Emma Grede on Operationalizing Culture, Speed, and AI

Marketing is no longer downstream from product. It is the operating system. In this episode of Frontier CMO, Josh Spanier sits down with Emma Grede, founding partner and Chief Product Officer at SKIMS, Co Founder & CEO of Good American, and Co Founder of Off Season, to unpack what it really takes to build durable brands in a culture obsessed with moments. Emma shares why product discipline matters more than hype, how to operationalize cultural relevance, and why speed is the ultimate competitive advantage. The conversation explores AI adoption inside fast-scaling companies, where automation should power the business, and where it should never touch creative. Emma also reflects on talent partnerships, decision velocity, resilience, and why the best leaders aren’t the ones who make perfect decisions, but the ones who make more of them. For founders and CMOs navigating growth where culture, commerce, and AI collide, this is a blueprint for building brands that last.