CMO PODCAST: Why global brands need healthy chaos, with Jon Stona of Airwallex

n this episode of The CMO Office Podcast, I speak with Jon Stona, Vice President, Global Marketing at Airwallex, about how the Melbourne-born fintech combines a strong global core with what he calls “healthy chaos” in local markets. We explore how Airwallex is building its brand for long-term growth and bringing brand, performance and product marketing together around one coherent customer experience. Sports sponsorship is an important part of that strategy. Through partnerships with Arsenal Football Club, McLaren Racing, the San Francisco Giants, the Blues and Essendon Football Club, Airwallex uses sport to build fame and trust while creating opportunities for product integration, content, hospitality and sales engagement. Jon also shares what he would do differently, why marketers must move from temporary campaigns towards systems that compound, and how Airwallex is bringing marketing, finance and data science together to develop more credible measures of payback. Finally, we discuss the role of AI in augmenting human judgement. As Jon explains, technology can extend a marketer’s reach, but taste and human connection remain essential to turning that reach into genuine engagement. Listen to the full conversation here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Highlights include: How Airwallex balances global consistency with local authenticity. Why headquarters should scale good ideas rather than assume it owns them. How sports sponsorships can build fame, trust and commercial opportunity. Why buying sponsorship rights without investing in activation is like buying a Ferrari and leaving it in the garage. How Airwallex turns customers into advocates by placing them at the centre of its campaigns. Why product marketing should form the core of an integrated marketing organisation. What Jon wishes he had done differently while building Airwallex’s global marketing function. Why marketers need to move from temporary campaigns towards systems that compound. How marketing, finance and data science can work together to establish credible measures of payback. Why boardroom conversations cannot be built around impressions and other marketing-only metrics. How Airwallex is approaching the challenge of measuring brand, performance and channel synergies. Where AI can improve marketing and where human judgement still matters. Listen to the full conversation here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.