Before 'sleeping giant' Iron Mountain got loud, it had to be believed | CMO Karen Feldman on earning that trust

Iron Mountain is nearly 75 years old, built on physical records storage, and structured as a real estate investment trust — known for most of its history for warehouses and shredding trucks, not brand campaigns. Then Karen Feldman arrived as the company's first-ever Chief Marketing Officer.

Karen joins Joel Harrison to explain what it actually means to become a legacy business's first CMO when marketing already exists, just without a seat at the top table — and the trust-building playbook that got her there. We cover the brand health study that reshaped her budget priorities, the McLaren Racing partnership that mirrors Iron Mountain's own value proposition, how AI is reshaping B2B search behaviour, and her advice for any marketing leader walking into a legacy business.

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Guest

Karen Feldman, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Iron Mountain

Karen Feldman is SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Iron Mountain, a role she took on in November 2024 as the company's first-ever CMO. She joined from IBM Consulting, where she spent over 25 years at IBM, including as CMO leading the business's repositioning following the Kyndryl spin-off.

Karen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-feldman-217440/

Host

Joel Harrison, founder of Joel Harrison B2B and host of Trust & Influence in B2B.

Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelharrison/

In this episode

00:00 Welcome, and introducing Karen Feldman