Denise Karkos

Chief Marketing Officer, Sirius Xm

Search every verified Denise Karkos interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Denise Karkos, chief marketing officer of SiriusXM, appeared on the "Corporate Competitor" podcast in February 2023, where she discussed her leadership philosophy and the lessons she learned as captain of the Notre Dame soccer team. Karkos emphasized the importance of building relationships over resumes, stating that every job she has had since her early career has been based on connections. She advised listeners to "take people to lunch, take people to coffee — ask them about them, don't try to spend all that time talking about you." Karkos also described her approach to merging SiriusXM and Pandora as "a large task to take two cultures, two companies, two marketing departments and merge the teams together." Karkos shared several strategies for building confidence, including keeping a "happy folder" of positive notes and accomplishments to revisit during low points. She recommended defining a win for oneself and one's team, socializing a project, and being able to point to tangible results as a confidence builder. On the topic of feedback, Karkos said, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions," and advised being "observant, be vulnerable, and then seek specific feedback that you can apply immediately." She also discussed the importance of being accountable to every dollar spent and communicating effectively during organizational change, noting that "communication is everything; you cannot communicate enough and you have to be physically present and empathetic through the change."