling in Team Meetings (24:42) - - How to Engage Your Team (25:18) - - Leveraging Feedback Loops to Build a Successful Team (30:49) - - AI Is Enabling Smaller, More Efficient Teams (34:32) - - AI’s Impact on Marketing (37:32) - - How Kandji Is Expanding Their Team (40:23) - - Achieving 10x Growth Through Product-Led Strategies (44:03) - - Leveraging Competitor and Apple-Specific Keywords (47:27) - - Minimizing Hiring Risk: Test Roles First Send guest pitches and ideas to [email protected] the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterCheck out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership***Today’s episode is brought to you by Grammarly.Ever have one of those weeks where you spent more time replying to Slack and email than doing actual marketing work?You’re not alone. The average marketing team spends 28+ hours a week just keeping up with comms.That leads to burnout, frustration, and a whole lot of performative productivity that doesn’t actually move the needle.AI-fluent marketing teams are changing that. Grammarly’s 2025 Productivity Shift Report shows how they’re using AI to:– Cut down on back-and-forth– Automate content, research, and reporting– Eliminate busywork– Make space for strategyWe’re marketers because we love crafting campaigns, driving revenue, and proving impact – not spending all day buried in messages.Get the report and see how top teams are making AI actually useful.Visit go.grammarly.com/exitfive to grab it.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more