CMO Spotlight | Kaylin Durham - The Aaron's Company, Inc.

The CMO Spotlight is a chance to get an inside look into the minds and journeys of high-performing marketing leaders. 

Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Kaylin Durham, the Chief Customer Officer at The Aaron's Company, Inc., to talk about the importance of having tough conversations, how to be intentional and brave in your career, and why she admires Delta’s brand.

WATCH + READ THE RECAP BELOW (SCROLL TO THE END FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW)

Q1 | What advice would you like to share?

When Durham was starting out in her career, she took advantage of every opportunity to learn. Seeking knowledge helped her get to a successful point in her career, however, she noted that chasing learning isn’t the only thing that propels a career. Durham emphasized that intentionality is just as important when mapping out career pursuits. 

Along with intention, Durham shared that being fearless helped elevate her career. “I've always just been the one to raise my hand and say, ‘Let me give it a shot. I think I can do that.’” Having a go-getter, aggressive attitude served her well. She encouraged people to ask, “Why don't you take a chance on me and see if I can pull it off?” 

Marketers should make it a priority to ask for what they want and be courageous when it comes to their careers.

Q2 | What is your superpower?

“Curiosity is a really good one. I think that is a totally underrated and undervalued characteristic.”

Durham values curiosity in herself and others. 

When looking for emerging leaders in or while recruiting for her organization, Durham asks the following questions:

• What are you curious about learning next?

• What have you been learning?

• Why are you interested in this role?

•  What itch have you not scratched that you think this is an opportunity to do?

“Curiosity is a good [superpower] because I think that people value people who want to learn and put initiative behind that.”

Q3 | What values are important to you?

“It’s critically important to me that we have honest, hard dialogue when we need to.”

Durham really values people who are able to create a space where transparent dialogue can happen. She appreciates people who aren’t afraid to have respectful, yet difficult conversations in order to push the needle. 

“I think that we live in a world that wants to be very cognizant of people's feelings and emotions, and I, of course, want to be respectful at all times, but we've diluted healthy, rigorous debate. If my team is not ever disagreeing or never coming to the table with challenges - then we’re just stagnant.” Being able to have healthy, challenging conversations is necessary to grow and make a difference in an organization, and Durham appreciates others who are willing to have those conversations.

Q4 | Share a quote that inspires you.

"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good," from East of Eden inspires Durham. She is a self-proclaimed perfectionist, and this quote reminds her that it’s okay not to be perfect and that perfection can often get in the way of success.

Q5 | Which brands inspire you?

Durham is enthusiastic about Delta’s evolution and ability to get ahead of the consumer’s needs. 

“I've traveled almost every week for two years, and I've watched Delta evolve their customer experience over time. As much as I fly, I still feel like I'm constantly discovering new features and functionality. It's just incredibly impressive what they've been able to accomplish.”

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For more marketing leadership advice and a view into the mindset of marketing executives in various industries, be sure to watch the full interview with Kaylin Durham, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW TO THE RIGHT.