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About this session Key takeaways
The New CMO Mandate
A candid conversation on what the CMO role looks like in 2026 and how effective marketing execs are spending their time.
Where headcount is shifting, which functions are being absorbed back into marketing, what boards are now asking that they weren't asking last year, and how the most effective marketing executives are spending their time when half the old playbook no longer applies.
- 01The org chart is rewiring. Smaller teams, more senior generalists, and brand is the new investment center. When attrition hits demand gen or SEO roles, those are first to be backfilled by AI. PMM and PM may converge for technical audiences. Meanwhile, brand is getting bigger headcount, including B2C-style hires like filmmakers, because distinctive POV is the only durable differentiator when content is abundant. Marketing is also moving into building internal systems so other teams can self-serve.
- 02AI fluency runs both ways now. Hiring bar: vibe-coded portfolios are standing out (one candidate built a chatbot version of himself for pre-screening). Candidate expectations: they're negotiating token costs in offers and asking whether your product is actually innovating or just slapping a chatbot on top. The new red flag in interviews is wanting to fight AI-fluent CEOs and execs above you instead of harnessing the energy.
- 03Marketing leaders are building, not just briefing. Kexin built "Claudia," an agentic platform that connects MCPs to Gong and Slack and surfaces gaps in the customer story repository. Ashley is building her own personal ops EA and an MCP as a new content distribution channel. "MCP as a distribution channel" is a phrase that didn't exist a year ago and now sounds like genius. The CMO role increasingly includes hands-on building, not delegating it down.
- 04The board is asking new metrics, and speed is the new accountability. AI visibility, agentic acquisition, monetization through LLMs, ROI on agentic plays. All now in the board deck. Launches that used to take six weeks are expected in three days. With a perceived 12 to 24 month runway before things get even crazier, top-line growth at all costs is back. But festina lente, make haste slowly, is the discipline that separates good leaders from reckless ones.
- 05The CMO role is more relevant, not less, and the playbook is gone. Both panelists believe brand and taste become bigger differentiators as AI commoditizes content, so expect more B2C/D2C operators moving into B2B CMO seats. Ashley's advice to her younger self: there is no playbook, and if there were, it would change every day. Anchor on curiosity about your business and customers. That's what you can control and what makes the impact.