By Satyne Donner
Long before she became Domino’s global CMO, Kate Trumbull was a young graduate sitting in conference rooms at a consulting firm, studying the nuances of how people think and communicate. Her earliest projects were rooted in neuro-linguistics, where she learned how language can reshape ambition—how the right words can stretch a team toward a bigger vision or a bolder definition of success. It was her first real window into the human psyche, and it left a mark.
That curiosity followed her to Procter & Gamble, where she immersed herself in data, research and the discipline of listening to what consumers were trying to tell brands. These insights became her fuel; understanding the human element became her edge.
When she arrived at Domino’s in 2011, she walked in as an individual contributor with a belief she couldn’t shake: Creativity lands harder when the right insights power it. Over the next 14 years, that belief helped carry her upward—from digital marketing director to senior vice president of brand and product innovation, to chief brand officer, and ultimately global chief marketing officer in October 2024.
But her biggest revelation wasn’t about data or marketing. It was about who she was really serving.
“I showed up at Domino’s, and suddenly it’s not just the consumer that is so critical—it’s the consumer and the franchisee,” Trumbull says. “When you understand the insights and what’s important to both, and you align the two, it drives powerful growth.”
Respect for Data
What kept her at Domino’s for more than a decade—defying the short tenure so common for CMOs—wasn’t luck. It was trust built over years of working across nearly every function of the business, learning how the organization breathes and earning the confidence to push for faster decisions, bigger ideas and what she calls “a culture addicted to innovation.”
That instinct for bold, insight-fueled action shows up in some of Domino’s most talked-about campaigns— from the superhit Emergency Pizza offer to the $6.70 large pizza deal that channeled the viral “67” meme. These ideas don’t just make noise; they move fast. Some go from spark to approval in as little as three days—a pace that requires franchisee trust, a willingness to take risks, and what Trumbull calls the “muscle memory” to “get speeding tickets, innovate, go fast and be entrepreneurial.” It’s a lesson she wishes she had embraced sooner.
“In my younger days, I thought the voice of those much higher in the organization was more important than mine,” she says. “Over the years, in certain moments, I’ve learned the power of my voice and how to own it. No matter where you are in your career, you have to build that muscle of having a point of view, a rationale, being data-driven and coming forward with a recommendation. You don’t have to be perfect to have the right to express yourself—especially women shouldn’t hold back.”
Now, Trumbull sees her role as more than CMO; she’s a cultural architect, shaping an environment where her teams feel emboldened to push boundaries. The foundation is great data. Data levels the playing field, she says, making insights accessible to everyone and giving cross-functional teams and franchisees the same facts to rally behind.
“If everyone has the same access and respect for the data, they trust it. It takes the subjectivity out,” she explains. “You create the innovation, you celebrate it, and then you use the data to evaluate when something’s a really big success.”
Domino’s North Star
Visibility and storytelling are the other levers. Trumbull believes in spotlighting the wins—showing what big ideas can unlock in sales, cultural conversation and earned media. Those stories create a flywheel of pride and ambition. Sometimes the most rewarding feedback comes in the humblest form: the texts from aunts or grandmas after Domino’s launches something unexpected, asking, “Did you do that?” The answer, Trumbull says, is always, “Oh, yes, we did.”
At the core of it all is Domino’s north star: craveable pizza magic. Every idea is filtered through that lens. Every team knows its mission has to ladder up to it.
“We have the purpose of the brand, and every team has to see their mission fitting inside of that,” Trumbull says. “When everyone understands what we stand for and sees examples of it, they look for ways to make their ideas louder and deserving of that mission. And on the flip side, they’re comfortable saying no to things that don’t meet it. Even in the franchise body, you see this shared mindset—data, recognition and our north star guiding every part of the business.”
