Leah Smith joins Chief Outsiders as fractional CMO

Chief Outsiders has added hospitality marketer Leah Smith to its roster of more than 100 fractional CMOs and CSOs. Smith will focus on brand awareness, customer acquisition and revenue growth for hospitality, lifestyle and experience-driven clients.

Why it matters: - Chief Outsiders is adding a seasoned hospitality marketer to support clients that need faster brand growth and revenue lift. - Leah Smith’s background spans luxury hospitality, restaurant, retail and healthcare brands, giving Chief Outsiders deeper sector coverage for experience-driven companies. - Smith’s remit includes brand awareness, customer acquisition, digital transformation and team building.

What happened: - Leah Smith joined Chief Outsiders as a Fractional CMO. - Chief Outsiders said Smith will help drive client revenue growth across hospitality, lifestyle and experience-driven brands. - Smith joined a team of more than 100 Fractional Chief Marketing Officers and Fractional Chief Sales Officers. - Karen Hayward, West Region Managing Partner at Chief Outsiders, said Smith brings hands-on leadership, creative excellence and commercial instinct.

The details: - Smith has 20 years of strategic leadership experience as a chief marketing officer. - She partners with CEOs to turn organizational vision into brand narratives, drive digital transformation and build marketing teams. - Smith has experience in multi-property portfolio marketing. - Her work includes integrated strategies designed to improve guest experience, deepen loyalty and accelerate revenue growth. - Chief Outsiders said Smith is focused on hospitality. - Before joining Chief Outsiders, Smith was chief marketing officer at Mina Group. - At Mina Group, Smith built an integrated marketing strategy across 20 luxury hotel and retail partnerships, including The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Bellagio. - That work produced a 23% year-over-year increase in holiday sales. - Smith also served as chief brand officer at Exer Urgent Care, chief marketing officer for Veggie Grill and vice president of marketing at Patina Restaurant Group. - Earlier roles included regional director of marketing at Joie de Vivre Hospitality and global brand marketing manager for Waldorf Astoria at Hilton Hotels Corp. - Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. - Her affiliations include Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, La Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, Santa Fe Garden Club, Blue Ribbon of the Los Angeles Music Center, Les Dames d’Escoffier, the San Diego Bay Food & Wine Festival Advisory Board, the San Diego Convention & Visitor’s Bureau Marketing Committee and the San Diego Opera’s Opera in the City Corporate Council.

Between the lines: - Chief Outsiders is signaling continued investment in fractional leadership for companies that want senior marketing expertise without a full-time hire. - Smith’s hospitality-heavy background fits brands that depend on guest experience, loyalty and premium positioning. - The company also appears to be leaning on industry specialists rather than generalists to win more niche client work.

What's next: - Smith is expected to work with client companies on brand strategy, customer acquisition and revenue growth. - Her experience across hospitality and adjacent categories suggests Chief Outsiders may use her across premium consumer and experience-led accounts. - Chief Outsiders will continue marketing its fractional executive model to mid-sized companies seeking faster growth with flexible execution.

The bottom line: - Chief Outsiders added an experienced hospitality marketer who can help clients sharpen their brand and turn strategy into revenue.