Unlike most marketers, David Christopher, AT&T's CMO of Mobility and Consumer Markets, doesn't credit communications and creativity as his primary driving motivators. For Christopher, it's the power and speed of technology that have made his career most rewarding.

Deborah Holland has seen the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol surprise sweepstakes winners countless times. But after more than 30 years with the company, Holland, the EVP of creative strategy, communications and consumer affairs, finds the emotional exchange no less compelling today than when she first walked through the doors of PCH's Port Washington, N.Y. headquarters in 1979.

Once Chris Gabaldon, chief sales and marketing officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. starts talking about his brand, it's hard for him to stop. He gets on a roll, effusing about how the company has navigated the recession, or its recent brand repositioning, or the launch of its loyalty program, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards. Gabaldon's enthusiasm is, as they say, contagious.

Digital or die. That's become the watchword of print brands, urgently harnessing the latest innovations — from social media platforms to smartphones to the iPad — to refashion their businesses for a new media age.

Mike Hogan may be the CMO of GameStop — the world's largest videogame and entertainment software retailer, with more than 6,100 stores — but people might be surprised to learn that he is not a gamer himself. He is passionate about riding motorcyles and playing tennis, though he practices those activities strictly in the real world.

As a farmer who raises his own crops on a 40-acre farm — plowing the fields on a John Deere tractor, harvesting soybeans, corn and clover — Valassis chairman, president and CEO Alan Schultz knows a thing or two about making things grow, even when conditions aren't always most favorable.

Last year should have been one nonstop celebration for Hallmark Cards and its marketing chief Lisa Macpherson. The Kansas City, Mo.-based purveyor of greeting cards and other products turned 100, and Macpherson, after about nine years at the company, had recently been promoted to the top marketing job.

Jorge Consuegra never stops moving. The CMO of Forbes Media, and two-time New York City marathon veteran, was born in Havana, Cuba, but his parents brought him to the United States when he was still a baby

If one is of the mindset that any buzz is good buzz, then Denny's Corp. has hit a grand slam with its launch of online videos from DumbDumb.

As chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe, Zucker employs a data-driven approach that allows him to streamline the luxury e-commerce retailer's marketing.