Every now and then, I meet a CMO who gets it, really gets it. Someone who doesn’t just market but moves audiences. Someone who understands that storytelling isn’t a department, it’s the heartbeat of a brand.
That’s Helena Verellen.
Today, she’s the CMO of The Second City, the legendary comedy institution that’s launched some of the biggest names in entertainment. But her path to that stage wasn’t a straight line. She’s thrown down strategy at the WWE, reimagined engagement at Audible, and sharpened global brand instincts at Sony Music. She’s worked across industries, formats, and audiences and she brings a consistency to all of it: bold storytelling backed by relentless listening.
And if you think comedy is the outlier here, think again. This conversation proved that brand brilliance and audience obsession apply whether you’re in the squared circle, the recording booth, or center stage.
Listening Like Your Career Depends on It…Because It Does
Helena started her career being “forced” to sit in with customer service teams. Most CMOs might roll their eyes at that. She leaned in and it changed everything.
Instead of assuming what the customer wanted, she listened. Not in the “corporate empathy” sense, but in the “change the storyline mid-match because the audience tells you to” sense.
At WWE, storylines literally shifted in real time. If the crowd wasn’t reacting, producers rewrote outcomes on the fly. That’s agility. That’s listening. That’s marketing in 2025.
And she carried that lesson everywhere she’s gone – pay attention, stay agile, and let the customer tell you what story they’re actually buying.
The Core Never Changes but the Delivery Must
Helena said something a lot of marketers miss: your strategy can evolve, your messaging can shift, but the core of your brand should never change.
This is where CMOs get it wrong. They want to redesign the logo, rewrite the mission statement, or “refresh the brand.” But the great ones know: the brand is the brand. The job is to make it resonate with new audiences, not to reinvent it every 18 months.
Whether she’s marketing WWE in India, Audible in Germany, or The Second City in New York, she focuses on cultural nuance, not brand reinvention. Same root, different expression.
Bold brands stay bold because they know who they are.
Data Isn’t the Enemy of Creativity, it’s the Fuel
When Helena stepped into The Second City, the first thing she did was drag a 65-year-old entertainment brand into a data-forward future. Dashboards. Metrics. NPS scores. Real engagement analysis. Paid media optimization.
But here’s the key: she didn’t do it for the sake of creativity. She did it to empower creativity.
She used data to remove busywork, to sharpen instincts, to identify the moments where risk makes sense. And she’s doubling down on AI, not as a replacement, but as a multiplier.
I loved her take: strategy, data, instinct, nothing works without all three.
That’s a mic-drop moment for anyone in marketing today.
Improv Isn’t Just Comedy, It’s Leadership Training
Here’s something most people don’t know: The Second City has been teaching leaders longer than most business schools.
Forty years of corporate workshops. Fortune 500 companies. Customized training. Even law enforcement.
They teach teams how to listen, slow down, communicate, adjust, and respond instead of reacting. They teach agility, presence, communication, and self-awareness, all through humor and improv.
This isn’t comedy. It’s leadership development disguised as laughter.
And it’s powerful.
Going Bold When It Counts
Helena brought real honesty to the conversation about risk. She’ll green-light bold moves, like shaking up their Toronto market, not because they guarantee immediate revenue, but because they fill the top of the funnel long-term.
That’s something leaders forget. Not every move is about ROI during the quarter. Some are about relevance next year.
Her strategy is simple. She balances risk with data. Instinct with strategy. Creativity with discipline. And that’s exactly how modern CMOs win.
The Final Word
From the ring to the recording booth to the main stage, Helena Verellen has proved that great storytelling, intentional listening, and brand clarity transcends industries. She doesn’t just market products, she markets experiences. She builds fans, not customers. And she’s fearless about using creativity, data, and improv to drive real business impact.
We had an insightful conversation about branding that everyone in marketing needs to listen to. Watch the full episode of “All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett” on C-Suite TV or listen to the podcast on C-Suite Radio.