As a leader in a global organization that’s moving at hyperspeed, Trumbull stays grounded in what’s happening at the store level by traveling to stores and being present. In the past year, she’s traveled to Shanghai, Beijing and Madrid, conducting what is essentially consumer focus groups with her teams and managers. She also leads a franchise board and encourages her franchisees to take her cell number and create large group threads.
“I love hearing problems because we want to solve them. I tell my franchisees to give me all of their joy points and pain points in their day-to-day,” Trumbull says. “I really do care and listen. I’m trying to model that in my organization. I think what means the most to our people is that I take action on what they tell me. There’s a lot of ways you can listen, but it’s useless if you’re not doing something about it. Our success comes from the trust we have in continuous dialogue—not only with our operators and franchisees, but all the way to the store level.”
Giving Consumers What They Want
As the industry continues to evolve, Trumbull keeps her eyes on emerging themes and aggregators. She remembers when you couldn’t get much delivered, and now everything can be delivered immediately. With the rise of generative AI, she’s watching not just what it means for marketing and operations, but for how consumers perceive the world and brands.
“If AI is going to do all of the content creation and all of the things for everyone, then nothing stands out. So to me, I think about how do you stand out, authentically? What does hospitality and connection mean to our guests?” Trumbull says. “At the end of the day, it’s about empathy. Humans, at our core, we have to have connection. And there’s a lot of ways for a pizza company to show empathy.”
With waning consumer confidence and inflation stretching people thin, Trumbull has observed brands that stand for value but compromise on giving consumers what they want. This creates tension in the QSR sector, where people are constrained to getting whatever the company gives them at a good price instead of what they really want.
The Emergency Pizza offer was born from this idea, and so was Domino’s Best Deal Ever, which launched earlier this year. For a limited time, customers could have any pizza with any toppings for $9.99 each.
“The Best Deal Ever worked really hard for us, and our franchisees were nervous at first…but it brought in new consumers and showed them that we were there when they needed us,” Trumbull says. “When I talk about craveable pizza magic, it’s an obsession with every step of the process, even digital notifications and our tracker, innovating around trying to help consumers get exactly what they want. And there is empathy in every one of those details.”
Forging Trust and Connection
Throughout the constant change, the crazy schedules and working on a 20-month-long brand refresh, Trumbull feels the most energized when she gets out of the office. From Shanghai to Madrid to Amsterdam, being out in the field and talking to people about what they love, what challenges they’re having and what they think about new initiatives motivates her.
“I am inspired by the incredibly brilliant, hardworking and innovative people that are around me. A majority of our franchisees started out as delivery drivers working in the stores, and they are truly the people that know the DNA of our brand and want to make our big ideas even bigger,” Trumbull says. “I also try to attend as many focus groups as I can. I’ll share their feedback with our internal teams because the consumers are our boss, and they have to be at the heart of everything we do.”
In her first year in the role, going global and learning how Domino’s operates in its unique markets outside the U.S. has been her biggest learning experience. She’s also spent considerable time understanding how her team has evolved.
“[This role] has expanded my view of who my team is. Now I’m on the leadership team next to the CFO and CEO, and it’s exciting to think about how what I do in marketing can benefit their areas, and vice versa. No matter where you are in your career and who your teammates are, you have to forge a level of trust and connection … and it’s exciting to think about how to share information and best practices across these very different parts of the organization.”
If Trumbull has any words for the next generation of women in restaurant leadership, it’s this: Not only do you deserve a seat at the table—you need to be there.
“I’ve heard women get the feedback of being emotional, intense or passionate, and I actually think these things are superpowers,” Trumbull says. “Especially in a world where engagement has been declining and people feel disconnected from the work they do, I think showing your passion is the kind of leadership that’s needed today. Own your unique voice and talents, and don’t think you have to hide them or hold them back. They are what make you great, and they should make you proud. You don’t have to fit in with everyone else to know you belong at the table.”
Satyne Donner is senior editor for QSR, a sister publication of PMQ Pizza. Click here to read the article at QSR’s website.
