BayAreaCMO ORBIE Leadership Award recipient: For Intuit CMO Thomas Ranese, the best marketing comes from first principles

Thomas Ranese didn’t set out to become a marketer. And yet, he sees each chapter of his life and career—theater, public policy, management consulting—as an essential building block on the path to becoming a CMO.

“What drew me to marketing was the chance to bring together things I care about: storytelling, understanding people and community, and solving difficult business problems at scale– building brands that matter in people’s lives,” said Ranese, Chief Marketing Officer at Intuit and recipient of the 2026 BayAreaCMO ORBIE Leadership Award.

From Brooklyn to the boardroom

Ranese grew up in Brooklyn, the grandchild of Italian immigrants and the first in his family to attend college. He spent summers working in his father’s deli and pasta shop on Long Island, designing promotional fliers on a Commodore 64. “If you grow up around a small business, you develop an appreciation for the hard work and customer obsession it takes to make it,” he said.

He briefly pursued acting before studying political science at Stanford and public policy at Harvard. Ranese’s first jobs were with the San Francisco Unified School District and the federal Corporation for National Service, where he was at the forefront of a civic movement to build engaged citizens by incorporating community service into education.

“I was drawn to work with a public purpose, and that interest has never really left me,” he said.

Building brands and public trust

At McKinsey and Interbrand, Ranese learned to connect brand strategy to business value, work that included building a brand ROI dashboard for Intel. As New York State’s first CMO, he revitalized the I LOVE NY campaign in its 30th year—a project he still considers a professional highlight.

A decade at Alphabet followed, where Ranese held several "startup" leadership roles. He founded the Google Brand Studio, where he led the company’s rebrand to Alphabet and launched the Google Store. His final role with Google was VP of Hardware Marketing, responsible for the launch and merchandising of Google-branded devices including Pixel, Home, Nest and Chromecast.

At Uber, he arrived six months before the pandemic and led the company through a growth and reputational turning point. He’s most proud of launching Uber’s first global social impact initiative, “Move What Matters, and convincing the CEO to run paid TV spots urging people to stay home rather than ride. For Ranese, rebuilding trust for Uber by doing the right thing during COVID ranks among his greatest achievements.

After advising McKinsey clients and leading marketing at Chobani, Ranese returned to California as CMO at Intuit, helping shift the company from product-led to an AI platform as well as “from a house of brands to a branded house.”

Ranese traces much of his leadership style to coming out in the early 1990s, when few role models existed and his parents worried it might cost him his career. “It took time to move from the mode of proving myself to being myself,” he said. “I became a better and more relatable leader when I finally realized and embraced that I can only be me.” That experience became a critical part of how Ranese leads: he wants all of his team members to know they can be fully themselves.

Ranese’s advice to future marketers

Ranese gives back by serving on the boards of numerous organizations, including Altarum, Marketing + Media Alliance, the LGBTQ+ Victory Campaign Fund, the Ad Council, and StoryCorps—each reflecting causes he cares about, from healthcare and education access to representation and storytelling.

Ranese’s advice to rising marketers is to resist the urge to build a tidy résumé. “Don’t be in too much of a hurry to have a tidy career story. And don’t chase titles,” he said. “Some of the most useful things I’ve learned came from roles that didn’t obviously lead to the next one.”

He urges leaders to embrace new tools without losing fundamentals, because he believes that “It still takes people to decide what matters, make a brave choice, and create something that connects.”

In the end, Ranese comes back to people. “Build your team with the same care you give the work,” he said. “Your greatest contribution may be what other people go on to achieve.”